The Son of Zeus

Alexander was born into greatness. His father, King Philip II, transformed Macedonia from a backwater into the dominant military power of Greece. He bequeathed to Alexander the most professional army in the ancient world: the Macedonian Phalanx.

Tutored by the philosopher Aristotle, Alexander slept with a copy of Homer's Iliad and a dagger under his pillow. He believed he was the descendant of Achilles and the son of Zeus. When Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE, the 20-year-old Alexander quickly executed his rivals and crushed rebellions in Thebes and Greece.

With his backyard secure, he looked East to the sworn enemy of the Greeks: the massive Persian Empire.

The Beginning

20 Age Crowned

Phalanx Sarissa Pike

The Conquest Begins

In 334 BCE, Alexander crossed the Hellespont into Asia with 40,000 men. He drove his spear into the sand and claimed the continent as "spear-won land."

His first great victory came at the River Granicus, where he personally led the cavalry charge. But the real test came at Issus (333 BCE), where he faced the Persian King Darius III himself. Outnumbered, Alexander aimed a decisive cavalry wedge straight at Darius, forcing the Great King to flee the battlefield in panic.

Alexander captured Darius's royal tent, his treasury, and his family, treating the queens with the utmost chivalry.

Companion Cavalry

"There is nothing impossible to him who will try."

Victory: Issus
Rival: Darius III

The Siege of Tyre

The island city of Tyre (in modern Lebanon) thought it was impenetrable. Alexander proved them wrong. When the Tyrians refused to surrender, Alexander spent seven months building a massive kilometre-long land bridge (mole) out into the sea to reach their walls.

He deployed massive siege towers, the likes of which had never been seen before. When the walls were finally breached, the slaughter was total. Alexander's message was clear: no fortress could stand against him.

He continued south to Egypt, where he was welcomed as a liberator. The oracle at Siwa confirmed his divinity as the son of Amun-Ra, and he founded the city of Alexandria.

Engineering Genius

He changed the geography of the coastline to win a siege.

Feat: The Mole
City: Alexandria

Gaugamela: The Masterpiece

In 331 BCE, Darius III assembled a massive army on the dusty plains of Gaugamela—chariots with scythes on their wheels, war elephants, and hundreds of thousands of infantry. His generals advised Alexander to attack at night. Alexander replied, "I will not steal a victory."

In a tactical masterstroke, Alexander allowed his lines to stretch, drawing the Persians apart. He then identified a gap in the Persian line and charged. Once again, he rode straight for Darius. The Great King fled, and the Persian Empire collapsed.

Alexander marched into Babylon and Persepolis, burning the great Persian palace to the ground in a drunken rage—an act he would later regret.

Gaugamela

331 BCE

King of Asia

To the Ends of the Earth

Alexander's ambition was insatiable. He merged Persian and Greek cultures, marrying a Persian princess and adopting Persian dress, which alienated his old Macedonian veterans. He pushed further East, into modern Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At the Battle of the Hydaspes in India, he fought King Porus, whose army included 200 war elephants. It was a bloody victory. Alexander was so impressed by Porus's bravery that he reinstated him as a client king.

But his men were broken. Drenched by monsoon rains and thousands of miles from home, they refused to go further. They famously asked: "King, when will it end?" Alexander wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.

The Limit

At the Hydaspes river, the unstoppable force finally stopped.

The Hellenistic World

Alexander returned to Babylon to plan an invasion of Arabia, but he fell ill after a heavy bout of drinking. He died in 323 BCE at the age of 32.

When asked on his deathbed to whom he left his empire, he whispered: "To the strongest." His generals (the Diadochi) immediately tore the empire apart in decades of civil war.

Yet, his legacy endured. He spread Greek culture (Hellenism) across three continents. The fusion of Greek art, science, and language with Eastern traditions created a vibrant new world that would pave the way for Rome and Christianity.

Legacy

He died young, but his name lives forever.

Age: 32
Era: Hellenistic