Alexander III of Macedon (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Γʹ ὁ Μακεδών; 20/21 July 356 BC –

10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Ancient
Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, romanized: Aléxandros ho Mégas), was a king (basileus) of
the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon[a] and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was
born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20.
He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia
and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest
empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.[1][2] He was
undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military
commanders.[3]
During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until age 16. After Philip's
assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong
kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of
Greece and used this authority to launch his father's pan-Hellenic project to lead the
Greeks in the conquest of Persia.[4][5] In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid
Empire (Persian Empire) and began a series of campaigns that lasted 10 years.
Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of
decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently
overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its
entirety.[b] At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Beas River.
Alexander endeavoured to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea"
and invaded India in 326 BC, winning an important victory over the Pauravas at the Battle
of the Hydaspes. He eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops, dying
in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without
executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion
of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart,
resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi: Alexander's
surviving generals and heirs.
Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion and syncretism which his conquests
engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his
name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and
the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization,
aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-
15th century AD and the presence of Greek speakers in central and far eastern
Anatolia until the 1920s. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mould
of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek
and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders
compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his
tactics.[6][c] He is often ranked among the most influential people in history.[7]

Contents

 1Early life
o 1.1Lineage and childhood
o 1.2Education
 2Philip's heir
o 2.1Regency and ascent of Macedon
o 2.2Exile and return
 3King of Macedon
o 3.1Accession
o 3.2Consolidation of power
o 3.3Balkan campaign
o 3.4Maps of campaigns
 4Conquest of the Persian Empire
o 4.1Asia Minor
o 4.2The Levant and Syria
o 4.3Egypt
o 4.4Assyria and Babylonia
o 4.5Persia
o 4.6Fall of the Empire and the East
o 4.7Problems and plots
o 4.8Macedon in Alexander's absence
 5Indian campaign
o 5.1Forays into the Indian subcontinent
o 5.2Revolt of the army
 6Last years in Persia
 7Death and succession
o 7.1After death
o 7.2Division of the empire
o 7.3Will
 8Character
o 8.1Generalship
o 8.2Physical appearance
o 8.3Personality
o 8.4Personal relationships
 9Battle record
 10Legacy
o 10.1Hellenistic kingdoms
o 10.2Founding of cities
o 10.3Funding of temples
o 10.4Hellenization
o 10.5Influence on Rome
o 10.6Unsuccessful plan to cut a canal through the isthmus
o 10.7Legend
o 10.8In ancient and modern culture
 11Historiography
 12See also
 13Annotations
 14References
 15Sources
o 15.1Primary sources
o 15.2Secondary sources
 16Further reading
 17External links

Early life
Lineage and childhood
Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era, British Museum

Aristotle Tutoring Alexander, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon,[8] on the sixth day of
the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356
BC, although the exact date is uncertain.[9] He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip
II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king
of Epirus.[10] Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for
some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander.[11]
Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood.[12] According to the ancient
Greek biographer Plutarch, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip,
Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to
spread "far and wide" before dying away. Sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to
have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a
lion's image.[13] Plutarc