Alexander The Great

Alexander III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander the Great was born in Pella Macedonia in 356 BC. During his youth he was tutored by Aristotle until age sixteen. In 336 At the age of twenty he succeeded his father Philip II as king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

Alexander Inherited an experienced professional army and quickly implemented his fathers dream of leading the Greeks in the military conquest of the superpower of the age, the Persian empire.

In 334 BC, Alexander crossed the Hellespont with 40,000 men and in a series of decisive battles, Granicus 334, Issus 333 and Gaugamela 331 overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety.

Alexander continued eastward and crossed the Indus River into India in 326 BC, winning a hard won victory over King Porus at the battle of the Hydaspes. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to India.

Granicus

ISSUS

Gaugamela

Hydaspes

Hydaspes had been such a brutal costly victory that Alexanders homesick troops mutinied and demanded to return to Greece. Alexander reluctantly conceded and began the march home dying on rout at the city Babylon in 323 BC. 

In the years following his death, a series of civil wars by his surviving generals and heirs tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi. Alexander 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. 

Alexander became legendary, prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He was undefeated in battle and became the measure against which future military leaders compared themselves. Military academies throughout the world still teach his battle field tactics and is often ranked among the most influential people in history.