Alexander the Great is one of the most well-known historical figures. He inherited the throne of Macedon as Alexander III in 336 BCE, when he was around 20 years old, following his father Philip’s unexpected death. Philip of Macedon had reorganized the Macedonian military and unified most of the Greek city-states under his banner. At the time of his murder, he was preparing an invasion of Anatolia, to free Greek-speaking regions from Persian rule and to avenge the Persian sack of Athens the century before.

Upon coming to the throne, Alexander took over the campaign against Persia. He won two major battles against the Persians, the Battle of Granicus (334 BCE) and the Battle of Issus (333 BCE). After his defeat at Issus, the Persian ruler Darius fled to the eastern parts of his empire. Rather than pursue him directly, Alexander turned south to conquer Egypt, thus protecting himself against an attack from the west. Alexander was welcomed in Egypt as a liberator and made a famous visit to the Oracle at Siwa.

After leaving Egypt, Alexander continued his campaign against Darius, defeating him again at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE, after which he took Darius’ family captive. He continued further into Persia, capturing Babylon and the capital of Persepolis, which he sacked. Darius was finally killed by one of his own satraps, Bessus in 330 BCE, after which Alexander declared himself “King of Asia”. To consolidate control over former Persian territories, Alexander continued into Central Asia and Afghanistan, marrying a local woman named Roxana, who became his primary wife. He then launched a campaign into India, where he defeated the King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BCE. He planned to continue pushing further into India, but his men mutinied and refused to go on.

Alexander returned to Babylon to consolidate his rule and prepare for future campaigns but fell ill shortly after his arrival and died in 323 BCE at the age of just 32. Conspiracy theories around his death abounded, with some believing he had been poisoned, and the exact cause continues to be debated by scholars. His wife, Roxana, was pregnant at the time of his death and later gave birth to a son, Alexander IV. However, she and her son were eventually killed in the power struggles that ensued following Alexander’s death. Alexander’s empire was divided among his close friends/generals, who established their own blocks of power, in Macedon, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Persia/Central Asia.

Alexander’s impact across the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia was substantial. He not only reshaped the political landscape but ushered in an era of widespread cultural exchange under his successors that came to be known as the Hellenistic Age. His legacy has been assessed and reconsidered by each subsequent generation, from Ancient Rome to today, with some celebrating him as a great hero and others painting him as a tyrant and despot. This can make the task of uncovering the “true” Alexander incredibly difficult, leading to continued debate among scholars about the nature of his leadership and achievements.