Alexander The Great

Alexander the Great was a king of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia born in pella in 356 BC Alexander succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and Northeast Africa until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world stretching from Greece to Egypt and into present-day Pakistan. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of historys most successful commanders. During his youth Alexander was tutor by the philosopher Aristotle until the age of 16. When he succeeded his father to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced Army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers military expansion plans. In 334 BC he invaded the achaemenid empire ruled Asia minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles most notably the battles of issus and gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian king Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian empire.