This article is about the ancient king of Macedonia. For other uses, see. He was born in in 356 BC and succeeded his father to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented through Asia and northeast Africa, and he created one of the of the ancient world by the age of thirty, stretching from to northwestern. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders. 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 and used this authority to launch his father's pan-Hellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of. In 334 BC, he invaded the Persian Empire and began a that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of , Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of and. He subsequently overthrew Persian King and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety. At that point, his empire stretched from the to the. He eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in 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. In the years following , a tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the , Alexander's surviving generals and heirs. Alexander's legacy includes the and which his conquests engendered, such as. He founded some , most notably in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of in the east resulted in a new , aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the in the mid-15th century AD and the presence of and until the 1920s. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of , 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 throughout the world still teach his tactics. He is often ranked among the most influential people in history. Tutoring Alexander, by Alexander was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of , which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is disputed, in , the capital of the. He was the son of the king of Macedon, , and his fourth wife, , the daughter of , king of. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander. Statue of Alexander the Great in , , Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood. Sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a engraved with a lion's image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was. Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a on the city of on the peninsula of. That same day, Philip received news that his general had defeated the combined and armies, and that his horses had won at the. It was also said that on this day, the in , one of the , burnt down. This led to say that it had burnt down because was away, attending the birth of Alexander. Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception. In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, , sister of Alexander's future general. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict , a relative of his mother, and by. Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the , ride, fight, and hunt. When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen. The horse refused to be mounted, and Philip ordered it away. Alexander however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. Bucephalas carried Alexander as far as. When the animal died because of old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty , Alexander named a city after him,. Education When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a , and considered such academics as and , the latter offering to resign from his stewardship of the to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at as a classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of , which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile. Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as , , and. Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as the 'Companions'. Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of , and in particular the ; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns. Philip waged war against , leaving Alexander in charge as and. During Philip's absence, the revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly, driving them from their territory. He colonized it with Greeks, and founded a city named. Upon Philip's return, he dispatched Alexander with a small force to subdue revolts in southern. Campaigning against the Greek city of , Alexander is reported to have saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of began to work lands that were sacred to near , a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. Still occupied in Thrace, he ordered Alexander to muster an army for a campaign in southern Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander. Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through , taking it after s
