How Much Do You Know About Alexander the Great?

Alexander’s body was intercepted on its way to Macedonia by Ptolemy, Alexander’s former general and military leader of Egypt, who had named himself pharaoh. Hoping to use the body to gain recognition as Alexander’s successor, Ptolemy I built a tomb in Alexandria, Egypt (a city founded by and named after Alexander). It became a pilgrimage site for ancient leaders such as Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus, who were inspired by Alexander’s legacy.

According to the Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch, Alexander’s body was laid in a golden sarcophagus filled with honey, in order to preserve it for the long journey from Babylon back to Macedonia. Honey acts as a preservative much like salt, thanks to its high sugar content, which draws water from bacteria, preventing decay.

Alexander and his troops were in modern Iraq when he died in June 323 BCE at just age 32, possibly from malaria, although rumors persisted that he was poisoned. Alexander's 13-year reign saw him reach the zenith of power in the ancient world, but his empire largely fell apart after his death. Alexander named no direct successor, leading to the division of his lands and decades of bloody infighting among his generals.

A ruthless and power-hungry ruler, Alexander was also a skilled commander who never lost a battle, despite sometimes being greatly outnumbered. He was a charismatic military leader, urging his troops on a seemingly endless campaign. Alexander’s expansion finally ended near the Indus River Valley, when his war-weary troops refused to continue on to what is now Pakistan, after a season of heavy rains.

Alexander was a skilled military commander, and his conquests built him an empire that stretched across three continents and 2 million square miles, from Greece to India, and the Danube River to Egypt. Alexander built hundreds of new cities (and named dozens after himself). He and his armies spread Greek culture throughout the vast empire, giving birth to the Hellenistic Era, a term derived from the phrase “to speak Greek.”

Alexander the Great was born in July 356 BCE, the son of King Philip II of Macedonia, a kingdom on the northeast Greek peninsula. Both his mother, Olympias, and his father claimed descent from Greek gods. Olympias later told her son that she had been impregnated by a lightning bolt shot into her womb by Zeus, king of the gods, leading to Alexander’s birth — a legend Alexander burnished all his life.

Alexander showed military promise as a young man, and faced his first great challenge when King Philip was assassinated by a Macedonian noble in 336 BCE. Just 20 years old, Alexander quickly sought revenge, killing potential rivals to the throne. He then set out to fulfill one of his father’s unrealized dreams, defeating the powerful Persian empire, using the skilled army King Philip had built.

Darius III ruled over the Persian empire, which was once the largest empire on Earth, stretching from the Balkans to the Indus Valley. But the empire had begun to decline in the 5th century BCE, riven by internal divisions. Darius and Alexander fought a series of major battles in what is now Turkey and Lebanon before a final face-off at Gaugamela (now Iraq) in 331 BCE. Darius fled and was assassinated by his own troops. Alexander then proclaimed himself King of Persia.

Bucephalus was brought to Macedonia as a gift for King Philip, but the wild horse proved unbreakable until 12-year-old Alexander tamed him. Bucephalus became Alexander’s war companion, right up until the stallion’s death around 326 BCE. A distraught Alexander founded the city of Bucephala (modern-day Pakistan) in the horse’s honor.

The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was hired by Alexander’s father, King Philip of Macedonia, to tutor the prince, introducing him to literature, science, medicine, and philosophy. Alexander carried his tutor’s works with him throughout his life and spread Aristotle’s philosophies to Persia and other eastern territories, where they became influential in the development of religious, theological, and philosophical thought.