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Alexander the
Great (in Greek Μέγας Αλέξανδρος, also
Αλέξανδρος Ο Μέγας', transliterated Megas
Alexandros) (Alejandro Magno or "El Grande" in
Spanish) was born in Pella, Macedon, in July,
356 BC, died in Babylon, on June 10, 323 BC,
King of Macedon 336–323 BC, is arguably the most
successful military commander in world history,
conquering most of the known world before his
death. He is also known in Eastern traditions as
Dhul-Qarnayn (the two-horned one), apparently
due to an image on coins minted during his rule
that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's
horns of the Egyptian god Ammon ( under
Lysimachus ) .
Following the unification of the multiple
city-states of ancient Greece under the rule of
his father, Philip II of Macedon, (a labor
Alexander had to repeat twice because the
southern Greeks rebelled after Philip's death),
Alexander conquered the Persian Empire,
including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Gaza,
Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia and extended the
boundaries of his own empire as far as the
Punjab. Alexander integrated foreigners
(non-Macedonians, non-Greeks) into his army and
administration, leading some scholars to credit
him with a "policy of fusion." He encouraged
marriage between his army and foreigners, and
practiced it himself. After twelve years of
constant military campaigning, Alexander died,
possibly of malaria, typhoid or a viral
encephalitis. His conquests ushered in centuries
of Macedonian and Greek settlement and rule over
foreign areas, a period known as the Hellenistic
Age. Alexander himself lived on in the history
and myth of both Western and Eastern cultures.
Already during his lifetime, and especially
after his death, his exploits inspired a
literary tradition in which he appears as a
towering legendary hero in the tradition of
Achilles.
Alexander was one of the most educated and
cultured people of the Ancient World. His
principal teacher was Aristotle. He was a
protector and promoter of arts and science,
cultural exchanges between peoples of his
empire. He restored temples destroyed by earlier
conquerors, he built about 70 cities.
-Grandson of Amyntas II (or III), King of
Macedon
-Son of Philip II, King of Macedon and Olympia.
-Half brother of Philip III King of Macedon
-Posthumous Father of Alexander IV by his
wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria.
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