Alexander the Great: the hunt for a new past

Abstract

There is really no need for any special justification, let alone apology for a new history of Alexander; he is one of those very few iconic figures who remade the world and constantly inspire us to remake our own worlds. Born in 356BCE in Macedonia, present day Thessaloniki, Alexander led the army of his father, King Philip, conquering mainland Greece at the age of eighteen. Two years later, he was himself crowned king. Within the next twelve years Alexander conquered almost the entire known world, pushing the limits of Greek and Macedonian power to astonishing levels. Under his leadership, the Greeks defeated the Persians three times, including the world-shattering battle of Gaugamela at which 1 million Persians took to the field against his army. At the age of only 26 Alexander had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire and by the time of his death in 323 he was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks, both at Babylon, where he died, and further west, among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. Meticulously researched, vividly written and bringing to bear a lifetime's scholarship, this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history.

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