Alexander III The Great 356 - 323 BC

King of Macedonia who conquered the Persian Empire. Deified as one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Son of Philip II of Macedonia and Princess Olympias of Epirus. Alexander, a student of Aristotle, commanded the Macedonian cavalry during the battle at Chaeroea in 338 B.C. while still in his teens. At 20, he succeeded his father as King of Macedonia upon the elder's assassination. After quieting a rebellion in Thebes, Alexander's powerful army conquered Darius III's inferior Persian troops before moving into Egypt to free the Egyptians from Persian rule. Alexander met with Persian resistance again and at the Battle of Gaugamela he forced Darius's army eastward before capturing Babylon, then Susa and Persepolis. In 326 B.C. he defeated Porus, the prince of India. Alexander died from malaria at the height of his reign and his plan to combine Asia and Europe into one country was never realized.