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Synopsis Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), who reigned as king of Macedonia for only thirteen years, set a flame of conquest that introduced the dynamism of Hellenism to the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian worlds and established a standard of leadership and military conquest that was the envy of the most successful of Roman Emperors, medieval knights, and Steppe barbarians. Julius Caesar wept that he could not surpass Alexander, while Napoleon could only dream of such invincibility.

Alexander had the great fortune to be born the able son of Philip II, one of the most talented men of war and politics produced by the Hellenic world, who created for Alexander the foundation of the Macedonian state and army, the tools of his future greatness. Alexander's invincibility was the product of profound genius, physical perfection, boundless energy, imagination, daring intellect, and vision. He was a master tactician, strategist, logistician, diplomat, and statesman who had the ability to win the affection and obedience of others. Even his enemies were quick to fall victim to his valor and charm. His personal attributes and accomplishments were so far removed from those of ordinary men that he achieved almost godlike status within his lifetime. Above all, he was the penultimate man of war, one of history's greatest soldiers and generals.