In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written
for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip
Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror.
The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures
in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two
thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics,
from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed
across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out
quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the
greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found
as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded.
Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that
would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander
had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced
formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking
command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian empire, and
continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far
east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India.
Alexander spent nearly all his adult life away from his homeland, and he
and his men helped spread the Greek language throughout western Asia,
where it would become the lingua franca of the ancient world. Within a
short time after Alexander's death in Baghdad, his empire began to
fracture. Best known among his successors are the Ptolemies of Egypt,
whose empire lasted until Cleopatra.
In his lively and authoritative biography of Alexander, classical
scholar and historian Philip Freeman describes Alexander's astonishing
achievements and provides insight into the mercurial character of the
great conqueror. Alexander could be petty and magnanimous, cruel and
merciful, impulsive and farsighted. Above all, he was ferociously,
intensely competitive and could not tolerate losing--which he rarely
did. As Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on
the ancient world would surely not have been as great as it was, even if
his motivation was not to spread Greek culture for beneficial purposes
but instead to unify his empire. Only a handful of people have
influenced history as Alexander did, which is why he continues to
fascinate us.
