In October 331 BC, from the palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, Alexander of Macedon sent a letter to his mother Olympias, addressing himself as “King Alexander, the son of Zeus Amun.” His mother’s reply was a caution not to give himself such lofty titles, an early indication of the tension between his growing ego and familial influence.

By that time, Alexander had been on a sweeping military campaign for five years, following the assassination of his father, Philip II. Covering some 2,000 miles, he had conquered vast stretches of Asia Minor, twice defeated Darius III, the Persian Great King, and captured key cities, including Babylon and Egypt where he was named pharaoh and hailed as a god. His conquests extended across modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and into the Punjab, temporarily halting only when his exhausted troops mutinied, compelling him to turn back.

Alexander's image was meticulously crafted through a new form of propaganda. A historian accompanied him to chronicle his exploits, and cities bearing his name were established along his route. Coins portrayed him with heroic features, drawing associations with Hercules, who was claimed as his ancestor. Despite this, Alexander reportedly disliked having his portrait painted, a fact highlighted by a story where his horse, Bucephalus, reacted more favorably to a depiction than he did.

His acceptance of Egyptian declarations naming him the son of their god Amun stirred controversy, even casting doubt on his mother’s reputation. The legend of Alexander bearing the god’s horns beneath his hair persisted for centuries, with a bronze portrait from AD 200 found in Denmark reflecting this imagery.

Alexander’s military success was due in part to the disciplined and formidable army built by his father and powered by Alexander’s leadership. His troops, trained in the phalanx formation with long spears, proved nearly unbeatable on the battlefield. Victories sometimes resulted from innovative engineering feats, such as the construction of a massive causeway to breach the island city of Tyre.

His campaign was also marked by moments of excess. After sacking Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, he held a drinking competition that ended in the death of the winner from alcohol poisoning. Alexander was known to reward his soldiers lavishly; following a large mass marriage arranged for his troops, he shouldered their debts and gambling losses, a payout dwarfing the treasury he inherited.

Alexander died in Babylon eight years after his conquest began, following wounds sustained in battle and reportedly after bouts of heavy drinking. Recent scholarship suggests his death may have been due to typhoid fever rather than alcohol alone.

Historians continue to study Alexander’s life, drawing from sources in multiple ancient languages and recent archaeological discoveries to provide deeper insights into his campaigns and the wider world he shaped. Despite the controversy surrounding his brutality—including the destruction of cities and mass casualties estimated at nearly one percent of the world’s population at the time—Alexander remains recognized as one of history’s greatest military leaders, whose legacy significantly influenced the course of Western and Eastern civilizations.