Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC)

Marble Bust in The British Museum. Alexander III of Macedon (356 – 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle until the age of 16. He ascended to the throne at age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into northwest India. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful military commanders. He died at age 33. A current Urban Legend is that at age 21 Alexander crossed over the Alps on war elephants as he headed to battle the Persians. The answer is: no. Alexander never crossed the Alps in his lifetime. (It was Hannibal, the general from Carthage, who crossed the Alps on war elephants to attack Rome during the 2nd Punic War, about a century after Alexander’s death.) At age 27 Alexander and his army crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains as he launched a campaign into the northwestern Indian subcontinent (Pakistan). He met armies which used war elephants for the first time in India. [Alexander was greatly impressed by the war elephant] He defeated armies which used war elephants in both Africa and Asia. Scanned on-site from the original marble bust in the British Museum by C.Wenman and published into the public domain 2012.