Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, is often regarded as the greatest military commanders of all time. From an early, he was destined for greatness. At the age of 20, in 336, he inherited the powerful empire of Macedon from his father King Philip II, which by then controlled Greece and had already started to progress through Asia. In 334 he invaded Persia, and within a decade he had defeated the Persians, subdued Egypt, and pushed on to Iran, Afghanistan and even India. Alexander the Great conquered vast amounts of land, and controlled the largest empire the world had ever seen at the time (approximately 5.2 million square kilometres). There was no doubt he was a military genius, with the god-king able to boast the accolade of never having lost a battle in his entire military campaign. However, the legitimacy of Alexander's title of "Great " is questionable by the standards of today due to the prospect of propaganda and the influence which Alexander has exerted throughout history -an influence which will no doubt continue. Whilst Alexander III deserves the title of ˜Great' due to his successful military exploits and expansion of the Macedonian Empire, at the same time the powerful empire he inherited from King Philip II did not survive following his death. Alexander overextended himself, and transformed the vision of an empire his pragmatist father had built to endure and prosper. As a result, his premature death led to dissension and internal rivalry throughout the Macedonian Empire. The fall of the Macedonian Empire following the death of Alexander is very controversial as it was an empire built by King Philip II to survive. For all the military accolades attributed to Alexander the Great, his self-centred attitude to kingship meant he was more concerned with his own glory than the future of the dynasty. .
If it had not been for the imperial achievements of King Philip II and his ability to recognise the importance of succession, Alexander the Great's legacy might have proved as ephemeral as had those of so many earlier Macedonian rulers.
