Alexander (Born: July 20, 356 B.C.), also known as Alexander III, was an ancient Greek king (basileus) of Macedon (336–323 B.C.). He was one of the most successful military commanders in history and was undefeated in battle. By the time of his death he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks. Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria, and Mesopotamia, and extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as Punjab, India. Prior to his death, Alexander had already made plans for military and mercantile expansions into to the Arabian peninsula, after which he was to turn his armies to the west (Carthage, Rome, and the Iberian Peninsula). His original vision had been to the east, though, to the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea, as described by his boyhood tutor Aristotle. He died in the palace of Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar II after twelve years of constant military campaigning. God prophesied, through Daniel, the reign of a Greek conqueror and what would happen to his family and vast empire after his death: "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power." (Daniel 8:21-22, NKJV) "Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these." (Daniel 11:3-4, NKJV) After his death in 323 B.C. Alexander's world-ruling kingdom was not passed on to one of his two sons nor was the unified kingdom ruled by others in his family. Instead, his kingdom was divided up between his four chief generals ("the four winds of heaven"): Ptolemy I Soter took possession of Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh. The Ptolemaic dynasty of rule lasted until 30 B.C. Antipater assumed the government of Macedonia but died so after. His son Cassander eventually became king (305 B.C.). - Seleucus took over Babylon, Persia, Mesopotamia and adjacent areas. He was founder of the Seleucid Empire.
Antigonus declared himself king of Asia Minor in 306 B.C. and founded the Antigonid dynasty of rule. The dynasty lasted until 168 B.C.
Not long after Alexander the Great's death his family came to a tragic end: His wife Statira was murdered by his other wife Roxana. His brother Aridaeus, after ruling for slightly more than six years, was murdered along with his wife. The murder was carried out by the command of Olympias, Alexander’s mother. Olympias was murdered by soldiers in revenge for her having Aridaeus killed. His son Alexander Aegus, together with his mother Roxana, were slain by order of General Cassander. His other son Hercules, with his mother Barsine, were privately murdered by Polysperchon. |
