At eighteen Alexander had conquered mainland Greece, was crowned King of Macedonia at twenty and by twenty-six he had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire. By the time of his death, aged only thirty-three, in 323BCE he was ruler of the known world and was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks, both at Babylon, where he died, and further west, among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. The fruit of a lifetime’s scholarship and meticulous research, this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history. ''A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure'' Saul David, Sunday Telegraph ''A revealing, often enthralling search . . . [a] restless, exhilarating book'' Observer ''Fascinating . . . blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale'' Tom Holland, author of Rubicon ''Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement and of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly, it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction'' Norman DaviesAt eighteen Alexander had conquered mainland Greece, was crowned King of Macedonia at twenty and by twenty-six he had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire. By the time of his death, aged only thirty-three, in 323BCE he was ruler of the known world and was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks, both at Babylon, where he died, and further west, among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. The fruit of a lifetime’s scholarship and meticulous research, this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history. ''A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure'' Saul David, Sunday Telegraph ''A revealing, often enthralling search . . . [a] restless, exhilarating book'' Observer ''Fascinating . . . blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale'' Tom Holland, author of Rubicon ''Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement and of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly, it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction'' Norman Davies