Alexander, son of Philip I of Macedonia, was born in 356 BC and educated by Aristotle. He became king of Macedonia in 336, destroyed his rivals and suppressed the Greek city states. Two years later he crossed the Hellespont with a Macedonian and Greek army of 43,000 foot and 5500 horse, defeated the Persians and conquered the Near East. Egypt and Babylon surrendered without a fight. Between 330 and 327 he subdued Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush, establishing Hellenistic settlements and kingdoms the remains of which are visible today. By 325 when he had conquered most of what is now Pakistan, the Punjab and India, he returned to Persepolis to consolidate his administration and prepare further conquests. From these he was prevented by his death in 323. In one decade he had transformed the world. The first half of Claude Mosse’s book describes the progress of Alexander’s career and the second its effects on the history of the ancient, medieval and modern world. Mosse investigates the creation and evolution of Alexander’s image over the centuries. From the illustrious son of Zeus down to the absolute monarch idealized by Louis XIV, from the valiant knight of the Crusaders to the Moslem philosopher-king, the author reveals the gamut of contrasts that make up the legend of this extraordinary hero of history and myth.