King of Macedon (336–323), the son of Philip II. He was a pupil of Aristotle. After his succession he invaded Achaemenid Persia, liberating the Greek cities in Asia Minor, and then defeating the Persians in Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. While in Egypt he founded Alexandria (332 bc), his first and best‐known city. He decided to rule the Persian empire in cooperation with the Persian nobles, some of whom he appointed as his governors. He went on to extend his conquests eastwards, taking Bactria and the Punjab. He died of a fever at Babylon, and his empire quickly fell apart after his death. Regarded as a god in his lifetime, he became a model for many subsequent imperialist conquerors of antiquity, and the subject of many legends.