Alexander The Great

Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) is known to be one of the most famous conquerors at all time. Yet he did so much when he was so young. Born to King Phillip of Macedonia and Queen Olympia, Alexander was tutored by none other than Aristotle. Taught with other children, Alexander met his long time best friend, Hephastion. When King Phillip left Macdonia to fight rebels however, Alexander was left in charge of Macedonia, being only 16 years old. I can hardly imagine ruling one of the most (if not the most) powerful country in euro-asia, only being 16 years old. Seems pretty intense to me.

Alexander and his father never got along quite well. When Phillip divorced Olympia, Alexander left. He was allowed to come back, but he did not until Phillip was murdered (some expected Olympia was behind the assassination). Upon the death of Phillip, Alexander became King, at only 20 years of age. It's hard to imagine someone to become King who might just be getting into their college years. He had previous experience though, temporary ruling when he was 16, so that was definitely an advantage. But it also had its disadvantages: Greek cities, such as Athens and Thebes, who were content on serving Phillip, were not as comfortable being under the command of a 20 year old boy. 

Alexander continued to rule over the area, conquering Egypt, where the citizens voluntarily made him Pharoah as well as India, where he met one of his greatest battles where his horse died. Gretly upset, Alexanxder named a city after his horse, Bucephalus. He evntually died, a most mysterious death, with new theories how he gotten ill coming out periodically. He was 33 when he died, without naming a successor which eventually caused the ending of the Macedonian empire.

Alexander has always piqued my interest since he accomplished so much, much of it at quite a young age. If he hadn't died at such an early age, who knows what he might have accomplished that could have perhaps prevented the collapse of the Macedonian empire. His story is somewhat a sad one; not getting along with his father, not achieving fatherhood himself and having so much potential, yet having it taken by death. But in his short life, he left a legacy that is globally known, which reminds us to do as much as we can with the time that is given to us. If we do this, we might just get to be the next Great. 

Thanks for reading!

Information obtained through: http://faq.macedonia.org/history/alexander.the.great.html