Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was born in Pella, the capital of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon on July 20th, 356 BC. He was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Olympias, who was a noblewoman from Epirus.
Philip II was born in 382 BC and died in 336 BC at age 62 years old. He became king in 359 BC when he overthrew Perdiccas III and took over the throne.
Philip II was married to Olympias and had two children with her: Alexander and Cleopatra (who died young). However, it is not known who was the mother of Alexander. Some historians think it may have been Cleopatra IV or Roxana (Roxane). The truth is that we don’t know for sure because there are no records left behind by ancient writers like Herodotus or Plutarch on this subject.
Alexander ascended to the throne after his father died in 336 BC. He took over control of Macedon and conquered most of the Greek city states. In 334 BC, he defeated Darius III in the Battle of Issus and captured his capital at Persepolis. Alexander then marched through Egypt, where he founded Alexandria (named after himself). After this, he marched down the Indus valley toward India before turning back due to a mutiny among his troops. He returned home via Babylon, where he planned to build another great city named after himself. However, he died shortly afterwards at age 32 from illness or poisoning.
