Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Empires

Alexander III (356-323 BC), or Alexander the Great was Macedonian king and son of Philip II of Macedon and an Epirote princess named Olympias. Alexander was tutored by Aristotle in science and the political arts, and he received a complete education in military tactics and strategy from the great Macedonian generals, Antipater and Parmenion. He had his first diplomatic experience while he was still a child, when he received the ambassadors of Persia during his father's absence. At the age of eighteen he led the Macedonian cavalry in a victorious charge which won the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. 

Alexander's empire quickly fell apart after his death due to possibly malaria. There arose several Greco-Macedonian kingdoms across the East. There was the Ptolematic East, the Seludic Empire, and the Greek Bactria.

Alexander's officers and the ordinary soldiers were in dispute over what to do for the heir of Alexander's empire. Alexander's officers thought they should wait for Roxanne's baby. If it was a boy, he would rule when he was old enough. The ordinary soldiers, on the other hand, wanted to give the throne to Alexander's half-brother. They finally agreed to let Roxanne's child and Alexander's half-brother have a joint rule.

An in-depth look at the Hellenistic Empires