Conqueror of the world

This new book about Alexander the Great differs from most other publications on the subject because its author doesn't just provide a scholarly historical account of the great and sometimes almost superhuman deeds of the young Macedonian king, who defeated his Greek, Persian, and Indian opponents in battles where victory seemed impossible. With a deep appreciation for historical facts, the author vividly portrays Alexander in a convincingly lifelike way, as a man of extraordinary ability, distinguished by the strength, wisdom, and generosity of his plans to conquer the world and create a great empire of prosperity and equality among nations. However, the author is equally adept at capturing him in moments of human imperfection, unwise decisions, doubts, missteps, and even reprehensible acts. It also offers the reader a chance to delve into Alexander's most intimate experiences and emotional outbursts, allowing us to see him in a credible blend of exceptional abilities—stemming from his extraordinary physical and mental maturity and education—and destructive tendencies, bursts of passion, and finally, the great love that allows him to rise above mere physical indulgence. The hero is a great ancient commander and ruler, but he remains a man in the full complexity of human nature, even though, with his growing successes, he himself began to succumb to the smug belief that he was a god. It was his premature death that brought him out of this delusion. The book is a fictionalised depiction of the dramatic events of the birth of the Macedonian kingdom, whose rise to power was completed by King Philip II of Macedon through his conquests of neighbouring principalities and, finally, his domination of Greece, which he unified within the League of Corinth for a planned campaign against Persia. However, just before leaving for the war, he was assassinated by a member of his bodyguard during his daughter Cleopatra's wedding. Who was behind this assassination has never been reliably clarified. The rejected queen Olympias, mother of Alexander, the heir to the throne whom Philip had begun to sideline, was also suspected, as was Alexander himself, for whom Philip's death opened the way to power. The book charts Alexander the Great's journey to conquer the entire Persian Empire, following his thrilling life right up to the moment of his sudden death.