At eighteen Alexander had conquered mainland Greece, was crowned King of Macedonia at twenty and by twenty-six he had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire. By the time of his death, aged only thirty-three, in 323BCE he was ruler of the known world and was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks, both at Babylon, where he died, and further west, among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. The fruit of a lifetime’s scholarship and meticulous research, this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history.

'A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure' Saul David, Sunday Telegraph

'A revealing, often enthralling search . . . [a] restless, exhilarating book' Observer

'Fascinating . . . blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale' Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

'Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement and of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly, it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction' Norman Davies

At eighteen Alexander had conquered mainland Greece, was crowned King of Macedonia at twenty and by twenty-six he had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire. By the time of his death, aged only thirty-three, in 323BCE he was ruler of the known world and was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks, both at Babylon, where he died, and further west, among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. The fruit of a lifetime’s scholarship and meticulous research, this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history.

'A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure' Saul David, Sunday Telegraph

'A revealing, often enthralling search . . . [a] restless, exhilarating book' Observer

'Fascinating . . . blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale' Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

'Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement and of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly, it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction' Norman Davies

'A more deserving subject for a biography it is hard to imagine...This is a hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure.' Saul David, Sunday Telegraph

'A revealing, often enthralling search ... [a] restless, exhilarating book' Observer

'Paul Cartledge is one of those rare scholars who can convey the excitement of both a soaring historical narrative and the careful sifting of sources on which history depends. His fascinating new book blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle and deeply intriguing detective tale' Tom Holland

'Paul Cartledge gives us a cool, modern portrait of an ancient sacred monster who never knew when to stop, and never did, until the day he died.' Frederic Raphael

'Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement and of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly, it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction.' Norman Davies

Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History at the University of Cambridge, has written and edited many articles and books, including Spartan Reflections, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta and The Spartans, published by Macmillan. He has acted as academic consultant on The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization for the BBC and The Spartans for Channel 4.

Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History at the University of Cambridge, has written and edited many articles and books, including Spartan Reflections, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta and The Spartans, published by Macmillan. He has acted as academic consultant on The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization for the BBC and The Spartans for Channel 4.