Alexander the Great dies. Alexander the Great, the young Macedonian military genius who conquered an empire that stretched from the eastern Mediterranean to India, dies in Babylon at the age of 33. Son of King Philip II of Macedon, he had received a classical education from Aristotle himself and at 16 had led his first troops into battle. Having ascended to the throne in 336 BC after his father’s assassination, two years later he set out to conquer the world. In his great military campaigns he was never defeated in battle. He founded important cities such as Alexandria in Egypt and spread the Greek model of civilization, introducing important changes. Upon returning from a campaign in the East, he fell ill and died, without having chosen a successor. His gigantic empire quickly collapsed.
