Bust of Alexander the Great, 340-330 BCE

This bust of Alexander the Great was sculpted in his lifetime.

Alexander the Great was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia in the 4th century BCE. In only 11 years of campaigning, Alexander the Great amassed the most extensive empire the world had ever seen. It sprawled over three continents, from Alexander’s native Macedonia in Greece, Europe, into northern Africa and across western Asia to India. Alexander vanquished Persian armies in major battles at Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, and brought the old Persian empire under his rule. In 333 he conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria in 331. He died in Babylon in 323 BCE at the age of 33.