Alexander the Great, Alexander the Third, king of the ancient state of Macedon,

aka Macedonia, often heralded as one of history's greatest military commanders.

But he wasn't only that.

He was also a scholar, a lover of literature and the arts, a deeply religious man,

and someone who had thousands and thousands of people killed.

undefeated and battle he unleashed his army on country's great and small to forge an empire

that stretched over three continents from Greece to India as far south as Egypt.

He did all this in little more than a decade after taking power at the age of 20

until his untimely death at the age of just 32.

Alexander the Great was so great at destroying his opponents, his military tactics and

strategies are still being studied in military academies today.

But his conquests aren't all that make Alexander a fascinating person.

His parents, Philip and Olympias had their own fascinating lives.

Alexander's close friends from childhood, including his best friend,

his feisty end would become Alexander's generals and trusted advisors.

And together they would battle a variety, a formidable and fascinating opponents on battlefields

and exotic lands. They'd only heard whispers about before actually seeing them for themselves.

In a culture that valued war over all else, Alexander prevailed by being the best at conquering.

He did whatever was necessary to win and sometimes did things that maybe weren't so necessary.

Cities were sometimes completely destroyed, priceless artifacts obliterated,

all according to Alexander's sometimes mercurial will.

So what made Alexander so great, what were Alexander's early influences,

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