In the wake of the Peloponnesian War, King Philip II of Macedonia, moved to conquer all the Greek city-states, uniting all of Greece with the exception of Sparta.
When Philip II was killed by a Persian assassin, his son Alexander the Great rose to the throne and launched one of the most legendary military campaigns in history, completely destroying the Persian Empire, conquering Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and even invading India.
Alexander died in 323 BC at the age of 32, having made the Macedonian Empire one of the largest polities in history. He is usually regarded as the greatest general of all time and one of the most influential people in history. He is responsible for spreading Greek culture throughout much of the world, launching what is known as the Hellenistic Era (from "Ελλάς," the Greek word for Greece.)
Upon Alexander's death, his empire was divided among his various generals. Eventually, three main partitions developed: the Ptolemaic Kingdom (named after Ptolemy Soter), encompassing Egypt and Palestine; the Seleucid Kingdom (named after Seleucus Nicator), encompassing Mesopotamia and Persia; and the Antigonid Kingdom (named after Antigonus Monophthalmus), encompassing Macedonia and parts of Greece.
.jpg)