Rise to power

Alexander was given the throne of Macedon following the death of his father Philip II, who had unified most of the city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian rule. After reconfirming Macedonian rule by quashing a rebellion of southern Greek city-states and staging a short but bloody excursion against Macedon's northern neighbours, Alexander set out east against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which he defeated and overthrew. His conquests included Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia , and he extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as Punjab, India.