Alexander the Great

A great military general, one who conquered almost all of the known world for Greece. In 334 BC, he crossed from Greece into Asia Minor (now Turkey) and conquered the armies of the Medes and Persians. He then went as far south as Egypt, which he took without a battle. There he founded Alexandria, today the second-largest city of Egypt. He traveled across Israel to Babylonia and all the way to India. His army refused to go any farther, and he was forced to stop. He died at age thirty-two of a fever. Because of Alexander the Great, Greek became the common language in most of the known world. This was important in the spread of the gospel after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Most scholars think the king of Greece whom the Old Testament prophet Daniel mentions in his book was Alexander the Great.