A few hundred years before the time of Christ, a young man lived who practically owned the world. His father had inherited a kingdom in Macedonia at the age of 24, and expanded the kingdom considerably through military campaigns. In 336 B.C., the father was assassinated. At the age of 20, his son ascended to the throne of a then-sizable kingdom in northern Greece.

Shortly after he inherited the throne, there were rumors of revolt in various parts of the kingdom. The young man proved to be an astute ruler and brilliant general. He marched immediately to some areas, putting down rebellions quickly and ruthlessly. After consolidating power and training his troops for about two years, he was ready for conquest.

Persia was the dominant power at the time, with military forces far greater than that of the Greeks and Macedonians. Nevertheless, the young ruler attacked the Persian forces, meeting an army of about 600,000 assembled by the Persian king Darius.

Outnumbered 10 to 1, the Greeks maneuvered the Persians into a battle in a narrow plain between two mountains, thus neutralizing the size advantage of the Persians. The Macedon ian leader led a cavalry charge himself, routing the Persian forces. The Persian king fled the field.

The young Macedonian king was admired by his troops for his brilliant military strategy and great courage. He was also feared because of his terrible temper and insatiable thirst for more power. His desire for conquest knew no bounds. His name was Alexander of Macedonia. Today, of course, we know him as Alexander the Great.

Even the world wasn't enough

After the rout of the Persian forces, Alexander turned his attention to the island kingdom of Tyre, considered unconquerable because of its high walls and location off the coast. Nevertheless, Alexander and his forces conquered Tyre through use of new equipment and methods of siege warfare.

Next, Alexander marched into Egypt, one of the vassal nations of Persia. Alexander was greeted as a savior by the Egyptians and was actually anointed by them as the next pharaoh.

Meanwhile, King Darius of Persia had assembled another massive army to confront Alexander, this time outnumbering the Greeks by a factor of about 5 to 2.

Alexander, in response, marched his army deep into Persian territory to what is now Iraq during the year 331 B.C. and, once again executing brilliant military strategy, defeated the Persian army for a second time.

Darius again fled the field and was eventually killed by some of his own men. Alexander moved into Nebuchadnezzar's palace in Babylon and then ventured east into Persia itself, capturing the city of Persepolis, which contained the royal Persian treasury. Alexander was now the richest man in the world.

In 326 B.C., Alexander moved on to attack India. The Indus River stood in his way, considered too deep and swift to allow construction of a bridge. Yet Alexander and his troops crossed the river anyway, probably by lashing together many small boats to serve as a temporary bridge.

The Indian army boasted the use of many war elephants, considered a fearsome and virtually indestructible foe. Alexander once again made use of a small battlefield to restrict the movement of his enemy and defeated the Indian army.

No more worlds to conquer

Alexander, now only 30 years old and undefeated in battle, ruled the entire known world. If historical legend is correct, when Alexander was told there were no worlds left to conquer, he sat down and wept.

He wished to continue to the east, but after moving a short distance into the Himalayan Mountains, his troops convinced him to turn back. He returned to the palace at Babylon and died of a fever just before his 33rd birthday.

Alexander had all the fame, power and wealth a human being could possibly have, and yet his short life was marked by the constant craving for more. He never paused to be thankful for his incredible possessions and power and lived his life wanting more. Impossible as it seems, the entire world was not enough for him. GN