How Alexander the Great redrew the map of the world
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CNN —By the time he died, aged just 32, he had redrawn the map of the northern hemisphere, conquering land across three continents and ruling over states from Egypt to modern-day India — over 2,000 years ago.
Since his death in 323 BCE, the world has been obsessed with Alexander the Great, who set out from his kingdom of Macedon (in modern-day Greece) at the age of 20 to conquer the mighty Persian Empire. He made it as far as the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan, and even crossed into today’s India, before dying in Babylon in today’s Iraq.
Over 2,000 years later, travelers can still see his legacy in countries as far afield as Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan — as well as Greece, of course, where, in 2024, archaeologists opened the Royal Palace of Aigai to visitors. The palace was the ceremonial hub for the Macedonian dynasty, and Alexander was crowned here following the assassination of his father, Philip II. There are dozens more sites around the globe where visitors can get close to the man — and the myth.
A mysterious death
Everyone from Cleopatra to Julius Caesar (pictured) was said to have visited Alexander's tomb.What Alexander achieved in his 32 years is “unique,” says Paul Cartledge, AG Leventis professor emeritus of Greek culture at the University of Cambridge, who adds that the Macedonian “redrew the map of the world” by force, where his father had always tried diplomacy first.
Crowned king of Macedon in 336 BCE at the age of 20, Alexander spent just two years in Europe after Philip’s assassination, shoring up his rule and putting down