This is the first publication in English of Pierre Briant"s classic short history of Alexander the Great"s conquest of the Persian empire, from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Eschewing a conventional biographical focus, this is the only book in any language that sets the rise of Alexander"s short-lived empire within the broad context of ancient Near Eastern history under Achaemenid Persian rule, as well as against Alexander"s Macedonian background. As a renowned historian of both the Macedonians and the Persians, Briant is uniquely able to assess Alexander"s significance from the viewpoint of both the conquerors and the conquered, and to trace what changed and what stayed the same as Alexander and the Hellenistic world gained ascendancy over Darius"s Persia. After a short account of Alexander"s life before his landing in Asia Minor, the book gives a brief overview of the major stages of his conquest. This background sets the stage for a series of concise thematic chapters that...