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Series
The Alexander Trilogy follows Alexander of Macedon from his childhood at Philip II's court to the creation of an empire stretching from Greece and Egypt to Central Asia and India. The first volume traces the family, education and political violence that form the young prince; the later books follow his campaigns against Persia and the increasingly difficult effort to govern the territories he has conquered.
The sequence combines military history with a biographical portrait of ambition, companionship and kingship. Alexander's relationships with Olympias, Philip, Aristotle, Hephaestion, Ptolemy and his senior commanders develop alongside sieges, battles and desert marches, while victory steadily isolates him from the Macedonian customs and comrades that first carried him to power.
Reading order
Macedon, 356 BC. Alexander is born into the turbulent marriage of King Philip II and Olympias, a princess whose fierce religious convictions encourage her son to believe that an exceptional destiny awaits him. As Philip reforms the Macedonian army and extends his power across Greece, Alexander…
Alexander crosses into Asia at the head of the Macedonian army and begins the campaign intended to break the power of Darius III. Victories at the Granicus and Issus open the eastern Mediterranean, but fortified cities, Persian naval strength and the resistance of Tyre and Gaza…
Alexander defeats the last great Persian army, enters Babylon and takes possession of the ceremonial capitals of the Achaemenid Empire. The destruction of Persepolis and the death of Darius remove the enemy against whom the expedition was launched, but Alexander refuses to stop. He pursues resistance…