Alexander the Great’s 331 BC defeat of Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela
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There are many characters from history who have been given the epithet ‘the Great’ – Cyrus II of Persia, Ramesses II of Egypt and Catherine of Russia, to name a few. But when it comes to the greatest of the great, it’s hard to look beyond Alexander, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, whose genius both as a leader and warrior led to him creating arguably thegreatest empire in the history of humankind – and all before his 30th birthday. But who was the man behind the legend, and what drove him to conquer such a vast stretch of land, from Europe through Africa, into the Middle East, and beyond, to Asia? Find out from page 28.
Heroic characters of a different kind feature throughout the issue, none more so than Irena Sendler (p41, a Polish woman whose courage and daring saw her rescue some 2,500 children from the snatches of the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.