This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

In the rugged mountains of Macedonia, on a summer day in 356 BCE, a child was born who would reshape the ancient world and leave an indelible mark on human history. Alexander, son of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus, entered a world already trembling with change, where the traditional Greek city-states were giving way to larger kingdoms and where the Persian Empire, though vast, was showing signs of internal weakness. The circumstances of his birth, the influences of his youth, and the extraordinary education he received would combine to produce one of history's most remarkable figures, a man whose conquests would stretch from Greece to India and whose legacy would endure for millennia.

The Macedonia of Alexander's birth was a kingdom in transformation, moving from the periphery of Greek civilization toward its center through the ambitious reforms and military innovations of his father, Philip II. Unlike the democratic city-states of southern Greece, Macedonia retained a traditional monarchy where kings ruled through personal charisma, military success, and the loyalty of noble companions. This political system, seemingly archaic compared to Athenian democracy, would prove remarkably effective for large-scale conquest and administration, providing the centralized leadership necessary for Alexander's later achievements.