Sites about Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.), the Great. The son of Philip II, Alexander defeated the armies of the Persian Empire and went on to conquer one of the largest empires of antiquity. While on an expedition, he contracted a fever, and died in Babylon at the age of 32, after which his empire was divided between the generals collectively called the Diadochi: Ptolemy, Seleukos, Perdikkas, Antigonos, Kassandros, and others. As a popular figure, he is alternately remembered as a megalomaniacal conqueror and as romantic young hero struck down in his youth. Historically, Alexander the Great is significant as the chief agent for the spread of Greek civilization throughout the eastern Mediterranean and the founding of great cities such as Alexandria, Egypt.