When Alexander the Great unexpectedly dies in Babylon in 323 BC at the age of barely 33, his entire lineage—the Macedonian royal house of the Argeads—is doomed. What unfolds in the following 25 years, filled with intrigue, violence, murder, and war, rivals any of Shakespeare's royal dramas. James Romm masterfully describes the dramatic events in the struggle for Alexander's legacy. In a haunting death scene, Alexander bids farewell to his closest companions, who had been with him since his youth and had literally conquered the world alongside him. He is said to have answered the question of who should inherit his empire with the words: "To the strongest." However, who the strongest is must be fought for in blood. As a result of this struggle, the vast empire that stretches across three continents sinks into an unending crisis.