The rise of the Macedonians to the dominant power in Greece began around the mid-4th century BC and laid the foundation for the emergence of Hellenism – that epoch in which the ancient world was fundamentally reshaped. Alexander the Great became the driving force of this process from 336 BC, when he created a realm of unprecedented size through military conquests. Although his early death (322 BC) was immediately followed by the disintegration of the empire, the Hellenization of the territories could no longer be stopped. In his book, Peter Scholz presents a grand historical panorama that spans from the Macedonian kings through Alexander, the Diadochi, and their successors, to the downfall of the last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra VII (30 BC). He takes his readers to the courts of the Hellenistic rulers, where their splendor unfolds.