In the pantheon of the greatest human beings who ever lived, in
terms of influencing the history of the world, Jesus Christ
“ranks” number one and Alexander the Great ranks number two, for
similar albeit different reasons. Both influenced history more
than others, and died at essentially the same age, 33. Jesus
changed Man’s perception of his relationship to God and thereby
“conquered” much of the world, while Alexander’s territorial
conquests spread democracy and the assimilation of disparate
cultures. Both were remarkable leaders who possessed super-human
qualities, including wisdom and fearlessness. In a sense their
lives were intertwined, for without the common language of
Greek, Christianity might not have spread beyond Judea to become
a world religion. The Roman Empire and the long centuries of
Byzantium are all said to be the fruits of Alexander’s
achievements too. In his short life, this young king and student
of Aristotle conquered the known world as far as India to the
east—”at the farthest end of E