Mounted in an 18 karat gold ring.

The character of Alexander the Great is born fascinating and mystifying. He was brilliant, ambitious, generous, cruel, logical, a little mad and ultimately elusive. Perhaps considered a god, Alexander III, king of Macedon and later king of Persia, was the most legendary and visionary leader the world has ever known. He was born in 356 B.C., the son of Philip II of Macedon and his headstrong queen, Olympias. While Alexander w as growing up, his father was bringing Greece under Macedonian hegemony, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Persian Empire. Alexander had extensive military training, and was tutored by Aristotle. Relations between his father and mother were often strained and born Alexander and Olympias have been implicated in the assassination of Philip II in 336 B.C. At the same time, Alexander became ruler of Macedon and leader of the unified invasion force against Persia. He led his army across the Hellespont in 334 B.C. And won a series of decisive victories which led to the ultimate downfall of the Persian king, Darius III. Alexander conquered Egypt and founded the new city, Alexandria, now a great capital of antiquity. Altogether, Alexander and his army marched as far east as India and created one of the largest unified empires ever known. At the death of Alexander, his kingdom was divided among his more ambitious followers.