Welcome to the third of four articles summarizing Philip Freeman’s Alexander the Great. In the last article, Alexander invaded Asia, forcing Darius to retreat; conquered the Near East along the Mediterranean coast; and became the pharaoh of mighty Egypt. Hearing from the Sahara Desert’s legendary Oracle that he was son of Zeus and destined to conquer the world, he had a new sense of confidence. After founding the infamous Alexandria, Egypt, Alexander was ready to invade the Persian Empire, which had been dominating the intersection of 3 continents for the past 200 years.