Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), king of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire, transformed the ancient Near East in ways that shaped the background of the later Old Testament period and the entire New Testament world. Though not named in the canonical text, he is widely understood to be the figure represented in Daniel's visions — the notable horn of the he-goat (Dan. 8) whose swift conquests from west to east mirror his campaigns against Persia, and whose sudden death and division of his kingdom among four successors corresponds to the Diadochi kingdoms.

Alexander's spread of Greek language and culture (Hellenization) created the linguistic environment in which the Septuagint was translated and the New Testament was written. His founding of Alexandria in Egypt established the city that became a major center of Jewish diaspora life and early Christian scholarship.