Alexander the Great was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia in the 4th century B.C. In a mere 11 years of campaigning, Alexander the Great amassed the most extensive empire the world had ever seen. It sprawled over three continents, from Alexander's native Macedonia in Greece, Europe, into northern Africa and across western Asia to India. The youthful monarch vanquished Persian armies in major battles staged at Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, and brought the old Persian empire under his rule. He died in Babylon in 323 B.C. at the age of 33.

Part of a greater relief that presumably depicted the battle of Issus, the original is exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Greece.