One of the most famous figures of Western history, Alexander the Great, son of Philip II of Macedon, lived, and died–under uncertain circumstances when not quite 33 years of age–in the 4th century BCE. His father, through a combination of military skill and diplomatic craft, including a number of strategic marriages, saved the Macedonian kingdom from being overrun by its more powerful neighbors while still himself a young man. Alexander, who was tutored as a youth by Aristotle, ascended to the throne at the age of 20, after his father was assassinated.