Conqueror and king of Macedonia, Alexander the Great was born on July 20, 356 B.C., in Pella, in the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. During his leadership, from 336 to 323 B.C., he united the Greek city-states and led the Corinthian League. He also became the king of Persia, Babylon and Asia, and created Macedonian colonies in the region. While he had a short, albeit eventful, life, he wide-ranging conquests served to spread Greek culture throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Western Asia, so that it could be claimed that his reign marked the advent of Hellenism.