An illustration of Alexander the Great and the Niece of Artaxerxes III from c.1470-1475. Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a Greek king who conquered the Persian Empire. In this image, Alexander sits enthroned at a banquet table, talking to one of the women he noticed among the Persian captives. As she kneels before him, he recognizes her as the niece of Artaxerxes III, an earlier king of Persia. He orders an attendant to return her belongings (the wooden casket) and also orders a search for her husband, who may be the man in the long blue robe.