Alexander the Great's empire spanned three continents, and his achievements changed the entire Ancient World. But John Granger argues that for all his military prowess and conquering successes, he was one of history's greatest failures. Alexander's arrogance was largely responsible for his untimely death, and he himself was responsible for the collapse of his empire. After all, Alexander ruled a society where the king was the most important figure for the well-being of the people as a whole. If the king failed, this was reflected in the entire state. This happened in every generation of Macedonian kings for two centuries before Alexander, and happened again when he died. For the good of his people, Alexander needed an adult heir, but he had no children, and he eliminated his rivals. This was the irresponsibility of an extremely introverted person, the consequence of which was 50 years of wars after the death of Alexander and the destruction of his empire.