Tristan Hughes

The ships are fooled to the brim with soldiers and horses.

Supplies of food, weapons and armour are also not too far away, vital cargo for the campaign ahead.

The soldiers wear tunics, not armour.

They're not expecting any attack.

For many, this would have been the first time they had ever been on board a ship.

They're anxious to reach dry land as soon as possible.

The horses likewise are eager for a return to terra firma and the freedom to stretch their legs and graze once more.

Thankfully, the voyage is short.

Soon enough, thousands of men and mounts will disembark onto Asian soil, ready to follow their leader on his most daring campaign to date.

Their leader is a young king, standing at the prow of his own ship.

Barely in his twenties, he oozes with confidence.

He is dressed in splendid royal armour, a purpled cloak, and a lion-shaped helmet topped by a crest, with white plumes protruding out either side.

His eyes are intensely focused on the coastline that's fast approaching.

Asia.

This is a king who has already sent shockwaves across his kingdom, winning battles, destroying one of the great cities of Greece and purging political enemies.

A warlord who is not to be underestimated.

His name is Alexander, King Alexander III of Macedon.

Soon enough, Alexander's ship nears its own special landing site, a deserted stretch of sandy coastline some distance from where the rest of his invasion force is headed.

But close to a site this young king has dreamed about visiting for years.

The fabled city of Troy, where great Homeric heroes like Achilles, Odysseus and Hector battled all those centuries before.