Page 29 - History of War - Issue 01-14

Great Battles
HoW01.Great battles.indd
M
GA
U
E
L
A
GA
GAUGAMELA
Greek and Persian Wars: By 334BC, the Persians were the
dominant force in Asia. But that year saw the fi rst of three
battles between the Empire and the Macedonians, led by
the ambitious King Alexander. They would culminate in an
almighty confl ict that would change the course of history
LEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON, fi rst opportunity to gain an advantage came in
was a man to be feared and 334BC when he encountered an army of Greek
respected. Tutored by the brilliant mercenaries – in the service of the Persian
philosopher Aristotle until the Great King Darius III – on the banks of the River
A age of 16 and raised on the epic Granicus in Anatolia (Asia Minor). Arriving with
poetry of Homer, he had gone on to succeed 15,000 men, the Greek Commander Memnon
his father, Philip II – assassinated at his was confi dent of repelling this young upstart. He
daughter’s wedding – when he was 20. (It is hadn’t reckoned with Alexander’s rugged tenacity
suspected that Philip’s wife, Olympias, ordered and tactical awareness (not to mention the size
the murder because of his army, which
Philip had taken ALEXANDER SET outnumbered the
another wife from mercenaries by some
nobility, threatening ABOUT FULFILLING HIS 3,000 men), and the
her son Alexander’s defenders suffered a
ascendancy to the FATHER'S DREAM OF comprehensive defeat.
throne.) Inspired Suddenly, Darius
by the Greek hero CRUSHING THE VAST was forced to sit
Hercules, Alexander up and take notice,
had then set about PERSIAN EMPIRE and even more so
fulfi lling his father’s when most of the
dream of crushing the vast and dominant cities in Anatolia surrendered to the marauding
Persian Empire, which stretched from the Macedonian army, fortifying Alexander’s
Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. stronghold in the region. (Darius had, for some
But his fi rst task was to quell rebellions from time, suffered from dissent within his Empire.
tribes within his own borders – something he It comprised numerous religions and cultures,
achieved without once succumbing to defeat. many of which had been oppressed by the King.)
No wonder he earned the nickname “the Great”. When Alexander advanced on Cilicia, the
After replenishing his army, Alexander set south-coastal region of Anatolia and an ideal
his sights on overcoming the Persians. His
his sights on overcoming the Persians. His position for striking either towards Egypt or
The facts
WHO On one side, Alexander the Great (356–323BC) and PERSIAN
his battered Macedonian army. On the other, the Persian MACEDONIA EMPIRE
Great King Darius III (380–330BC) and his massed ranks,
Great King Darius III (380–330BC) and his massed ranks,
who outnumbered the Macedonians almost two to one.
WHERE On a wide expanse of levelled land at Gaugamela,
near the city of Arbela in what is now northern Iraq.
WHEN 1 October 331BC GAUGAMELA
WHY To Alexander and the Greeks before him, the Persian BABYLON
Empire was the very defi nition of world power. That taken,
Alexander and his army would neither face nor fear a rival.
OUTCOME While the Persians had a vast numerical
advantage, Alexander’s strategic acumen and the
camaraderie between his soldiers (as opposed to the
Persians, who were made of different cultures and
religions) gave the Macedonians an unlikely victory.
HISTORY WAR 29
of
29 29/01/2014 18:37