The first victorious engagement of Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Persian Empire established the Macedonians on enemy soil. Learn More; Citizen Input Needed: Comprehensive Plans Other national contingents occupied the centre, numerous and picked for their valour. Learn More; Coweta Transfer Station Update. Wins Battle of the Granicus River against Darius III of Persia: 333 B.C. [7] The Persians advanced from Zelea to the Granicus River, which would be an obstacle for Alexander and his army. City Businesses Invited to Attend Free Virtual Workshops on Business Topics of Interest. Military History. It allowed Alexander to replenish his empty supply stores and encouraged some key Greek states to rebel against the Persians. Alexander's second-in-command, Parmenion, suggested crossing the river upstream and attacking at dawn the next day, but Alexander attacked immediately. The Persian army hurried to the location of Alexander's crossing, with the cavalry reaching the scene of the battle first before the slower infantry, and then the battle continued largely as described by the Arrian and Plutarch accounts. Half died in battle; the rest were sent as chained slaves to work in Macedonian mines. Help Battle Food Insecurity With Virtual Donations, Volunteerism. Towards the end of this battle, Alexander buried the Persian commanders and the Greek mercenaries who were killed fighting on the side of the enemy. Founds Alexandria. Losses: Macedonian, 400 dead and 2,000 wounded of 40,000; Persian, 5,000 dead and 2,000 captured of 50,000. Articles such as this one were acquired and published with the primary aim of expanding the information on Britannica.com with greater speed and efficiency than has traditionally been possible. Updates? Fuller (1960) estimates 15,000 in total. [7][2] Memnon was a high-ranking Greek mercenary employed by the Persians, and he advised the Persians to lay waste to the land that Alexander would have to pass, depriving his army of food and supplies. Memnon of Rhodes and satrap Arsamenes held the left wing each with his own cavalry; Arsites was stationed next with the horsemen from Paphlagonia; then came Spithrobates satrap of Ionia at the head of the Hyrcanian cavalry. The right wing was held by a thousand Medes and two thousand horsemen with Rheomithres as well as Bactrians of like number. Alexander the Great was an ancient Macedonian ruler and one of history’s greatest military minds who before his death established a powerful, immense empire. Before Alexander and his army were able to cross at Hellespont, the Persian provincial governors, and others in power at that time in Persia, assembled their forces of 10-20,000 cavalry and 5-20,000 infantry to the town of Zelea. The Persians, resting on high ground, made no move, intending to fall upon the foes as he crossed the river, for they supposed they could easily carry the day when the Macedonian phalanx was divided. Before leaving Macedon, Alexander appointed his father’s experienced general Antipater as regent in his absence, leaving him with 9,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry to maintain control over Macedonia's holdings in Europe. The satraps did not trust Memnon because of his nationality, and did not ravage their territories. Questions or concerns? The first victorious engagement of Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Persian Empire established the Macedonians on enemy soil. These nations included the Illyrians, Thracians, and some southern Greek city-states. The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire. The Battle of Gaugamela (1st October 331 BCE, also known as the Battle of Arbela) was the final meeting between Alexander the Great of Macedon and King Darius III of Persia.. After this victory, Alexander was, without question, the King of all Asia. After a tough struggle, Alexander’s heavy cavalry broke through the Persian army, the Macedonian phalanx followed through the gap, and the Persians fled. Wins Battle at Issus against Darius: 332 B.C. The Persians awaited the arrival of the Macedonians with all their cavalry in the front line. In his preface to the 2012 reprint, Green states: "on the evidence as it stands that theory remains untenable and the contradiction inexplicable. This is the Home Page for the official website of Appomattox County, Virginia, Battle of Granicus, (May 334 bce). After extensive planning in Macedonia, Alexander started to prepare for his next major conquest: the invasion of Asia. Battle of Chaeronea: 336 B.C. This tactic caught the Persians off guard. Omissions? Riiatow and Kbchly (p. 27) state that in modern battles the ordinary proportion of wounded to killed is from 8:1 to 10:1. That account of the battle is directly contradicted by Diodorus Siculus who states "When Alexander learned of the concentration of the Persian forces, he advanced rapidly and encamped opposite the enemy, so that the Granicus flowed between the encampments. The battle started with a cavalry and light infantry feint from the Macedonian left, from Parmenion's side of the battle line. With many of their leaders already dead, and their infantry routed, both flanks of the Persian cavalry retreated, seeing the collapse of the center. A total number of 115 is given as killed and 10 times of that for the wounded by, "Anabasis, book 1, chapter 14, section 4", "Wars of Alexander the Great: Battle of the Granicus", 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Granicus&oldid=1010457863, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The Persians countercharged with a squadron of nobles on horse, and accounts show that in the melee, several high-ranking Persian nobles were killed by Alexander himself or his bodyguards, although Alexander was stunned by an axe-blow from a Persian nobleman named Rhoisakes. The site of the battle is thought to be Tel Gomel … HistoryNet.com Live the History. Mosaic of Alexander the Great discovered in the House of the Faun, Pompeii, Italy. Alexander, after crossing into Asia at the Hellespont, then marched 100 km back to the north to meet the Persian armies. Alexander had to prove the strength of his rule before leaving for his Persian expedition, and crushed several nascent rebellions within Greece and the northern tribes. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Granicus-334BCE. Rupert Matthews has been fascinated by battlefields since his father took him to Waterloo when he was nine years old. Alexander then grudgingly accepted Parmenion's advice and crossed the river during the night in an uncontested location, and fought the battle at dawn the next day. The battle took place on the road from Abydos to Dascylium (near modern-day Ergili, Turkey), at the crossing of the Granicus River (modern-day Biga Çayı). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. "Wars of Alexander the Great: Battle of the Granicus." Battle of Granicus, (May 334 bce). Battle of the Granicus (B.C. The 2004 Oliver Stone film Alexander combined elements of the Battle of the Granicus, Issus, and Gaugamela all together, labeled as the Battle of Gaugamela. Historian Peter Green, in his 1974 book Alexander of Macedon, proposed a way to reconcile the accounts of Diodorus and Arrian. However, the battle very nearly cost Alexander his life. Corrections? Delbrück (1920) estimates as low as 6,000 in total. (Greek original text: "Ἀλέξανδρος Φιλίππου καὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες, πλὴν Λακεδαιμονίων, ἀπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων τῶν τὴν Ἀσίαν κατοικούντων" - "Alexandros Philippou kai hoi Hellēnes plēn Lakedaimoniōn apo tōn barbarōn tōn tēn Asian katoikountōn"). They attempted to broker a peace with Alexander but to no avail, because, although they were Greeks, they were fighting against Greece on behalf of the foreigners, in opposition to decrees which the Greeks had made in their federal council. [7] The Persians had two major objectives; first, they would try to force Alexander toward a position of their choosing before he could continue inland, and second, the Persians hoped to be able to be in a defensive position that would minimize Alexander's advantage in infantry. Financial Assistance for Renters and Landlords Now Available. Meantime Alexander was advancing to the river Granicus, 121 with his army arranged for battle, having drawn up his 42 heavy-armed troops in a double phalanx, leading the cavalry on the wings, and having ordered that the baggage should follow in the rear. These articles have not yet undergone the rigorous in-house editing or fact-checking and styling process to which most Britannica articles are customarily subjected. Out of the 18,000 Greek mercenaries, half were killed and 8,000 enslaved and sent back to Macedon to till the soil. Eventually the Macedonian horse were able to gain the advantage over their Persian counterpart, owing to the superiority of their lance over the Persian javelin for melee fighting,[9] as well as the close support of the light infantry interspersed among their squadrons. Although advised by Greek mercenary Memnon of Rhodes to fall back and starve Alexander into retreat, the Persian commander Arsames decided to confront the invaders on the Granicus River, east of the Dardanelles. Gaugamela (means "The Camel's House") was a village on the banks of the river Bumodus. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Learn about the evolution of warfare, key wars and battles, and important military leaders from antiquity to the modern day. The victory left Asia Minor wide open to the Macedonian invasion. Alexander was with the Companions on the right flank. The people of that region have traditionally called their country Iran, ‘Land of the Aryans.’ That name was officially adopted in 1935. According to Alexander's biographer Arrian, Alexander's army met the Persians on the third day of May from Abydos. "[11] The record of Arrian and Diodorus on the battle of Granicus can't be reconciled so historians usually prefer Arrian, although some revisionists try to reconcile the two accounts. The best account in the ancient sources, which include Diodorus Siculus (1st century bc) and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander (2nd century ad), is that of Arrian’s Anabasis (2nd century ad), which draws directly from contemporary accounts. Welman estimates the Persian army to be 25,000 in total, including 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 Greeks. Greek mercenaries serving in the Persian army tried to surrender, but Alexander treated them as traitors. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 334). 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