A message on the topic of the battle in the city of iss. “Battle of Issus (Battle of Alexander with the Persians)”, Albrecht Altdorfer - description of the painting

Conquests of Alexander the Great. Battle of Issus

Anatolia is separated from the sea on both sides by mountain ranges, which created the most reliable protection for it from the south. Already from afar you can see the powerful Taurus, fencing off the interior from the coast of Cilicia. The road here has long passed through a gorge called the Cilician Gate. They resembled a narrow canyon several meters wide, sandwiched by vertical cliffs rising hundreds of meters. Only here was it possible to get into these mountains, and therefore it was here that it was easiest to block the road for Alexander’s army, squeeze it in a vice and destroy it. But the Persians did not do this. The Achaemenids missed this simple, only opportunity to save their wavering state. How can this be explained?

The Persians were not accustomed to mountain warfare in non-Iranian provinces, with a nature alien to them. Greek strategists also did not know how to fight in the mountains. They also were not familiar with the theater of military operations. They had no skills in mountain warfare. In addition, unlike the Persians, who were accustomed to fighting on horseback, they fought in phalanxes. Of the Persian commanders who took part in the military council in Babylon, few passed through the Cilician Gate or had any idea about it.

Along wooded valleys and through rocky gorges, the Macedonians climbed from the northern side to the limestone mountains and reached the open meadows of the central slopes. Without encountering resistance, they reached the southern spurs of the Taurus and thus came close to the pass. Here they finally saw the enemy. The canyon was well guarded, but then the king resorted to an old and proven means - a night attack. In the dead of night, he set out with a group of daredevils, consisting of hypaspists, Agrians and archers. And yet, although the Macedonians advanced with all precautions, their advance did not escape the enemy. However, overwhelmed by horror before the Macedonian warriors, the Persian guards fled. Alexander couldn't believe his eyes. As daylight approached, he brought up the entire army. The Macedonians found themselves in a narrow gorge, between high rocky walls. Alexander sent Thracian climbers to the steep slopes, and ordered the archers to keep their eyes on these slopes. He later said that he could easily have been put to flight by throwing stones at the soldiers from above. But who could do this? The local residents cared about the same thing about the Persian king as he did about the Cilician Gate: they were completely indifferent to whom to pay taxes - the arrogant Persians or the crazy Macedonians. As a result, following the fleeing Persians, the Macedonians rushed into the Cilician Pass.

Remaining in Cilicia, Alexander made a foray into the western part of the Taurus, the purpose of which, apparently, was to search for another pass across the Taurus to Great Phrygia. Alexander paid special attention to the ports; they were partially inhabited by Greeks and, until recently, supplied significant contingents to the Persian fleet.

Meanwhile, Darius crossed the Euphrates and entered Syria. He had a huge army at his disposal - perhaps the largest ever in Asia. In a short time, the manpower reserves of the eastern provinces were unlikely to be exhausted, but all the best troops from the central and western regions of the empire were collected. The infantry consisted mainly of Greek mercenaries, reportedly numbering 30,000, but in reality their number is unlikely to have exceeded 20,000. Most of the infantry were recruited by Pharnabazus, and they now joined the Persian army at Trilolis. The Greek mercenaries were led by four generals. One of them, Amyntas, a noble Macedonian who fled from Alexander, enjoyed special respect. Approximately 60,000 Asian infantry, the so-called cardans, formed the best part of the army. But it should be borne in mind that the figures given by the Macedonians are not reliable.

Particularly strong were, of course, the detachments of horsemen. Later their number was estimated at 30,000 people, which is also clearly exaggerated. Some of them had heavy weapons: the Persians took into account the experience of the Battle of Granicus. In addition, the army included 20,000 lightly armed soldiers and a detachment of the king's bodyguards. Overall, the Persian army was two to three times larger than Alexander's army. A huge convoy followed the army, for Darius and his courtiers could not imagine a military campaign without a harem and court, without relatives, wives and children, without eunuchs and servants. This motley, luxurious and self-satisfied company was accompanied by a herd numbering about 200,000 head.

With this composition, the Persian army approached the foot of Aman and entered the city of Sokhi. It was then discovered that the Baylan Pass was occupied by the Macedonians. Darius decided to give battle here, in a wide-spread valley. Under these conditions, the Persian army could realize its numerical advantage. However, it turned out that, although the pass was guarded by a detachment of Macedonians, Alexander himself with the main troops was still in distant Western Cilicia. It is difficult to say what caused this - his illness or his intention to spend the winter there. It turned out that Darius had gathered such a large army in vain. In addition, it was impossible to feed all this mass of people in Syria. Then Darius, discovering that the other passage to Cilicia was not guarded by anyone, decided to go through the pass and attack Alexander in Cilicia itself. The enterprise promised success, especially considering that more than a third of the Macedonian army was transferred to Parmenion. In vain Aminta tried to dissuade the king from this intention, proving that Alexander himself would come to Syria. But Darius could no longer be stopped. He sent the convoy to Damascus and moved through the Lion's Pass to Kilzhkju.

Alexander had already left his seat at this time. In Malla, he learned that the Persians were camping in Sokh, and hoped to find the Persian king there. He took the main road - through Issus, Miriander and the Baylan Pass. Thus, both commanders expected to find the enemy where there was none. Darius, somewhat ahead of Alexander, was the first to realize the curiosity of the situation; Having passed through the Passage of the Lions, he learned from the local residents that the Macedonians had moved along the coast to Myriander. Under these conditions, the most reasonable thing was to return to the plain near Sokh. Greek strategists advised Darius to do just that. but the Persian king was so confident of victory that he did not want to miss the opportunity to attack Alexander from the rear and cut off his path to retreat. Therefore, he decided to follow the enemy along the narrow coastal road along the Gulf of Issa. Along the way, Darius captured the city of the same name, taking the Macedonian patients left there by surprise.

Alexander had no idea about the movements of the Persian troops. He believed that the enemy was still in Sokha. Having reached Miriander, Alexander was ready to move through the pass. And then he learned that Darius and his army were in his rear, in Issus. Alexander couldn't believe it. When he received confirmation, he rejoiced. He did not even dare to hope for such a turn: the enemy found himself in a place where he could not take advantage of his numerical superiority.

When Alexander learned of the unexpected appearance of the Persians in his rear, he immediately decided to deploy his troops and give battle. The narrow coastal road served as the best guarantee against being bypassed from the rear. To locate his troops, Darius looked for the widest place between the coast and the mountains. Such a place was found in the area of the Pinar River. The width of the road here reached approximately 7 kilometers. As at the Battle of Granicus, the Persians decided to position themselves across the river. The Persians, however, lacked coordination among individual groups, and Darius himself lacked sufficient military experience.

Alexander carefully turned his army against the enemy. We know about the Macedonians spending the night on the shore of the bay, about their further advance along the shore, about the gradual deployment of the front, until they finally lined up in front of the enemy. There were enough Macedonian combat units to, if necessary, build a phalanx in eight rows and cover the space between the mountains and the coast. This arrangement of troops did not give the Persians the opportunity to outflank the Macedonians.

As already mentioned, the main forces of the Persians stood across the river. On the left was their phalanx, consisting of kardaks, on the right, adjacent to the phalanx, stood a corps of Greek mercenaries, and near the sea - numerous cavalry. The Greeks and Kardaks had to hold the line of defense, hiding behind the river and earthen fortifications, and the cavalry led by Nabarzan was tasked with finishing the battle victoriously with a powerful attack. However, Darius planned another move. In the mountains, at the very edge of the left flank, he concentrated a detachment of infantrymen who were to attack Alexander's flank from above. The great king hoped to strike the Macedonians from the flanks and, having broken them, defeat Alexander. For himself, he chose a place in the shelter behind the phalanx.

The Persian position on the left flank was weak. This is all the more surprising since it was here that the attack of Alexander’s army was being prepared. After all, among the Hellenes, as among the Macedonians, the leader usually took a place on the right flank. Obviously, Darius did not even allow the thought that the enemy squadrons would be able to successfully carry out an operation on such rough terrain. Therefore, he brought his horsemen out from there and stationed them on the coast. Thus, according to the Persians, the outcome of the battle, even before the Macedonian attack unfolded, was to be decided by cavalry on their right flank and an ambush in the mountains on their left.

Alexander concentrated all the shock cavalry on the right flank for the attack. The inconvenient terrain for battle did not really interfere with the Macedonian horsemen, who were accustomed to the mountains. The king did not forget about his flanks: he sent the Thessalians to the sea, and concentrated a detachment of hetayrs against the Persian ambush in the mountains. This cut the number of horsemen in his attacking troops by half. However, Alexander did not abandon his intention to conduct the battle according to the plan he had drawn up. plan. He just wanted to finish it as soon as possible. There was no need to worry about the detachment in the mountains, but sooner or later the coastal left flank was bound to find itself in a difficult position. Therefore, the question was about which of the attackers would be the first to break through the line of enemy troops, advance forward and thereby win the battle. Having weakened his strike force, Alexander took a colossal risk. Nevertheless, he was not afraid to take part in the attack himself, whereas Darius did not dare to do such an act.

By two o'clock in the afternoon Alexander had finished preparing for the battle. He once again rode around his troops and then gave the signal to attack. The entire army, with the exception of a weak coastal detachment, had to cross the river, and the decisive blow remained behind the right flank. The king, at the head of the horsemen, hypaspists and the phalanx adjacent to them, crashed into the ranks of the enemy from the right with such force that the kardaks opposing him were immediately overturned and put to flight. What was happening in other places in the meantime? The Greek mercenary corps fought with bitterness, fueled by national hostility towards the Macedonians, as had once been the case at the Battle of Chaeronea. The Greeks successfully repelled all attacks of the Macedonians. When Alexander's attacking flank penetrated deep into the Cardacian lines, the worst that could happen happened: the Macedonian front was broken, and battle-experienced Greek mercenaries rushed into the breach. The situation on the coastal flank was no less serious. The Thessalians could not resist the stronger Persian horsemen. They were repulsed and, having suffered losses, fled. They were saved by fast horses. This time the heavy armor did a disservice to the Persian horsemen. What strengthened their combat power now made it difficult to pursue the fleeing enemy. This made it possible for the defeated Thessalian troops to gather and re-engage in battle. If Nabarzan had managed to get rid of the Thessalians and at the same time attack the Macedonian phalanx from the flank and rear from the shore, then the left part of the Macedonian infantry would have been crushed on both sides by Persian horsemen and Greek mercenaries. However, precious minutes were lost. Nabarzan hesitated, and Alexander managed to do what the Persians missed.

The king, having thrown back the Kardaks, broke into the Persian location and began to attack them from the flanks and rear. At the same time, he tried to find Darius himself, who, according to tradition, was supposed to be in the center, and he soon succeeded. True, Darius was guarded by a horse guard of bodyguards, but there were no other horsemen around him. When Alexander and his horsemen found themselves in the rear of the fighting infantrymen, bodyguards rushed towards them, but the latter were so few in number that they were immediately crushed. Darius found himself in the thick of battle, and then something unimaginable happened: the knight gave up before the knight. Instead of leading the army, leading the fighting Greek infantry and the so successfully operating coastal detachments, Darius, gripped by panic, fled. His action can be called cowardly. But even such an excellent warrior as Hector fell victim to the panic that gripped him during the battle with Achilles. Darius left his camp, his army and even his chariot to the winner. Alexander did not pursue him, but turned to the shore to capture Nabarzan. He also ran away. The Persian resistance was broken. Probably not much more than two hours had passed since the start of the battle, since Alexander pursued the enemy for quite a long time, until dusk.

Only the Greek mercenaries did not surrender. Fighting bravely, their troops made their way into the mountains. Most of the soldiers easily reached Tripolis, boarded ships there and went to Cyprus. From there, some returned to their homeland, while others crossed over to Egypt. Only a small detachment followed Darius across the Euphrates. The losses of the rest of the Persian army were enormous. All who escaped fled to the east, the Asia Minor contingents returned to their homeland, to Anatolia. The Macedonians also appear to have suffered heavy losses among both the Phalangists and the Thessalian cavalry. Even Alexander was slightly wounded in this battle. The Macedonians captured rich booty: not only the Persian camp, but also the family of the Great King, his mother, wife and children.

Tired and dusty, Alexander returned after pursuing the enemy. The winner spent the night in the tent of the Persian king, amid exquisite oriental luxury. “This is what it means to be a king!” - said Alexander, casting an eloquent glance around. He was informed that there were women from the royal family in the camp who were mourning Darius, considering him killed. Alexander immediately sent his confidant to calm them down. He continued to spare their royal dignity. Now everyone, not only Callisthenes, praised Alexander’s nobility, his tact and knightly manners. But perhaps this was not the mercy of the winner, but the manifestation of a new cosmopolitan worldview in which there were no vanquished?

The next day the Macedonians celebrated their victory. Those who showed courage were richly rewarded, the fallen were given a solemn burial; a parade was held in honor of the victory, and altars to Zeus, Athena and Hercules were erected in gratitude to the gods. Perhaps it was then that the king had the idea of creating a new Alexandria. The city was founded at the foot of the Bailan Pass. This place turned out to be more successful than where Miriand was located. Even towards the vanquished, a conciliatory gesture was made: Alexander provided the opportunity for women from the royal family to bury noble Persians.

The next task was to capture the Persian convoy in Damascus along with the war treasury. Alexander immediately sent Parmenion there with a detachment of Thessalian horsemen. With the convoy were the wives and relatives of the Persian military leaders with their luggage and servants, as well as several noble Greeks, including ambassadors. The treasury contained a huge amount of gold and silver; its capture would have ended Alexander's financial difficulties. Subsequently, Parmenion listed the spoils in his message. The following were captured: 329 musicians, 46 wreath makers, 306 cooks, 13 confectioners, 17 winemakers, 70 cupbearers and 40 incense makers.

Alexander left this motley society in Damascus. The Macedonian nobility gradually began to find a taste for oriental pleasures. For the king, the Damascus booty had another meaning: Parmenion captured Barsina, the beautiful and intelligent daughter of Artabazus, the widow of Mentor, and then Memnon, one of the great women of that time. She became Alexander’s life partner even during his stay there, and he gave her bodyguard Balakr as a satrapy. Together with Antigonus, the satrap was to continue the pacification of the Taurus tribes begun by Alexander. Syria conquered by Parmenion was given control by Menon.

Battle of Issus- battle between the Macedonian army Alexander the Great and the Persian army of the king Darius in Cilicia (Asia Minor).

After defeat of the troops of the Persian satraps in Battle of the Granik River , Alexander subjugated all Asia Minor (modern territory of Turkey). While the Persian king Darius assembled a large army, Alexander strengthened his rear without risking going into the interior Persian Empire with unconquered cities behind. The large Persian fleet did not allow the Macedonian army to be supplied with reinforcements via the shortest route across the Mediterranean Sea, and at the same time could land troops in the rear of the Macedonians. To secure rear communications, Alexander decided to capture all coastal cities, depriving the Persian fleet of a coastal base. The opposing armies met in November 333 BC e. on the coast of the Issky Gulf of the Mediterranean Sea, in the place where Asia Minor ends and Asia begins.

At first, the opposing armies dispersed. Alexander, moving along the coast, overcame narrow passes in the mountains. Darius was waiting for the Macedonians on a wide plain near the town of Sokhi. However, Alexander was in no hurry to reach the plain, where the Persians could use their numerical superiority. Then Darius, unable to keep a huge army in one place for a long time, rushed after Alexander. Having captured the town of Iss (modern Iskenderun in Turkey ), abandoned by Alexander the day before, the Persian army found itself behind Macedonian lines. Alexander turned his army around and returned back. The armies met on the shores of the Issky Gulf, in the valley of the small river Pinar (modern Payas). The valley was squeezed by the Aman Mountains; The coastal strip where the battle took place was only 2.5 km wide.

According to Callisthenes, Diodorus, and Ptolemy, taking into account reinforcements and the garrisons left behind, Alexander could have had about 35 thousand infantry and 5 thousand cavalry by the time of the battle. In the center of its formation were phalanx regiments (9 thousand Macedonians and about 10 thousand Greeks) 8 people deep.

On the right flank, under his command, Alexander concentrated the hetaira cavalry under the command of Philotas (about 2 thousand) and the shield-bearing corps under the command of Nicanor (about 3 thousand), as well as light cavalry, Cretan archers and barbarian infantry (about 2 thousand in total). The left flank was led by Parmenion. On the left flank, Alexander placed the Thessalian heavy cavalry (about 1800) and the cavalry of the Greek allies (about 600), followed by infantry detachments of the Thracians and Illyrians (7-10 thousand).

Modern historians are inclined to estimate the Persian army at 100 thousand, however, on rather shaky logistical grounds. Number of Greek hoplites estimated at 10-12 thousand warriors. Persian king Darius placed in the center against Macedonian phalanx their Greek hoplites , placed armored Persian infantry on both flanks of the Greeks, filling the strip along the river from the sea to the mountains. Darius sent the heavily armed cavalry under the command of Nabarzan to his right flank, closest to the sea, where there was some room for cavalry maneuvers. Persian mounted detachments were also located along the entire front line and near Darius himself, whose chariot occupied a place in the center of the battle formation.

Darius's army stood motionless on the bank of the Pinar River, not deep, but steep. In some places where the coast seemed flat, the Persians set up barriers. Alexander brought his army in full battle order to the distance of an arrow, then rushed to attack at the head of the cavalry on the left flank of the Persians, where the Persian infantry and mounted detachments of Persian nobles held the defense. Getairs entered like a knife into the barbarian system; The Persians on foot immediately ran, exposing the front.

In the center, the Macedonian phalanx crossed a shallow river and encountered the most combat-ready part of the Persian army, Greek mercenary hoplites. The hoplites tried to throw the phalangites off the shore, the phalanx battalions stubbornly gnawed forward. Hoplite detachments wedged themselves into the gaps between the Macedonian units; This was facilitated by the fact that Alexander’s right flank took the lead. In this sector, the Macedonians suffered the heaviest losses in the battle.

On the left flank of the Macedonian army, adjacent to the sea, the Persian heavy cavalry, having crossed the Pinar, attacked the Macedonian cavalry. As in the center, the Persians enjoyed relative success here; the Thessalian cavalry retreated, but again counterattacked.

Alexander, having overthrown the Persians standing in front of him, turned his squadrons and struck the Greek hoplites in the flank. They were forced to retreat in relative order, seeing the Persians begin to flee and not expecting support. With the collapse of the entire left wing of the Persian army, King Darius decided to leave the battlefield, especially since Alexander approached his chariot, destroying his personal guard.
Before Darius’s eyes, his associates and relatives perished, unable to stop the forward impulse of Alexander and the hetaira, directed towards the person of Darius. In the battle, Alexander was slightly wounded in the thigh with a sword.

With the flight of the Persian king, a general panic flight of the entire Persian army began, in which it suffered more from the crush and pursuing Macedonians than directly in the battle. Most of the Persian army, drafted from the subject peoples, fled without ever engaging in battle with the enemy.

In this battle, the Macedonians lost 150 horsemen and 300 infantrymen
. The Greeks estimate the losses of the Persians at more than 100 thousand people, however, from a comparison of figures from opposite sides, it is known that the victors usually exaggerated the losses of the vanquished by 5-20 times. Eyewitnesses simply noted that the entire battlefield was strewn with the bodies of the Persians, and through small crevices they climbed over the corpses as if on a walkway.

After his flight, Darius managed to gather only 4 thousand soldiers, with whom he crossed the Euphrates on his way to the central regions of Asia. Alexander did not pursue him. 8 thousand Greek hoplite mercenaries retreated to the mountains in an organized manner, after which they crossed over to Cyprus. Many of the Persian army managed to escape because Alexander’s soldiers rushed to plunder the rich baggage train. The mother, wife and children of Darius fell into the hands of Alexander, as well as many golden utensils and luxury items never before seen by the Macedonians. Darius's wife later died on the train of the Macedonian army, and Alexander took Darius' daughter as his wife after returning from the Indian campaign.

In 334–333 BC. e. The Macedonian army completely subjugated the Persian possessions in Asia Minor. But, despite significant strategic successes, the political and military position of the Macedonian conquerors was still not strong enough.

In the spring of 333 BC. e. The Macedonians received information that large Persian forces were concentrated in the northern part of Syria. Two mountain passes, 50 km apart from each other, led to the place of concentration of the Persian army. Alexander decided to take advantage of the southern pass and moved his army along the coastal road across the Gulf of Iska to the Persian location.

It soon became known that the Persian army took advantage of the northern mountain pass, went behind enemy lines and occupied Issus, interrupting the communications of the Macedonians. But Alexander realized the advantage of his position. In the cramped mountainous country, all the benefits were on his side. He turned his warriors back to attack the enemy occupying an awkward position at Issus.

The Persians stopped across the river. Pinar, flowing into the Gulf of Iska. They occupied a position 4 km long. The Persian army was positioned in two lines.

In the first line in the center were Greek mercenaries and a detachment of the Persian king, heavily armed infantry and Asian mercenaries from different tribes were placed on the flanks. On the left side, in the mountains, there were 20 thousand armed barbarians under the command of Aristomedes of Thessaly: their task was to harass Alexander’s right flank. On the far right flank stood the cavalry led by Nabarzan.

The battle formation of the Macedonian army consisted of three main parts: the right wing - the heavy cavalry under the command of Alexander, the center - the hoplite phalanx, and the left wing - the allied cavalry under the command of Parmenion. Half a turn to the right, facing the heights occupied by the Persians, stood a strong Macedonian detachment. Due to the strengthening of the right wing at the expense of the center, the front of the Macedonian army turned out to be longer than the front of the Persian army. Because of this, the Macedonian battle line cut off the enemy troops sent to the mountains from the Persian line.

The first stage of the battle at Issa brought some success to both the Persians and Macedonians. Alexander, at the head of the Macedonian horsemen, rushed into the waters of Pinar and, accompanied by nearby cavalry detachments, rushed into the center of the enemy line with such speed that it soon began to give in and retreat. The hottest battle took place near Darius. Alexander and his horsemen rushed towards the Persian king. The king's retinue fought with desperate courage. Saving his life, Darius finally turned his chariot back and fled; The nearest ranks rushed after him, and soon a retreat began in the Persian center and on the left flank. Meanwhile, Alexander's left flank was attacked by the enemy. Persian horsemen crossed Pinar and defeated one of the Thessalian cavalry detachments. It seemed that it was no longer possible to resist the superior enemy forces. But it was at this time that the left flank of the Persians and Darius himself fled. Without pursuing the fleeing king, Alexander hurried to the aid of his left wing and struck the Greek mercenaries in the flank. Soon they were repulsed and defeated. A disorderly flight of the entire army began. The huge Persian army was mixed up in the narrow passages. Those fleeing died both from the pressure of their compatriots and from the weapons of the pursuing enemies.

The Persian losses were enormous, the battlefield was littered with corpses and dying people. One hundred thousand people, including 10 thousand horsemen, fell on the battlefield. The Macedonian army lost 450 people.

The Battle of Issus destroyed the entire huge army of the Persian king, and now the path to all the lands of inner Asia opened before the happy winner. The Persian fleet, which Alexander might still have feared in Greek waters, also dispersed at the news of the battle of Issus. Darius with a small detachment made his way through Syria and only beyond the Euphrates felt safe. Soon he sent Alexander a letter in which he offered alliance and friendship. But Alexander already looked at himself as the ruler of Asia and demanded that Darius personally appear to him with humility. Otherwise, Alexander will seek to meet him wherever he is.

And with a large Persian army led by King Darius 3. Just as in the previous battle, the Macedonians had to cross the river - Pinar, which had become shallow due to drought.

A year after Granicus, Alexander conquered the cities of Asia Minor. Darius, meanwhile, formed a large army, which he held a review in Babylon. Confident of success, without listening to his Greek advisers and Macedonian defectors, Darius met Alexander in the narrow mountain passes. The Battle of Issus has been the subject of numerous studies by professional historians, but there is still much that is unclear about it. Without setting myself the task of presenting another version of events, I want to convey to wargamers information from the primary sources listed in the previous article.

Before the Battle of Issus

Arrian, 2.6-7: And, perhaps, some divine will led him (Darius) to a place where he could not be of great benefit either from the cavalry or from the multitude of his people with their arrows and darts, where he could not show his army in all its splendor and where with his own hands he brought Alexander and his army an easy victory.

Having crossed the mountain near the so-called Amanik Gate, Darius went to Issus and found himself, without knowing it, in the rear of Alexander. Having captured Issus, he captured the Macedonians left there due to illness, and, having seriously mutilated them, executed them. The next day he approached the Pinaru River. When Alexander heard that Darius was in his rear, the news seemed incredible to him, and he sent some of his “friends” on a thirty-oared ship back to Issus to see if the news was true. Sailing on a thirty-oared ship across a sea replete with bays, they very easily established where the Persians were standing and brought Alexander the news that Darius was in his hands.

Plutarch, 20 : In the army of Darius there was a Macedonian named Amynts who had fled from his homeland, who knew Alexander’s character well. Seeing that Darius intended to march on Alexander through narrow mountain passes, Amynts advised the Persian king to remain in place in order to fight on the wide, open plains and use his significant numerical superiority. Darius replied that he was afraid that the enemies would take flight and Alexander would escape from him. “You don’t have to be afraid of this, king,” said Amyntas. Alexander will definitely go against you and is probably already going.” However, Amynt failed to convince the king...

Battle of Issus, forces of the parties

In the winter after Granicus, Alexander sent the newlywed Macedonian soldiers home. Before the Battle of Issus they returned with reinforcements. During the year, Alexander's army suffered losses and some of the troops remained in the garrisons of the conquered cities. Therefore, in comparison with the beginning of the campaign, the Macedonian army increased slightly. Estimates are approximately 35 thousand infantry and 5.5 thousand cavalry. The Persian troops, as usual, vary greatly in number in different sources, but are certainly superior to the Macedonians. However, Darius did not have much hope for all these numerous tribes. He placed his main bet on the Greek infantry, which showed itself well at Granik.

Arrian, 1.29: The newlyweds, who were sent to Macedonia, arrived at Gordium, and with them came the army they had recruited under the command of Ptolemy, son of Seleucus, Cenes, son of Polemocrates, and Meleager, son of Neoptolemus. There were 3000 Macedonians on foot, about 300 horsemen, 200 Thessalian horsemen, and one hundred and fifty Eleans, led by the Eleanian Alkia.

Curtius, 3.2: And so, having encamped near Babylon, so that the soldiers would begin the war with great zeal, he (Darius) exposed all his forces and, having built a fortification with a capacity of 10 thousand armed soldiers, began to count the troops according to the example of Xerxes. From sunrise until night, the troops, as ordered, entered the fortification. Coming out from there, they occupied the plains of Mesopotamia; The cavalry and infantry, which seemed countless, made one think that the army was larger than it actually was. There were 100 thousand Persians, of which 30 thousand horsemen, Medes - 10 thousand horsemen and 50 thousand infantry. The Barkans had 2 thousand horsemen, armed with double-sided axes and light shields, very similar to tsetras, followed by 10 thousand infantry with the same weapons. The Armenians sent 40 thousand infantry in addition to their 7 thousand horsemen. The Hyrkanians recruited 6 thousand excellent horsemen, like all these tribes, adding to them a thousand tapurs. The Derbiks equipped 40 thousand infantry, most of them had spears with copper or iron tips, some had shafts burnt in fire; they were accompanied by 2 thousand horsemen from the same tribe. 8 thousand infantry and 200 horsemen arrived from the Caspian Sea. With them were other, unknown tribes, who fielded 2 thousand infantry and twice as many cavalry. To these forces were added 30 thousand Greek mercenaries, warriors in their prime. Haste prevented the gathering of the Bactrians, Sogdians, Indians and other tribes living near the Red Sea, the names of which the king himself did not know.

Curtius, 3.8: The Greek soldiers received by Timod from Pharnabazus, the main and almost only hope of Darius, finally came to him.

Battle of Issus, disposition of armies

Arrian, 2.7-9:... when everyone came to a wide place, he (Alexander) lined up an army for battle: on the right wing of the mountain, the first were the agema of the infantry and the shield bearers, commanded by Nicanor, the son of Parmenion, next to them was the regiment of Ken, behind him the regiment of Perdiccas. They were placed to the center of the hoplites on the right wing. On the left wing in front stood the regiment of Amyntas, behind him was the regiment of Ptolemy and next to him the regiment of Meleager. Craterus was entrusted with command of the infantry on the left wing; Parmenion commanded the entire left wing. He was ordered not to leave the sea so that the army would not be surrounded by barbarians, who, thanks to their numbers, hoped to bypass the Macedonians.

Darius, having received the news that Alexander was here and ready for battle, ordered the cavalry (there were about 30,000 horsemen) and with them the lightly armed (there were 20 thousand of them) to cross to the other side of Pinar in order to line up the rest of the army without interference. Of the hoplites, he was the first to place about 30,000 Hellenic mercenaries against the Macedonian infantry, and on both sides of them about 60,000 so-called Cardacians; these were also hoplites. The place where they were lined up could accommodate so many people in one row. At the mountain on the left, he lined up about 20,000 soldiers against Alexander’s right wing; some of them ended up in the rear of Alexander’s army. The fact is that the mountain near which they were built formed a depression in one place - something reminiscent of a bay in the sea, and then protruded forward like a horseshoe: therefore, those who stood at its base ended up in the rear of Alexander’s wing. The rest of the multitude of light-armed men and hoplites, arrayed by tribes in uselessly deep formations, stood behind the Hellenic mercenaries and barbarian infantry. It is said that Darius had only about 600,000 troops.

Alexander walked forward, and as soon as the place became a little wider, he advanced the horsemen, the so-called "friends", Thessalians and Macedonians. He placed them on the right wing, where he himself was; He sent the Peloponnesians and the rest of the allies to the left wing to Parmenion.

Darius, having lined up his infantry, gave the signal to the cavalry, which he had sent ahead across the river, to return to form his army without hindrance. He placed most of it on the right wing opposite Parmenion towards the sea, because there was just more room for the cavalry, but he also took some of it to the left wing towards the mountain. Here, however, due to the narrowness of the place, the horsemen would be useless, and he ordered most of them to gallop to the right wing. Darius himself was in the middle of the entire system: this place was determined by custom for the Persian kings...

At that moment, Alexander saw that almost the entire Persian cavalry had moved against his left wing, located by the sea, and only the Peloponnesians and other allied horsemen were standing there. He hastily sent the Thessalian cavalry to the left wing, ordering it not to ride in front of the front of the entire army, so that the enemy would not notice its movement, but to sneak unnoticed along the rear of the infantry. On the right wing, ahead of the horsemen, he placed “runners” under the command of Protomachus and paeons under the command of Ariston, and from the infantry archers under the leadership of Antiochus. Agrian, under the leadership of Attalus, placed a small number of horsemen and archers in a horseshoe in his rear, near the mountain behind, so that on the right his front diverged into two wings, one of which was turned against Darius and all the Persians who were across the river, and the other against those lined up near the mountain, in his rear. On the left wing in front were Cretan archers and Thracians, led by Sitalkos, from the infantry. In front of them was the cavalry of the left wing. The foreign mercenaries stood at the farthest back of everyone. Since the formation on the right wing seemed to him not dense enough and the line of the Persians, apparently, advanced much further here, Alexander ordered two cavalry “friends” - the Anthemusian, whose leader was Peridus, the son of Menestheus, to quietly move from the center to the right wing. and the so-called “White Land” - under the command of Pantordan, son of Cleander. He transferred the archers, part of the Agrians and Hellenic mercenaries to his right wing forward, thus extending it further than the Persians. The detachments lined up behind the mountain had not yet descended; Alexander sent the Agrians and a small number of archers at them, who easily drove them away, forcing them to flee from below to the top. Then Alexander saw that he could replenish the ranks with soldiers deployed against these detachments, and that 300 horsemen were enough for him here.

Curtius, 3.8-9: First, Darius decided to occupy the mountain peaks with part of his forces in order to surround the enemy in front and behind, and where the sea covered his right flank, throw the rest of his forces into battle and push the enemy from all sides. In addition, 20 thousand infantry were sent forward with a detachment of archers in order to cross the Pinar River, which flowed between the two armies, to meet the Macedonians; if they failed to do this, they had to retreat into the mountains and secretly go behind enemy lines. But fate is stronger than all calculations; she upset this profitable plan. Some, out of fear, did not dare to carry out the order, while others tried in vain, for where the parts become loose, the whole collapses.

Darius's army was formed as follows: Nabarzan with cavalry and about 20 thousand slingers and archers guarded the right flank. Timod was also there at the head of 30 thousand hired Greek infantry. This, without a doubt, was the flower of the army, equal in strength to the Macedonian phalanx. On the left flank was the Thessalian Aristomedes with 20 thousand barbarian infantry. The most warlike tribes were placed in reserve. The king himself thought to fight on the same flank; he was accompanied by 3 thousand selected cavalry - his usual guard - and 40 thousand infantry. Behind them stood the Hyrcanian and Median cavalry, and behind it were the horsemen of the remaining tribes on its right and left sides. In front of this formation, positioned as indicated, stood 6 thousand spearmen and slingers. All the cramped space where it was possible to stand was filled with the troops of Darius, one flank of which rested on the mountains, the other on the sea.

Alexander placed in front the strongest part of the Macedonian army - the phalanx. Nicanor, son of Parmenion, guarded the right flank. Next to him stood Ken, Perdiccas, Meleager, Ptolemy and Amyntas, each at the head of his army. On the left flank, reaching the sea shore, were Craterus and Parmenion, but Craterus was ordered to obey Parmenion; The cavalry was placed on both flanks: on the right the Macedonian along with the Thessalian, on the left the Peloponnesian. In front of this formation, Alexander placed a detachment of slingers mixed with archers: in front walked the Thracians and Cretans, also lightly armed. But against those whom Darius had sent forward to occupy the mountain range, Alexander placed the Agrians, recently brought from Greece. He ordered Parmenion to stretch his army as far as possible towards the sea in order to be further away from the mountains occupied by the barbarians. But the barbarians, who did not dare either fight the approaching Macedonians or surround them when they passed, fled, especially frightened by the sight of the slingers, and this strengthened the flank of Alexander’s army, which feared an attack on him from above. The Macedonians marched 32 people abreast, since the bottleneck did not make it possible to expand the formation further. But gradually the mountain gorges began to expand, there was more space, so that not only the infantry was able to advance in a wider formation, but also the cavalry was able to cover it from the flanks.

Battle of Issus, progress of the battle

Arrian, 2.10-11: The army, lined up in this way, he led forward for some time with stops; he believed that it was good to move slowly and calmly. Darius did not come to meet him; his barbarians stood in the order in which they were originally lined up, and he waited for Alexander on the banks of the river, often steep; in those places where the transition was more convenient, he ordered to extend a palisade (???), (which immediately showed Alexander and his soldiers that Darius was afraid). ... He (Alexander) led the soldiers in perfect order and, although Darius’s army was already visible, first at a pace, so that the formation would not break and form a wavy line, as happens when running. Finding themselves within range of an arrow, the soldiers surrounding Alexander, and Alexander himself, who was on the right wing, were the first to run to the river in order to frighten the Persians with their rapid pressure and, having fought hand-to-hand, would not suffer too much from the arrows. It happened as Alexander expected. As soon as it came to hand-to-hand combat, the left wing of the Persian army fled; Alexander and his warriors won a brilliant victory here, but his right wing was torn apart precisely because he hastily rushed into the river and started hand-to-hand combat, driving out the Persians lined up here. The Macedonian army, located in the center, did not enter into action so hastily; the soldiers, often finding themselves in steep places, were unable to maintain a straight front line: a breakthrough was formed - and Darius’s Hellenic mercenaries rushed at the Macedonians exactly where they saw that the system was most broken. A heated affair ensued: the mercenaries tried to push the Macedonians into the river and snatch victory for their already fleeing comrades; the Macedonians - not to lag behind Alexander with his obvious success and not to darken the glory of the phalanx, whose invincibility they were constantly shouting about. Added to this was competition between two peoples, Hellenic and Macedonian. Here Ptolemy, son of Seleucus, a man of great valor, and about 120 not the least Macedonians fell. At this time, the regiments of the right wing, seeing that the Persians who stood against them were already fleeing, turned towards the foreigners, Darius’s mercenaries, to help their oppressed comrades. They drove the enemy back from the river and, having moved significantly ahead of the Persian army at the place where a breakthrough had formed in it, attacked him from the flank and killed the foreigners. The Persian cavalry, deployed against the Thessalians, did not wait by the river while the battle was going on, but, having crossed, boldly rushed at the Thessalian detachments. Here a hot cavalry battle ensued, but the Persians wavered only when they learned that Darius had fled, and a detachment of mercenaries found themselves in a breakthrough and were killed by infantry. Then the flight became irrevocable and general. During the Persian retreat, the horses suffered greatly under the weight of their heavily armed riders, and the horsemen, retreating in a crowd along narrow roads, in fear and disorder, did not so much suffer from the pursuing enemy as they crushed each other. The Thessalians, however, energetically pressed on them, so that during this flight they killed as many infantrymen as horsemen.

Artist Giuseppe Rava

Diodorus, 17.33-34: He (Alexander), at the head of the right wing, moved towards the enemy, having with him the color of the cavalry. The left wing was occupied by Thessalian horsemen, who stood out for their courage and experience. When the troops were within arrow range, the barbarians pelted Alexander and his soldiers with so many darts and arrows that, colliding with each other in flight, they lost their strength. Trumpets on both sides gave the signal for battle; The Macedonians were the first to shout in agreement and deafeningly; the barbarians answered them... Alexander looked around in all directions, trying to see Darius. Having recognized him, he immediately rushed towards him with his horsemen, trying not so much to defeat the Persian as to ensure victory with his own hand. At the same time, all the other horsemen entered the battle, and a bloody slaughter began. The valor of those who fought made the outcome of the battle doubtful. Victory leaned now in one direction, now in the other; the situation changed one by one. Not a single arrow, not a single swing of a sword was wasted: there were so many people that it was impossible to miss. Therefore, many warriors fell (the wounds were in the front); Fighting furiously until their last breath, the soldiers lost their lives before they lost their valor. The commanders of each regiment, fighting ahead of their subordinates, inspired many to heroism with their own valor. The people were all wounded; they fought menacingly and differently, striving for victory. Oxaphrus, Darius's brother, praised for his courage, seeing Alexander rushing uncontrollably towards Darius, hastened to share his brother's fate. Taking the best horsemen from his detachment, he made his way with them to Alexander and, believing that love for his brother would bring him great fame among the Persians, he started a battle in front of Darius’s chariot: fighting skillfully and bravely, he killed many. Alexander and his warriors were also distinguished by their courage, and soon a mountain of corpses formed in front of Darius’s chariot.
In this battle, many prominent Persian military leaders fell; among them Atisius Reomithros and Stabacus, satrap of Egypt. Many Macedonians also fell; Alexander himself, surrounded on all sides by the enemy, was wounded in the thigh. The horses harnessed to Darius's chariot, covered with wounds, in fear of the piles of bodies piled up around them, bit the bit - and soon Darius found himself in the midst of enemies. In this extreme danger, the king himself grabbed the reins; need forced him to forget about his high rank and break the law laid down by the Persians for kings. Darius's servants brought him another quadruple, but while he was changing seats, a fight began; enemies pressed Darius, and he was seized with fear and horror; the Persians, who noticed the king's confusion, began to flee; when the horsemen surrounding the king followed them, the flight became general... The Macedonian phalanx and the Persian infantry continued to fight for some time, but the defeat of the horsemen was like an introduction to the complete victory of the Macedonians. Soon all the barbarians turned back, and since the crowd of thousands had to flee in the gorges, the entire surrounding area was filled with corpses. Curtius, 3.11: The enemies had already approached each other within the range of an arrow, when the Persian cavalry furiously rushed towards the enemy’s left flank; Darius wanted to decide the outcome of the battle with cavalry, believing that the strongest part of the Macedonian army was the phalanx, and he had already begun to encircle Alexander’s right flank. When the Macedonian noticed this, he ordered two detachments of cavalry to remain on the mountains (???), and decisively sent the rest to the most dangerous place of the battle. Then he withdrew the Thessalian cavalry from the battle line and ordered its commander to quietly make his way to Parmenion behind his own and immediately carry out whatever he ordered. Having burst into the very thick of the Persians, surrounded by them on all sides, the Macedonians heroically defended themselves, but compressed into a heap and pressed against each other, they could not swing, and the spears, simultaneously launched at one target, collided and fell so that few of them hit enemies, inflicting weak and harmless blows on them, while the majority fell to the ground without any benefit. Forced to fight hand-to-hand, the warriors immediately grabbed their swords. Then great bloodshed occurred: both armies were so close to each other that shields collided with shields and the blades of swords rested on the enemies. Neither the weak nor the cowards could escape; everyone fought face to face, as if in single combat, stood firmly in one place and opened their way only through victory. After all, they advanced only after overthrowing the enemy. But the tired had to fight more and more enemies, and the wounded could not, as usually happens, leave the battlefield, since the enemy was pressing them in front, and their own army was pressing behind them. Alexander fought less as a general than as a soldier, seeking to gain glory by killing Darius, for Darius stood towering on his chariot and encouraged his warriors to defend him and his enemies to attack him. Therefore, his brother Oxatre, seeing that Alexander rushed to the king, placed the cavalry, which he commanded, in front of Darius’s chariot. Oxatr stood out for his weapons and physical strength, he was brave and devoted to the king, like few others. He also became famous in this battle: he killed those who attacked too carelessly, and put others to flight. But the Macedonians, standing next to Alexander, encouraging each other, led by him, burst into the middle of the Persian cavalry. Beating the enemy was like his complete defeat. Around Darius's chariot lay his most glorious generals, who died honorably before the eyes of their king, all of them lying prone, having fallen fighting and received wounds in the chest. Among them they recognized Atizia, Reomitra and the ruler of Egypt Sabak, commanders of large armies; Around them lay the bodies of unknown horsemen and infantry in a heap. The Macedonians also had very brave men killed, although not many; Alexander himself was slightly wounded with a sword in the right thigh. The horses harnessed to Darius's chariot, pierced by spears and enraged with pain, tore out of their harness, throwing the king from the chariot. Then he, fearing to fall alive into the hands of the enemy, jumped off her and was mounted on a horse prepared for such an occasion, shamefully throwing away the signs of his royal dignity so that they would not betray him during his flight. The rest scattered in fear and fled wherever they could, throwing away the weapons they had just taken to defend themselves; so panic makes you afraid of even the means of help. The cavalry sent by Parmenion pursued the fleeing heels, and the accidental flight led everyone precisely to his flank. On the right flank, the Persians strongly pressed the Thessalian cavalry, and one detachment was already scattered by their onslaught. Then the Thessalians, deftly turning their horses, returned to the battle and inflicted a great massacre on the barbarians, so confident of victory that they had already scattered and disrupted their ranks. The horses and riders of the Persians were equally burdened with plate armor and moved with difficulty in this battle, where speed was the main thing, so the Thessalians on their horses surrounded them and took many prisoners. When Alexander was informed of this success, he, who had previously not dared to pursue the barbarians, now, having won on both flanks, began to drive the fleeing ones. The king was accompanied by no more than thousands of horsemen... The Greeks, who fought on the side of Darius, led by Amyntas (he was Alexander’s general, and now became a defector), slipped away, separating from the others, but this was not an escape.

Artist Angus McBride

Battle of Issus, losses of both sides

Arrian, 2.11.13: Of the Persians, Arsam, Reomithros and Atizius were killed - these are the cavalry commanders at Granicus; Savak, the satrap of Egypt, and Bubak, one of the nobles, died. The number of those killed reached 100,000, and there were more than 10,000 horsemen. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, who was then following Alexander, says that when, pursuing Darius, they found themselves at some abyss, they crossed it over the corpses. Darius's camp was taken immediately, on the move: Darius's mother and wife were captured, she and his sister, his little son, and two daughters. Amyntas, the son of Antiochus, Fimonda, the son of Mentor, Aristomedes the Pheraean and Bianor the Acarnanian - these were all deserters, together with their warriors (there were about 8000 of them) fled straight from the battlefield to the mountains and arrived in Phoenician Tripolis. Curtius, 3.11: In this battle, 100 thousand Persian infantry and 10 thousand horsemen were killed. On Alexander's side there were 504 wounded, only thirty-two infantry were missing and 150 horsemen were killed. This great victory came at such an easy price. Darius 3, unlike Alexander the Great, showed himself to be a weak tactician and leader in this battle. The Persians, while displaying individual courage, did not have the general stamina of an army. It is completely unclear what the Persians were doing on the mountain from Alexander’s right flank. At a review in Babylon, Curtius notes the presence of “immortals.” However, in the Battle of Issus their role is unclear. The best part of the troops in the Persian army, as at Granicus, turned out to be the Greek contingents.

At first, the opposing armies dispersed. Alexander, moving along the coast, overcame narrow passes in the mountains. Darius was waiting for the Macedonians on a wide plain near the town of Sokhi. However, Alexander was in no hurry to reach the plain, where the Persians could use their numerical superiority. Then Darius, unable to keep a huge army in one place for a long time, rushed after Alexander. Having captured the town of Iss (modern Iskenderun in Turkey), abandoned by Alexander the day before, the Persian army found itself behind Macedonian lines. Alexander turned his army around and returned back. The armies met on the shores of the Issky Gulf, in the valley of the small river Pinar (modern Payas). The valley was squeezed by the Aman Mountains; The coastal strip where the battle took place was only 2.5 km wide.

Enemy forces

Macedonians

Progress of the battle

Scheme of the Battle of Issus.

Darius's army stood motionless on the bank of the Pinar River, not deep, but steep. In some places where the coast seemed flat, the Persians set up barriers. Alexander brought his army in full battle order to the distance of an arrow, then rushed to attack at the head of the cavalry on the left flank of the Persians, where the Persian infantry and mounted detachments of Persian nobles held the defense. The hetairs entered the barbarian system like a knife; The Persians on foot immediately ran, exposing the front.

"[The Macedonians] piled up a pile of bodies [of the Persians] as high as the chariot of the [Persian king]".

Before Darius’s eyes, his associates and relatives perished, unable to stop the forward impulse of Alexander and the hetaira, directed towards the person of Darius. In the battle, Alexander was slightly wounded in the thigh with a sword.

Results of the battle

In this battle, the Macedonians lost 150 horsemen and 300 infantry. The Greeks estimate the losses of the Persians at more than 100 thousand people, however, from a comparison of figures from opposite sides, it is known that the victors usually exaggerated the losses of the vanquished by 5-20 times. Eyewitnesses simply noted that the entire battlefield was strewn with the bodies of the Persians, and through small crevices they climbed over the corpses as if on a walkway.

After his flight, Darius managed to gather only 4 thousand soldiers, with whom he crossed the Euphrates on his way to the central regions of Asia. Alexander did not pursue him. Greek hoplite mercenaries, numbering 8 thousand, retreated to the mountains in an organized manner, after which they crossed to