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ALEXANDER
THE GREAT - Victory at Issus 333BC
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With
the army back to full strength, infused with the new recruits
and men fresh after the winter break with their families, orders
were given to march south from Gordium across Anatolia. In Ancyra
Alexander received submissive envoys from Paphlagonia, removing
the need for a time-consuming campaign, and with Cappadocia next
to submit Alexander could concentrate on the difficult advance
towards the Taurus Mountains in summer 333bce.
His
major concern was the narrow precipitous pass through the mountain
range known as the Cilician Gates which, if properly defended,
would be virtually impenetrable. Leaving Parmenio with the heavy
infantry in his rear Alexander planned a surprise attack on the
Gates' defenders in the dead of night, but with his reputation
again carrying all before him the defending garrison simply fled
to leave way clear for the Macedonian army to pass right through
and down into the rich fertile Cilician plain.
Yet non-stop campaigning
had left him close to exhaustion and in September he became dangerously
ill. After bathing in icy waters of the river Cydnus near Tarsus,
he had fallen into convulsions and was gripped by raging fever.
His staff feared for his life and in a state of panic none would
treat him, fearing a misdiagnosis. |
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Only his doctor, Philip the Arcanian, described by Arrian as
a trusted physician as well as a good soldier, proposed a purgative
to which Alexander agreed. As Philip was preparing the draught,
vital intelligence came through from Parmenio, warning Alexander
to beware of his doctor, who was in the pay of Darius and was
about to administer poison. After reading it, Alexander simply
passed the note on to Philip and smiled whilst drinking from the
cup he had been given. He had complete confidence in his friend
and physician, although Philip was understandably shaken at the
accusation he stood his ground and advised Alexander to follow
his instructions, and if he did he would recover. |
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Indeed Alexander
did recover over the coming weeks, and his thoughts turned increasingly
to the Persian King. Sending Parmenio to secure the Syrian Gates
(the Beilan Pass) and the route through the Amanus mountains,
he himself would undertake a short campaign to subdue to the Cilicians
occupying the foothills. He returned to news that Ptolemy and
Asander had triumphed over the Persian commander Orontopates and
in celebration Alexander offered sacrifice to Asclepios, god of
healing, no doubt in part for his own continued good health. Following
games and ceremonial parades, Alexander marched east to Malus
in the river Pyramus, where he received a dispatch from Parmenio
containing the news he had been waiting for. Darius had marched
west and was now only two days away, encamped to the east of the
Syrian Gates at Sochi. At last he would meet the Great King in
battle.
Darius had arrived
from Babylon with an army estimated by Ptolemy to number 600,000
men, outnumbering Alexander's army by the considerable margin
of ten to one. They had also secured the perfect strategic field
position to stage the battle, the sweeping plains of Syria enabling
Darius to use his massive numerical advantage to best effect,
especially his elite cavalry who outnumbered Alexander's by two
to one.
In only two days
Alexander marched 70 miles to reach Myriandrus on the shores of
the Gulf of Issus, but it was too late. Darius had already gone,
and unaware that Alexander had been ill, he chose to believe he
was simply afraid to face him. Assuming Alexander was still in
Cilicia he ordered his army north, and the two armies passed each
other on either side of the Amanus Mountains. |
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What
could have been a fatal error on Alexander's part proved to be a stroke
of good fortune. His reconnaissance troops informed him that the Persian
army had outflanked him and cut off his lines of communication, so
he sent a galley up the coast to view the Persian army's strength.
He then turned his force around and marched to face Darius, and by
midnight had reached the Pillars of Jonah, where once secured he allowed
his men to eat and rest for the remainder of the night. Around the
same time the Persian army had come across the field hospital Alexander
had left in the Bay of Issus and after killing the majority of the
Macedonian wounded, maimed the remainder by cutting off the hands
of the able-bodied to prevent them fighting. |
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When daylight arrived on that November morning, Alexander marched
his army out onto the narrow plain between the sea and the mountains,
an ideal setting for his battle plan as it would nullify the Persians'
numerical advantage. Still unsure of his final tactics, he awaited
Darius' final battle formation. It soon became obvious that the
main attack would come from the Persian right, made up of 10,000
elite cavalry led by Nabarzanes, located next to the sea. They would
try to encircle the Macedonian phalanx and attack their weakest
point, so Alexander would have to overcome this by reinforcing his
left flank, which must hold at all costs.
As the two armies
faced each other across the river Payas, alexander sent for his
officers. As always he insisted they keep discipline and advance
in silence, and then on his order attack with a roar that would
frighten the very gods! He reminded his men that the Persians had
for centuries led soft, luxurious lives, whereas they themselves
were battle-hardened professional soldiers, fighting for the true
cause. emphasising that the conduct of each would determine the
fate of them all, he told them that whereas the enemy only had Darius,
they had Alexander.
As the troops faced
each other, Alexander rode up and down the lines lifting morale
by picking out individuals to praise their feats of bravery. Having
assessed the enemy he realised that Darius had placed his untrained
infantry under the protection of archers on the right, and this
is where the battle would be won as long as Parmenio could hold
the Persian cavalry by the sea shore. |
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Leading
the Companions astride Bucephalus, Alexander charged into the river
and up the opposing bank as the Persian archers fired an ineffective
volley. Realising this, they panicked and ran into their own infantry,
and in the ensuing chaos the Persian left flank collapsed. Casualties
piled up as fierce fighting engulfed both the centre and the right.
Alexander then made for Darius' position behind the Greek mercenary
line, where he stood in his war chariot surrounded by his elite bodyguard
"the Immortals". As he approached, Darius lost his nerve
and fled the field, leaving his troops in disarray. The battle was
won.
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Alexander
had been wounded by a sword thrust, yet he still visited his men
on the day after their victory, comparing wounds and stories, before
burying the dead with full honours. He also inherited Darius' tent,
filled with his abandoned treasures including, most priceless of
all, the Great King's family. Determined to treat them with the
respect fitting their rank he was keen to assure Darius' distraught
mother, Sisygambis that her son was still alive. At their first
meeting the queen mistakenly bowed low before Hephaistion as the
taller of the two men, greatly distressed at her mistake until Alexander
told her, "Don't worry, you were not mistaken, for he is Alexander
too".
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