Ancient Greeks at War by Simon Elliott

Author:Simon Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Ancient
Publisher: Casemate US
Published: 2021-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Alexander the Great at the charge, battle at Issus, 333 BC, as depicted on the Alexander Sarcophagus. (Wikimedia Commons)

The battle of Issus, Alexander’s first defeat of Darius in person where he captured the Persian royal family. (Nigel Emsen)

When Alexander’s scouts found the Persians ready for battle, the Macedonian king immediately moved to deploy his army out of its column of march into battle array. By this time, he had his full campaigning force with him, totalling over 40,000 men. However, when considering the size of the Persian army, we are again faced with incredulous numbers as detailed by the primary sources. For example, Arrian says Darius fielded 600,000 men (Anabasis Alexandri, 2.8.6). Meanwhile, Diodorus Siculus opts for an equally outrageous 400,000 (Library of History, 17.19). However, most modern commentators opt for between 60,000 and 120,000. Whatever the actual Persian numbers, Alexander was certainly heavily outnumbered. This engagement is also notable for the late time of year in which it was fought in November, reflecting Alexander’s propensity for campaigning out of season. In that regard, conditions were notably cold and wet.

In terms of deployment, Alexander followed his by now standard pattern, with himself on the right with the ilia of companions deployed in their embolus (wedge) formations, then moving right to left the hypaspists, then the phalanx (at least partially under the command of Craterus, promoted after his success commanding a taxis of pezetairoi at the Granicus river), and finally Parmenion on the left with the Thessalian and Thracian cavalry. Light troops, including Thracians, Agrianians and Cretans, supported both flanks, while the Macedonian centre was bolstered by allied and mercenary Greek, Illyrian and more Thracian infantry. The Macedonian phalanx deployment here is particularly interesting. As Alexander approached the Pinaros river it was 32 deep, but the king then reduced it to 8 deep on arrival at the waterway as he sought to extend his centre so as not to leave the extreme flank of the companions on the right exposed. This meant the bristling deployment of the pezetairoi and other heavy foot soldiers alone stretched for over 1.6 km.

Meanwhile, Darius deployed his heavy cavalry next to the coast on his right flank where they could make best use of the broad expanses of flat beach next to the Gulf of Issus, then kardakes (Hellenised Persian foot) and next the Greek mercenaries deployed in two large bodies of 15,000 men (both commanded by the strategos Thymondas), and finally more kardakes and a small number of Median and Hyrcanian cavalry extending the Persian line to the high ground on its extreme left. There Darius stretched his line even further, with (despite Alexander’s best efforts to extend his own line) some kardakes wrapping around the Macedonian extreme right flank in the foothills. This forced Alexander to match them there in the rough terrain with some of his own elite Agrianian javelinmen. The Persians then deployed a second line comprised of levies behind the troops along the riverbank, no more than a disorganized throng in reality.

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