However, Philip could be harsh at times, too. He gave told the Athenians that they had to do two things for Macedonia. One of these was to help Macedonia with all other territorial claims. The other was it must dissolve the Athenian Maritime League. Athens’ government accepted these conditions en bloc(meaning altogether). They were not in a position to object to these;any privilege Philip II gave him then were just an arbitrary favor, which was reversible if Philip wanted to.
Philip was cruel to others, too. He abolished the Boeotian League. This was the embryo of the Theban empire. Philip was kind to these cities, however, when he gave all the cities belonging to the Boeotian League their independance back, which was shrewd diplomacy for him. He also forced the Thebans to recall all political exiles, and then set up a puppet government, with Macedonians watching over it from the Cadnea. Unlike their Athenian counterparts, the Theban prisoners had to be ransomed at a good price. If they were not, they would be sold as slaves.
The Battle of Granicus
Background Information on the Battle
Granicus was the first major battle during Alexander’s rule. It was also the first battle in Persia. It took place in May 334 B.C. Alexander lead his troops while the Persians were lead by Arsites, one of Darius’ generals. Darius was the king of the Persian empire.
Alexander only slightly outnumbered the Persians at the time of this battle. His ground forces overwhelmingly outnumbered the Persians’;the Persians had 30,000 overall ground force while Alexander had 43,000 infantry alone. However, the Persians had 15,000-16,000 cavalry, where as Alexander only had 6,000-7,000. It also must be taken into account that Darius’ navy, which was Phoenician, was nearly three times larger than Alexander’s and much more efficient.
Before the Battle
During a site-seeing trip on the way to Granicus, Alexander was asked if he would like to inspect Paris’ lyre. Alexander refused curtly. He said that all Paris played on the instrument were,”adulterous ditties to captivate and bewitch the hearts of women”. He then added,”But I would gladly see that of Achilles, to which he used to sing the glorious deeds of brave men.”
In this battle, Alexander’s position had similarities to that of two other military men. He was in a way like Achilles, sailing again for battle. But he also was like the Captain-General of the Hellenes, trying to get vegenance on Xerxe’s invasion of Greece(he was mad at the Persians for burning many of Greece’s great cities a long time ago).
An important thing on the way to the site of this battle was to cross the Narrows. He crossed them at the same point as the Athenians had in the Trojan War. The Persians offered no opposition when he did this. He then made the 300 mile march to Sestos in 20 days, a remarkably short time for an entire army. Next, with 6,000 men, he went over land to Elaeum, which is at the southern tip of the Galipoli Peninsula. There he sacrificed before the tomb of Protesilaus. Protesilaus was the first Greek in Agememnon’s army to step ashore at Troy. In the tomb he prayed that his landing on Asiatic soil would be better than Protesilaus’. This prayer was not without reason;Protesilaus had been killed almost immediately, and like Protesilaus, Alexander planned to be the first on shore. After making this prayer, he built an altar at the tomb and invoked the gods for victory.
Once this was done, Alexander crossed the Darndelles in the 60 vessels Parmenio had sent down from Sestos. Alexander steered the Admiral’s flagship. When the ships were halfway across the river the squadrons sacrificed a bull to Poseidon and made libation with a golden vessel, just as Xerxes had done when he crossed it. He landed on the “Achen Harbor”. This is possibly present-day Rhoeteum. There he set up an alter to Athena, Hercules, and Zeus, in thanks for a safe landing. Here he prayed that”these territories might accept me as king of their own free will, without constraint”.
Once he had done this, Alexander set off for Ilium. Once at Ilium, he was welcomed by a committee of local Greeks who presented him with a ceremonial gold wreath. He then offered a sacrifice at the tomb of Ajax and Achilles. Next he made an offering at the sacred hearth of Zeus of Enclosures. Legend has it that it was here that Alexander’s ancestor Neoptolemus had slain Priam.
From Ilium Alexander moved north again and rejoined his army at Arisbe, a little out of the city of Abyos. From there he and his army marched north-east, following the road to Dascylium, where the Phyrgian satrap(sort of a Persian governor)had his seat of government.
The first city Alexander and his army reached was Pericte, a city in Macedonia’s control. But they soon reached Lampsacus. This was controlled by Memnon like a lot of other cities in Asia Minor. There the philosopher Anaxenes, who was acting as Lampsacus’ official envoy, persuaded Alexander to bypass Lampsacus.
Alexander had an extreme shortage of money, with only enough pay to last a fortnight and food to last a month. Considering these conditions, it is most likely that Anaxenes bribed Alexander with a large sum of money. Because of these conditions, Alexander’s only hope was to tempt the Persians into a set battle and inflict a crushing defeat.
Arsites, the governor of Hellespontine Phyrga, sent out an appeal for help from his fellow governors. He wanted to meet with Arsamenes of Cilician and Spithridates of Lydia and Ionia. The three governors set up their base camp at Zeleia, east of the River Granicus. Here they summoned their commanders to a council of war to decide what strategy to use against Alexander.
Memnon of Rhodes, a mercenary, put forth the best suggestion. He proposed a scorched-earth policy–destroy all crops, strip the countryside, if they had to, burn down towns and villages. When he proposed this plan, Memnon made it clear that it would force the Macedonians to withdraw for lack of provisions. While this was happening, the Persians would assemble a large fleet and carry the war into Macedonia while the Macedonian army was still divided over what to do.
This was great advise, but since it came from a mercenary, whose brilliance and plain speaking was not respected by his Persian colleagues, it was not paid due attention. However, a little more tact still might have gotten Memnon all he wanted. But he went on to say that they should avoid fighting a pitched battle because the Macedonian infantry was very superior to Persia’s. This hurt the Persians’ dignity, and so they rejected Memnon’s plan.
Since Memnon’s plan was rejected, the Persians had to choose a new strategy. They decided to take a defensive strategy. This was probably second only to Memnon’s plan because if the Macedonians could be lured into attacking a strongly held position over dangerous ground where the cavalry would have trouble charging and the phalanx couldn’t hold formation, the invasion would end quickly.
The Persians’ rejection of Memnon’s plan was good for Alexander, but the Persians still had an advantage over Alexander. This was that the Persians had a choice of terrain. Once the Persians realized how badly needed battle they realized they could bring him to battle wherever and whenever they pleased.
The Persians collected all available reinforcements to prepare for the coming battle. Then they advanced to the River Granicus on the eastern bank, which had the best conditions for the Persian strategy. This spot on the river was good for the Persians because the Macedonian army would have to cross it to get to Dascylium(a spot on the river Alexander would need to get to to continue his conquests). It would be hard for him to cross the River because of its speed and depth. The Macedonians would have to cross in columns, and while the Macedonians were struggling on the bank in general disorder, they’d be highly vulnerable, and the Persians could force an engagement. Once they were at the River Granicus, the Persians drew up forces and waited.
You might remember that the Persians had far less ground forces than Alexander. Because of this, Arsites had to avoid exposing his interior infantry to open ground. For Arsites to win, he had to have a skillful use of cavalry and mercenaries.
When he they reached the River Granicus, Alexander wanted to fight. But Parmenio knew the Persians had set up a death trap. Parmenio did his best to reason with Alexander, and Alexander had to agree. So, under the cover of darkness, he and his army marched downstream until they found a suitable place to ford. Here they bivouacked, and began crossing at dawn.
What Happened in the Battle
When they found out that the Macedonians were fording, Arsites’ scouts sounded the alarm. Several regiments of cavalry galloped down, trying to catch the Macedonians at a disadvantage. But by the time they got to the place Alexander had chosen to ford, there were not many Macedonians left on the western bank.
When they saw Arsites’ scouts, the Macedonian phalanx formed to cover their comrades still in the river. Meanwhile, Alexander led his cavalry in a swift, outflanking charge. The Persians wisely retreated. Once they had, Alexander got the rest of his columns across, and then deployed them in battle formation.
The terrain was rich, rolling land, which was perfect for cavalry. This was good for the Persians because they had so much more cavalry than Alexander. Arsites put all of his cavalry regiments into front line, on as wide a front as possible. His entire infantry was held in reserve. He then advanced to Alexander’s position.
Alexander was clad in magnificent armor he had taken from the Temple of Athena at Ilium. His shield was blazoned splendidly, and wore an extraordinary helmet with two great wings or plumes. A crowd of pages and staff officers thronged around him.
Alexander took the battle on the right flank. When they saw this, the Persians transferred some of their best troops to the center. This was just what Alexander wanted. With trumpets blowing and echoes of the “Alalalalai”battle cry, Alexander charged, leading his cavalry in wedge formation. He feinted at the enemy’s left, where Memnon and Arsames were waiting. Then he suddenly swung his wedge inwards, diving at the new weakened Persian center. On the first onslaught, Alexander’s spear broke, so the old Demaratus of Corinth gave him his.
While this was happening, Parmenio always was on the Persian left. He was fighting a holding action against the Medes and Bactrians on Alexander’s right.
Alexander made a classic “pivot”attack, using his left flank as his axis. So what he did was, keeping his left flank stationary, he swung his right and center around it, so that now the center remained the center, but the left was the right and the right was the left.
Mathrilas, Darius’ son-in-law, counter-charged at the head of his own Iranian cavalry division with 40 high ranking Persian nobles. He began to drive a similar wedge into the Macedonian center.
After this, the Persian general Mithridates hurled a javelin at Alexander. He threw it with such force that it didn’t just blow through Alexander’s shield but hit the cuiraso behind it. Alexander then plucked it out and sent spurs to his horse. He then drove his own spear far into Mithridates’ breastplate. But Mithridates’ breastplate did not break, and Alexander’s spear broke of short.
Mithridates then drew out his sword for hand-to-hand fighting. Alexander, however, was not about to do that. Alexander retrieved his broken spear and jabbed it into Mithridates’ face, hurling him to the ground.
As this happened, Rhosaces(a Persian) came at him from behind. He rode at Alexander from a flank with his saber with such force that it went through Alexander’s helmet to the bone of his scalp. Alexander, swaying and dizzy, managed to kill Rhosaces.
Meanwhile, Spithridates, the governor of Lydia and Ionia, moved in behind Alexander. He was about to kill him when Cletus, Alexander’s nurse’s brother, severed Spithridates’ arm at his shoulder. After this, Alexander, probably from his scalp injury, half-fainted.
While Alexander was in the half-faint, his phalanx poured through a gap in the Persian center, and had started to get rid of Arsites’ native infantry. Alexander managed to struggle back onto his horse, and his companions rallied around him. During this, the enemy center began to cave in, leaving their flanks exposed.
Then Parmenio’s Thessalian cavalry charged on the left. In a moment, the entire Persian line broke and fled. Their infantry, except the mercenaries, offered little resistance. The only part of the Persian army that was left was Memnon and his men. The Macedonians focused on destroying them. While the Macedonian phalanx delivered a frontal assault, his cavalry hemmed them from all sides to prevent a massive breakout. Somehow, however, Memnon managed to escape. This ended the battle.
The Persians suffered far greater casualties than the Macedonians. The Persians lost 2,500 men total, some 1,000 of them Iranians. There were different amounts of casualties reported for Alexander. The maximum for the infantry was 30, and the minimum nine. For the cavalry, the maximum was 120 and the minimum 60.
After the Battle
25 Macedonians fell”in the first charge. Alexander had a statue made of each of them. He then erected each statue somewhere near Granicus. He also erected a statue of himself, although he did not even die, let alone in first charge. This was a strange gesture that would never be repeated again.
2,000 of Memnon’s mercenaries survived. After the battle they were chained like lions and sent back to forced labor, probably in the mines. This was not a very placatory gesture by Alexander. The reason he gave for it was that “they had violated Greek public opinion by fighting with the Orientals against the Greeks.”
After his victory, Alexander went across the rocky, volcanic islands of Cappadocia. His victory was the start of a long campaign in Persia. It opened Asia-Minor to Alexander.
The Battle of Issus
Background Information
The Battle of Issus was, like Granicus, a battle against Persia. It took place in September or October 333 B.C. Alexander, as in about all of his major battles, led his troops. I am not sure who led the Persians, although Darius was there. This battle was important because it was the only way for Alexander to get to the coastal plain of Asia. The numbers for both sides at this time are uncertain.
Before the Battle
Alexander was separated from the coastal plain of Asia by the Tarsus Mountains, and the only pass through these mountains was a deep twisting canyon. There were gates to this canyon, and Alexander anticipated trouble there, but there was no other feasible route.
Arsames, who was the Persian governor of Cilicia, unintentionally saved Alexander a lot of trouble. Arsames was bent on immitating Memnon’s scorched earth policy-strategy and avoiding a head-on collision. Because of this, he only left a small force at the Gates and spent much time and energy destroying the Cilician plain. Because of this, the entire Macedonian army could and did go through the defile, four abreast, and down into the plains.
Alexander crossed into the plain, and then learned that Arsames, in accordance to his plan, intended to loot the city of Tarsus of its treasure and then burn it. Because of this information, he sent Parmenio ahead with cavalry and lightly armed troops. When Arsames learned Alexander’s troops were coming, they fled in haste. The city and its treasures were left intact.
Alexander entered Tarsus on September 3, 333 B.C. He was sweating, hot, and exhausted after the rapid forced march from the foothills of Tarsus. The River Cydnus ran through Tarsus, and Alexander plunged into it almost immediately after getting there. He almost immediately had an attack of such a severe cramp that those watching took it as a convulsion. When his aids saw what had happened, they rushed into the water and pulled Alexander out.
Alexander was ashy white and chilled to the bones. Before he had gone into the water it seemed he had some kind of bronchial infection, which, because of the water, quickly turned into acute pneumonia. For days Alexander lay helpless with a raging fever. His physicians were so pessimistic about his recovery they withheld their services for fear that they would be accused of neglegance or, even worse, murder if Alexander died under their care.
The only physician willing to treat Alexander was Philip of Acarmenia, Alexander’s confidential physician. Philip told Alexander that there were certain quick-acting drugs but they involved an element of risk. Alexander had no objection to these drugs because he was worried about Darius’ advancements. These drugs worked, but they had side effects. Alexander lost his voice, began to have a difficulty breathing, and soon lapsed into a semi-coma.
When the semi-coma began, Philip massaged Alexander and put hot substances on him. Finally, Alexander got out of his semi-coma. Three days after his recovery Alexander was well enough to show himself to his anxious troops.
Once he had seen his troops, Alexander sent Parmenio, his allied infantry, Greek mercenaries, and Thracian and Thessalian cavalry to report on Darius’ movements and to block passes that Darius could go through. While they were doing this, Alexander took over a major mint. He used it to strike his own coins, which was a very significant innovation.