The
Battle of the Granicus River in May
334 BC-Persian Empire:* The king of Caria, Pixodarus, dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Orontobates.* As the Persian satraps have gathered for a war council at Zeleia, Memnon argues that it is preferable for the Persians to avoid a pitched battle and adopt a scorched earth tactic...
was the first of three major battles fought between
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
and the
Persian EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire or Persian Empire was the successor state of the Median Empire, ruling over significant portions of what would become Greater Iran. The Persian and the Median Empire taken together are also known as the Medo-Persian Empire, succeeding the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
. Fought in Northwestern Asia Minor, near the site of
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
, it was here where Alexander defeated the forces of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, including a large force of Greek mercenaries led by
Memnon of RhodesMemnon of Rhodes was the commander of the Greek mercenaries working for the Persian king Darius III when Alexander the Great of Macedonia invaded Persia in 334 BC. He commanded the mercenaries at the Battle of the Granicus River, where his troops were massacred by the victorious Macedonians...
.
The battle took place on the road from
AbydosFor other uses, see AbydosAbydos , an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nara Burnu or Nagara Point on the best harbor on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. Across Abydos lies Sestus on the European side marking the shortest point in the Dardanelles, scarcely a mile broad...
to Dascylium (near modern day Ergili,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
), at the crossing of the
GranicusBiga Çayı, Çan Çayı or Kocabaş Çayı is a small river, or large creek, in Çanakkale Province of northwestern Turkey. The flow begins at the base of the Mount Ida and trends generally northeasterly to the Sea of Marmara. It is located approximately 50 km to the east of the Dardanelles...
River (modern day
Biga Çayı).
Background
Following the assassination of Alexander's father,
Philip II of MacedonPhilip II of Macedon, Philip II of Macedon, Philip II of Macedon, ( — φίλος = friend + ίππος = horse — transliterated 382 – 336 BC, was an ancient Greek king (basileus) of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip...
, and the subsequent consolidation of Alexander's Macedonian positions, he set out into Asia in
334 BC-Persian Empire:* The king of Caria, Pixodarus, dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Orontobates.* As the Persian satraps have gathered for a war council at Zeleia, Memnon argues that it is preferable for the Persians to avoid a pitched battle and adopt a scorched earth tactic...
.
He crossed the
HellespontHellespont was the ancient name of the narrow strait, now known by the modern European term 'the Dardanelles'. It was so called from Helle, the daughter of Athamas, who was drowned here in the mythology of the Golden...
from
SestosSestos was an ancient Greek town of the Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey. Situated on the Hellespont opposite Abydos, it was the home of Hero in the legend of Hero and Leander. Sestos was an Aeolian colony, as it was founded by settlers from Lesbos...
to Abydos, and advanced up the road to Dascylium, which was the capital of the Satrapy of
PhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. The various satraps of the Persian empire gathered with their forces at the town of Zelea and offered battle on the banks of the Granicus River. Memnon suggested a scorched-earth policy of burning the grain and supplies and retreating in front of Alexander, but his suggestion was rejected by the commanding satraps.
Deployment of Persian Troops
ArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian , a public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the Roman period...
, Diodorus, and
PlutarchPlutarch, born Plutarchos then, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 – 120, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
all mention the battle, with Arrian providing the most detail. The Persians placed their cavalry in front of their infantry, and drew up on the right (east) bank of the river. Historians differ significantly on the effectiveness of the Persian dispositions. Some consider it a tactical mistake on the Persian side, others feel it was an attempt to take advantage of their superior number of cavalry, while Sir William Tarn felt "the Persian leaders had in fact a very gallant plan; they meant if possible to strangle the war at birth by killing Alexander."
The battle
According to Alexander's biographer
ArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian , a public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the Roman period...
, Alexander's army met the Persians on the third day of May from Abydos. Alexander's second-in-command,
ParmenionParmenion was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great.Parmenion was the father of a Macedonian nobleman Philotas...
suggested crossing the river upstream and attacking at dawn the next day, but Alexander attacked immediately. This tactic caught the Persians off guard. The Macedonian line was arrayed with the heavy Phalanxes in the middle, and cavalry on either side. Alexander was with the
CompanionsThe Companions were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of king Philip II of Macedon, and have been regarded as the best cavalry in the ancient world and the first shock cavalry unit...
on the right flank. The Persians expected the main assault to come from Alexander's position and moved units from their center to that flank.
The battle started with a cavalry and light infantry feint from the Macedonian left, from Parmenion's side of the battle line. The Persians heavily reinforced that side, and the feint was driven back, but at that point, Alexander led the horse companions in their classic wedge-shaped charge, and smashed into the center of the Persian line. 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
SpithridatesSpithridates was satrap of Lydia and Ionia under the high king Darius III Codomannus was one of the Persian commanders at the battle of the Granicus, in 334 BC, in which engagement, while he was aiming a blow from behind at Alexander the Great, his arm was cut off by Cleitus, son of Dropides...
. Before the noble could deal a death-blow, however, he was himself killed by Cleitus the Black. Alexander quickly recovered.
The Macedonian cavalry then turned left and started rolling up the Persian cavalry, which was engaged with the left side of the Macedonian line after a general advance. A hole opened in the recently vacated place in the battle line, and the Macedonian infantry charged through to engage the poor-quality Persian infantry in the rear. At this, and with many of their leaders already dead, both flanks of the Persian cavalry retreated, seeing the collapse of the center. The infantry also routed, many being cut down as they fled.
Total casualties for the Macedonians were between 300 and 400. The Persians had roughly 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry killed, mostly in the rout. The Greek mercenaries, under the command of Memnon of Rhodes, who fought for the Persians, were abandoned after the cavalry retreat. They attempted to broker a peace with Alexander but to no avail. As a result, after the battle Alexander ordered his infantry, who until this point had played no role in the battle, to slaughter the mercenaries to a man. 18,000 mercenaries were killed and 2,000 enslaved and sent back to Macedonia in chains for hard labour. It is believed that Alexander had a strong majority of the mercenaries killed in fear of
plagueA pestilence is any virulent and highly infectious disease that can cause an epidemic or even a pandemic. The word can also be used about parasites causing large scale sickness and death, such as Guinea worm...
.
Revisionist view
Historian Peter Green in his 1974 book
Alexander of Macedon, proposed a different account of the battle. According to Green, the riverbank was guarded by infantry, not cavalry, and Alexander's forces sustained heavy losses and were forced to retire. Alexander then grudgingly accepted Parmenion's advice, crossed the river during the night in an uncontested location, and fought the battle at dawn the next day. 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 ancient sources. Green accounts for the differences between his account and the ancient sources by suggesting that Alexander later covered up his initial failed crossing. Green devotes an entire appendix in support of his interpretation, taking the view that for political considerations, Alexander could not admit even a temporary defeat. Thus, the initial defeat was covered up by his propagandists, by a very heroic (and Homeric) suicide charge into the teeth of the enemy. However, Green freely admits this is a theory.
Aftermath
Alexander (purportedly) came close to dying in the battle. Mithridates, Rhoesaces, Spithridates and several other Persian leaders were killed, while Arsites fled and shortly after committed suicide in his satrapy. The Greek cities in Asia Minor were liberated by Alexander, and a beachhead was established so that further campaigns against the Persian empire could be accomplished. Darius III continued to leave the responsibility of battling against Alexander to his satraps and gave Memnon a commanding role over the navy and coastal areas. Not until the
Battle of IssusThe Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia...
would Darius decide to confront the Macedonian conqueror in person.
Sources
- Delbrück, Hans (1920). History of the Art of War. University of Nebraska Press. Reprint edition, 1990. Translated by Walter, J. Renfroe. 4 Volumes.
- Engels, Donald W. (1978). Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London.
- Fuller, John F. C. (1960). The Generalship of Alexander the Great. New Jersey: De Capo Press.
- Green, Peter
Peter Green is a British classical scholar noted for his works on Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age of ancient history, generally regarded as spanning the era from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. up to either the date of the Battle of Actium or the death of Augustus in 14 A.D...
(1974). Alexander of Macedon: A Historical Biography.
- Moerbeek, Martijn (1997). The battle of Granicus, 333 BC. Universiteit Twente
University of Twente is a university located in Enschede, Netherlands. It offers research and degree programmes in technology, and in the social and behavioural sciences. In keeping with its enterprising spirit, the University is committed to making an economic and social contribution to the...
.
- Rogers, Guy (2004). Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness. New York: Random House.
- Warry, J. (1998), Warfare in the Classical World. ISBN 1-84065-004-4.
- Welman, Nick. Battles (Major) and Army. Fontys University.