At the Battle of Issus, fought in early November 333 BC, Alexander faced the Persian King Darius in person for the first time. Massively outnumbered, the Macedonian army faced the numberless might of the Persian military machine. The outcome would decide the future of both the Persian and the Macedonian empire.
Alexander the Great had invaded the Persian Empire in Spring 334 BC, crossing the Hellespont in fulfilment of the military ambitions of his father, Philip II. Philip had been assassinated in 336 BC and Alexander wasted no time in using the army his father had developed to ensure that Greece and Thrace were subdued before embarking on the most aggressive military campaign the world had ever seen.
The Battle of Granicus: First Clash with the Persians
Within a month of his invasion of the Persian Empire, Alexander had faced and defeated a Persian army at the battle of the Granicus in what is now north western Turkey.
At the River Granicus he had faced an army commanded by Persian governors (satraps) and other nobles and cobbled together out of their own troops. The victory opened the way for Alexander to march deeper into the Persian Empire but he had yet to face the full force of the Persian army itself or one commanded by the Great King, Darius III, himself. Alexander marched along the west coast of modern-day Turkey, taking and besieging cities. In early 333 he marched into Galatia, Cappadocia, and Cilicia. There he received word that Darius was on the move to meet him.
Bust of Alexander the Great at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. (Yair Haklai/CC BY-SA 3.0).
Darius’s Response
Darius had realised that he needed to face Alexander himself since the loss at Granicus. That defeat had meant, not only, had he lost several commanders (the losses in troops were immaterial), but cities and territories were now surrendering to Alexander without a fight – some were welcoming him as a liberator. Darius therefore mustered his enormous army and marched to Sochi – the exact location of which is still debated, but it was somewhere in north-western Syria.
This gathering of his forces took some time, and it was much longer than a year before his army was gathered. Nonetheless, Darius stole a march on Alexander who continued to advance southwards down the east coast of the Mediterranean (modern south eastern Turkey), before learning that Darius was, in fact, behind him, having marched undetected from Sochi to Issus through the Amanus mountains. Alexander could not afford to have a Persian army behind him, cutting his line of supply and communication back to Greece. He turned about and marched northwards.
We are told that Darius’ army numbered up to 600,000 men, summoned from all across the empire. In addition to men from the Persian homelands and Media, contingents from Armenia, Hyrcania, and other parts of the empire as well as 30,000 Greek mercenaries. Most modern estimates reject this vast horde (bringing the total down to around 100,000 men) but, whatever the actual number, Darius’ army severely outnumbered Alexander’s forces (a maximum of 40,000 men).
One of the historians of Alexander, the Roman Quintus Curtius Rufus, gives the numbers of Persians at Issus as 250,000 infantry and 58,000 cavalry. Darius’ first choice of position at Sochi gave him room for the deployment and manoeuvre of his entire force but he was persuaded to advance to a narrower position at Issus and then the Pinarus River. The plain here may still have been four kilometres wide but it was not enough room to fit Darius’ army and he was forced to station a huge reserve of troops behind his front line. He must still have got the jump on Alexander since his men had time to erect palisades and secure their position on the northern bank of the river.
Image of Darius the Great, taken from Alexander Mosaic from 100 BC found in the rubble of Pompeii. (Carole Raddato/CC BY-SA 2.0).
Macedonian Army Tactics vs. Persian Forces
The mainstay of the Persian army was levies of troops armed with spear and bow. There were also a variety of contingents who were armed according to their own traditions and fought with other weapons such as axes. The Persians had shields and some armour although they were less well protected than their Macedonian opposition. As a result of this, Darius had a large number of Greek hoplite mercenaries (30,000 of them according to Arrian). These were better armed and armoured than traditional Persian troops and Darius even had Persian troops equipped and trained as hoplites (known as cardaces).
The backbone of the Macedonian army was the phalanx of 9,000 men recruited from the provinces of Macedonia. These men were divided into six divisions or taxeis (pronounced tax-ace) sing. taxis (pronounced tax-iss) of 1,500 men each. Each man, known as a phalangite, was armed with a long spear, a sarissa, up to six and a half metres long (we are given a range of lengths from four metres to six and a half). The phalangite also wore armour, a shield and carried a sword.
In addition to this Alexander had a corps of heavy cavalry, the Companions, armed with a spear of their own, the xyston. (the men of the phalanx were also known as the foot companions). Alexander led the cavalry in person on decisive charges (something of a change from Greek and Macedonian generals before him who led the infantry). There was also a unit of 3,000 hypaspists or Foot Guards which protected the flanks of the phalanx. To augment these, Alexander’s army had a variety of other troops, light armed peltasts and archers and various mercenaries and other types of cavalry. Despite the excellent training of such contingents, they were, nevertheless, massively outnumbered.
Alexander’s Charge
At Issus, Alexander would march northwards straight into battle. We are told that he entered the plain approaching Darius’ position at a very narrow part, where he had to deploy his phalanx in double depth (32 men deep rather than the usual 16) and with his cavalry drawn up behind that double-depth phalanx.
As he advanced towards Darius he was able to extend his line, making the phalanx its normal depth and placing his cavalry on each wing. On the right he had his Thessalian and Macedonian cavalry, next to them his Royal Guard cavalry and hypaspists. Then came the phalanx, in six taxeis. Next to them on the left wing were the Peloponnesian cavalry. Behind these he drew up a line consisting of his mercenaries (probably to fill any gaps created in his line and to replace any losses). In front of his whole formation he placed a screen of skirmishers and archers. These advanced towards the Persians.
Famous Alexander Mosaic, found at the House of the Faun in Pompeii, believed to show Alexander in action in the Battle of Issus (from 100 BC).(Naples National Archaeological Museum).
Macedonian Victory
As Alexander continued to advance, he sent his screening force of light-armed troops to dislodge the force threatening his right flank. This was achieved without too much fuss even though Arrian tells us that the flanking force consisted of 20,000 men. Darius reinforced his own right wing with a cavalry contingent from his left (probably the Median cavalry). Seeing this, Alexander strengthened his own left wing by sending the Thessalians from the Macedonian right wing to reinforce his commander there, Parmenion.
Top image: Conflict rages at the Battle of Issus, 1602 painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Source: Louvre Museum/Public Domain.
By Murray Dahm
Murray Dahm is an ancient and medieval military historian and the assistant editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine. He is the author of Finis Britanniae. A Military History of Late Roman Britain and the Saxon Conquest.
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