In the Battle of Gaugamela (IPA: /ˌgɔgəˈmilə/) in 331 BC Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeated Darius III of Persia. The battle is also inaccurately called the Battle of Arbela.
| Battle of Gaugamela | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great | |||||||
 Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1602, The Battle of Arbella, or The Battle of Issus | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Macedon Greek allies | Persia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Alexander the Great | Darius III | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
4,000 cavalry 40,000 infantry |
250,000 Persian infantry, 35,000 cavalry 200 scythed chariots war elephants | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| At least 1,200 killed and wounded | About 230,000 wounded or killed | ||||||
Combatants
Alexander commanded a force from his kingdom of Macedon, Thracian allies and the Corinthian League that, according to Arrian numbered 7,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry.
Darius's force numbered according to Arrian 40,000 cavalry and 1,000,000 infantry,Diodorus Siculus 200,000 cavalry and 800,000 infantry, Plutarch 1,000,000 troops and Justinus 500,000 (both these writers do not break them down by type) while according to Curtius 45,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry. Furthermore accroding to Arrian, Diodorus and Curtius Darius had 200 chariots while Arrian mentions 15 war elephants. Among Darius's infantry was 20,000 Greek mercenaries. The actual Persian numbers are unknown, although it is fairly clear that they substantially outnumbered Alexander's forces.
Location
Darius chose (or smoothed out, depending on accounts) a flat plain where he could deploy his numerically superior cavalry forces. The ___location of the battle, i.e., that of Gaugamela, cannot be established definitively. Supposedly, the battle was held near a hill in the form of a camel's hump, hence the name etymology: Tel Gomel or Tel Gahmal, or "Mount Camel" in Hebrew (see etymology of the word "camel"). Others translate the name as "camel's stall" (Plutarch: "camel's house", in his Life of Alexander), and associate the place with a settlement. The most commonly accepted opinion about the ___location is (36°22′N 43°15′E / 36.36°N 43.25°E), east of Mosul in northern modern-day Iraq – suggested by Sir Aurel Stein in 1938 (see his Limes Report, pp. 127-1). After the battle, Darius fled to Arbela (modern-day Arbil) 100-120 km to the east.
Prelude
During the two years after the Battle of Issus Alexander proceeded to occupy the Mediterranean coast and Egypt. He then advanced from Syria against the heart of the Persian empire. Alexander crossed both the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers without any opposition.
The battle
Initial dispositions
The battle began with the Persians already present at the battlefield. Darius had recruited the finest cavalry from his Eastern satrapies and from an allied Scythian tribe. Darius also deployed scythed chariots for which he had prepared cleared terrain in front of his troops. He also had 50 Indian elephants supported by Indian chariots, although these seemingly played no role in the battle. Before the battle, Darius ordered bushes and vegetation removed from the battlefield, to maximize the chariots' effectiveness.
Darius placed himself in the center with his best infantry as was the tradition among Persian Kings. He was surrounded by, on his right, the Carian Cavalry, Greek mercenaries, and the Persian Horse Guards. In the right-center he placed the Persian Foot Guards (Apple Bearers/Immortals to the Greeks), the Indian Cavalry and his Mardian archers.
On both flanks were the cavalry. Bessus commanded the left flank with the Bactrians, Dahae Cavalry, Arachrosian Cavalry, Persian Cavalry, Susian Cavalry, Cadusian Cavalry, and Scythians. Chariots were placed in front with a small group of Bactrians. Mazaeus commanded the right flank with the Syrian, Median, Mesopotamian, Parthian, Sacian, Tapurian, Hyrcanian, Albanian, Sacesinian, Cappadocian, and Armenian cavalry. The Cappadocians and Armenians were stationed in front of the other cavalry units, and led the attack. The Albanian and Sacesinian cavalry were sent around to flank the Macedonian left.
The Macedonians were divided into two, with the right side of the army falling under the direct command of Alexander, and the left to Parmenion. Alexander fought with his Companion Cavalry. With it were the Paionian, and Macedonian light cavalry. The mercenary cavalry was divided into two groups, with the veterans being stationed on the flank of the right, and the rest being put in front of the Agrians and Macedonian archers which were stationed next to the phalanx. Parmenion was stationed on the left with the Thessalian, Greek mercenary, and Thracian cavalry units. There they were to pull off a holding maneuver while Alexander landed the decisive blow from the right.
On the right-center of the formation were Cretan mercenaries. Behind them was a group of Thessalian cavalry under Phillip, and Achaian mercenaries. To their right was another part of the allied Greek cavalry. From there came the phalanx, which was placed into a double-line. Due to being outnumbered over 5:1 in cavalry, and their line surpassed by over a mile, it seem inevitable that the Macedonians would be flanked by the Persians. The second line were given orders to deal with any flanking units should the situation arise. This second line consisted of mostly mercenaries.
Beginning of the battle
During the battle Alexander used a unique strategy which has been duplicated only a few times throughout history. His plan was to draw as much of the Persian cavalry as possible to the flanks. The purpose of this was to create a gap within the enemy line where a decisive blow could then be struck at Darius in the center. This required almost perfect timing and maneuvering, and the Great King himself to act first. The Macedonians advanced with the wings echeloned back at 45 degree angles to lure the Persian cavalry to attack. At the same time they slowly moved to the right. Alexander forced Darius to attack (as they would soon move off the prepared ground) though Darius did not want to be the first to attack after seeing what happened at Issus against a similar formation. In the end Darius's hand was forced, and he attacked.
Darius now launched his chariots, some of which were intercepted by the Agrianians. It is said that the Macedonian army had trained for a new tactic to counter these devastating chariots if they ran into their ranks. The first lines would step aside, opening a gap. The horse would refuse to run into the lances of the front ranks, and enter the "mouse trap", only to be stopped by the lances of the rear ranks. The charioteers could then be killed at leisure. The chariots were rendered useless.
Alexander's decisive attack
As the Persians moved farther and farther to the Macedonian flanks in their attack, Alexander slowly filtered in his rear-guard. The Persians followed suit, until finally a gap opened between Bessus's left and Darius's center as Alexander had sent in his last mounted reserves against the Persians. Alexander disengaged his Companions, and prepared for the decisive attack on the Persians. Leading the way, he formed his units into a giant wedge, with him leading the charge. Behind them was the guards brigade along with any phalanx battalions he could withdraw from the battle. These were follow-up light troops.
This large wedge then smashed right into the weakened Persian center, taking out Darius's royal guard, and the Greek mercenaries. Bessus on the left, now cut off from Darius, and fearing he himself would be struck with this wedge, began to pull back his forces. Darius was in danger of himself being cut off, and here several accounts differ as to what happened. According to most accounts, Darius broke and ran, and the rest of his army followed suit. However the only preserved contemporary account, an astronomical diary from Babylon written within days of the battle, says this:
- The twenty-fourth [day of the lunar month], in the morning, the king of the world [i.e., Alexander] [erected his] standard [lacuna]. Opposite each other they fought and a heavy defeat of the troops [of the king he inflicted]. The king [i.e., Darius], his troops deserted him and to their cities [they went]. They fled to the land of the Guti. [1]
Diodorus agrees with the story, backing up its validity.
The left flank
Alexander could have pursued Darius at this point. However, he received desperate messages from Parmenion (an event which would later be used by Callisthenes and others to discredit Parmenion) on the left. Alexander was faced with the choice of pursuing Darius, but losing his army, or going back to the left flank to aid Parmenion and preserve his forces. In the end, he made the decision to help Parmenion, and follow Darius later.
While holding on the left, a gap had also opened up between the left and center of the Macedonian line. The Persian and Indian cavalry units stationed in the center with Darius broke through. Instead of taking the phalanx or Parmenion in the rear, however, they continued on towards the camp to loot. They also tried to rescue Queen Mother Sisygambis but she refused to go with them. On their way back,the Indians slew over 60 of the Companion Cavalry.
Meanwhile, as the center and Darius broke, Mazaeus also began to pull his forces back as Bessus had. However, unlike on the left with Bessus, the Persians soon fell into disorder as the Thessalians and other cavalry units charged forward at their fleeing enemy.
Aftermath
After the battle, Parmenion rounded up the Persian baggage train while Alexander and his own bodyguard chased after Darius in hopes of catching up. As at Issus, substantial amounts of loot were gained following the battle. 4,000 talents were captured, as well as the King's personal chariot and bow. The war elephants were also captured.
Darius had managed to escape the battle with a small core of his forces remaining intact. The Bactrian cavalry and Bessus managed to catch up with him, as did some of the survivors of the Royal Guard and 2,000 Greek mercenaries.
At this point, the Persian Empire was divided into two halves – East and West. Alexander would go on to proclaim himself Great King. On his escape, Darius gave a speech to what remained of his army. He planned to head further East, and raise another army to face Alexander while he and the Macedonians headed to Babylon. At the same time he dispatched letters to his Eastern satrapies asking them to remain loyal.
References
Primary Sources
- The Anabasis of Alexander: The Battle of Gaugamela(Book 3, 7~16) By Arrian, Translated by E.J.Chinnock
- Alexander the Great: An annotated list of primary sources from Livius.org
- Wiki Classical Dictionary, extant sources and fragmentary and lost sources
- Plutarch, Life of Alexander (in English)
- Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (in English)
- Plutarch, Of the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander the Great (in English)
- Quintus Curtius Rufus, Histories of Alexander (in Latin)
Bibliography
- Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox (London: Allen Lane 1973)
- Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B.C. by Peter Green
- Alexander by Theodore Ayrault Dodge
- J.F.C. Fuller. A Military History of the Western World. Three Volumes. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1987 and 1988.
- v. 1. From the earliest times to the Battle of Lepanto; ISBN 0306803046: pp. 87 to 114 (Alexander the Great).
- De Santis, Marc G. “At The Crossroads of Conquest.” Military Heritage. December 2001. Volume 3, No. 3: 46-55, 97 (Alexander the Great, his military, his strategy at the Battle of Gaugamela and his defeat of Darius making Alexander the King of Kings).
External links
- Livius.org tells the story of Alexander and quotes original sources. Favors a reconstruction of the battle which heavily privileges the Babylonian astronomical diaries.