Alexander the Great

by Philip Freeman

  There was little time to spare before he faced Darius on the battlefield, but Alexander spent the next two weeks securing his hold on Cilicia. One of his first actions was to take over the imperial Persian mint in Tarsus and order the engravers to strike a new silver coin. On its front was the head of young Hercules, the king’s ancestor, wearing his customary lion’s skin. On the reverse was Zeus seated like the Semitic god Baal—a blending of Greek and Oriental themes that was to become a hallmark of Alexander’s new empire. The silver currency was most useful to the king as payment for his troops. Coinage was also important propaganda since the money would quickly find its way to markets and brothels throughout the eastern Mediterranean. If anyone wondered who had issued it, all he had to do was read Alexander’s name imprinted next to the image of Zeus.

  The king then marched for a day southwest along the coast to Anchiale, once a great city in an outlying kingdom of the Assyrian Empire. There local guides showed him a monument left by the Assyrian king Sardanapalus four hundred years earlier. On it was the carved relief of the eastern king snapping his fingers along with an inscription in cuneiform letters. The guides were quick to translate it for Alexander: “Sardanapalus, son of Anakyndaraxes, built Anchiale and Tarsus in a single day. But you, stranger, eat, drink, and make love—for the lives of other men compared to mine are not worth even this.”

  The this referred to was the snapping of the Assyrian king’s fingers. Although Alexander suffered from no lack of self-confidence, he had to admire the cheek of Sardanapalus. He sent a copy of the translation back to Aristotle, who said the epitaph belonged on the tomb of a bull.

  Just a few hours farther down the coast was the wealthy city of Soli, where Alexander extorted a huge ransom from the citizens in exchange for the privilege of remaining alive. He used the city as his headquarters for the next week while he and his men scoured the nearby mountains for rebellious Cilician highlanders. When he returned to Soli, a dispatch was waiting from the west informing the king that his troops had finally taken the remaining fortresses inside Halicarnassus, along with the nearby town of Myndus, the island of Cos, and a number of other settlements in Caria. His adopted mother Queen Ada could now rule as satrap throughout her native land. The good news from the Aegean would not last, but for the moment the king was happy to celebrate his victories with sacrifices to the gods, along with athletic and musical contests for his army.

  Alexander had already ordered Parmenion ahead, but now he sent Philotas forward to the town of Mallus while he himself made a short detour to the coastal settlement of Magarsa to sacrifice at the local temple of Athena. The next day he caught up with Philotas at Mallus and offered more sacrifices, this time to Amphilochus, a celebrated veteran of the Trojan War. The king knew a decisive battle was coming and so prayed at the shrine of every god and hero on his march toward Darius.

  However, not every Macedonian believed that heaven would favor them in the approaching fight. Alexander’s childhood friend and campaign treasurer Harpalus suddenly fled to Greece along with a rascal named Tauriscus. The ancient sources never give his motive explicitly, but it is reasonable to think that Harpalus absconded with as much money as he could carry.

  The plains of Cilicia are separated from Syria by a narrow but rugged range of mountains. Alexander knew from reading Xenophon that there was a pass called the Gates at the southern end of these mountains that served as the main entry into Syria. Accordingly, he moved his army rapidly down the coast past the town of Issus and over the Pinarus River to the small city of Myriandrus near the pass. He heard from his scouts that Darius and his army were on the other side of the mountains waiting for him. He also learned that the Great King had carefully chosen a broad plain there for the upcoming battle. It was near the Orontes River, just north of the future site of Antioch, and was the perfect location for war from the Persian point of view—open grasslands where the Great King could use his superior numbers, matchless cavalry, and terrifying battle chariots to his greatest advantage.

  The only problem for Darius was that Alexander was not walking into the trap. Darius knew his enemy had been delayed in Cilicia by illness, but his scouts reported that the Macedonians had headed west toward Soli when their king recovered, then spent a week hunting mountain tribesmen and playing athletic games. Darius began to worry that Alexander, in spite of his reputation, was afraid to face him in battle. His Persian advisors urged the Great King to carry the war into Cilicia and crush the Macedonians there. However, a refugee from the Macedonian court named Amyntas warned Darius against such a change in plans, urging him to wait for Alexander at the chosen battle site.

  Darius was no fool and was a far better general than many ancient historians claim, but he was in a difficult position. He could not afford to linger in Syria with his army while Alexander waited just over the mountains. His power ultimately depended on his ability to project military force anywhere in his empire at any time. If he seemed afraid to face Alexander, his control over his vast kingdom could collapse. He therefore ordered his army to march into Cilicia, but not by the southern pass. He believed the Macedonians were still near Tarsus and so moved through a northern pass into the plains above the town of Issus.

  Alexander, meanwhile, too devoted to Xenophon’s memoirs for his own good, had already moved beyond Issus in ignorance of other entries into Syria. He was not, in fact, afraid to face Darius there even if the Persians had chosen the site of battle. The Macedonian king had complete confidence in himself and his men to win, no matter the circumstances. He was at the southern pass preparing to cross the mountains when his scouts reported that the Persians were now behind him on the narrow coastal plain near Issus. Alexander thought the scouts surely must be mistaken and sent men back to verify the report. Meanwhile Darius had arrived in Cilicia only to hear that the Macedonian army was now behind him. It was a perfect muddle for both kings and not at all what either had planned. Darius was in such a bad mood that he rounded up some injured Macedonians left behind at Issus to recuperate and tortured them, cutting off both their hands for good measure. He had good reason to be upset. He had needlessly exchanged the broad plains of Syria for a confining strip of land between the mountains and sea.

  Like Darius, Alexander immediately recognized that the new situation seriously compromised the Persians. As with the great sea battle at Salamis in the previous century in which a smaller Athenian navy drew a larger Persian fleet into a narrow strait, the fight on the plain of Issus would diminish any advantage in numbers. Even so, it would be a very tough fight. The Persian lines might not be broad, but they would be deep and filled with proven soldiers the Great King had summoned from the many nations of his empire.

  Darius had begun gathering his army soon after the battle of Granicus over a year earlier. The recruitment of troops did not move swiftly in the Persian Empire, but once an army was assembled it was an awesome sight to behold. The Great King ordered troops from his whole realm to gather at Babylon in Mesopotamia. Although the entire army was not at his disposal, the force was considered sufficient to deal with the Macedonians. Some ancient sources say the Persian army numbered six hundred thousand men. This is surely an exaggeration typical of Greek historians on the winning side, but the army was large enough so that the muster of nations at Babylon took a whole day to pass before the Great King’s eyes.

  The native Persians who gathered were brave troops who proudly pledged their lives to defend the honor and life of the Great King. Besides his countrymen, Darius also summoned infantry and cavalry from the Medes and Tapurians to the north, as well as Armenians from the Caucasus mountains. The wild Hyrcani from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea supplied a host of cavalry, as did the Barcani from central Asia, who fought with double-edged axes. The Derbices, from the same lands as the Barcani, fought with bronze and iron-tipped spears, though some preferred to use wooden pikes hardened by fire. Also present were thousands of Greek mercenaries—tough, experienced troops who were not at all afraid of
the Macedonians. These professional soldiers, along with the native Persians, would form the heart of the Great King’s battle formation. Many other nations from throughout the empire were also present, though their names are not recorded.

  Aside from Persian soldiers there were countless attendants, slaves, cooks, physicians, wagon drivers, scribes, priests, and eunuchs on hand as support staff for the Great King. According to Persian custom, Darius was also accompanied by his family on the march, including his mother, wife, and three children. They traveled in grand style and camped in lavishly decorated tents full of magnificent treasures. The opulence of the Great King’s surroundings on campaign was scarcely less extravagant than if he were in his palace at Persepolis.

  It began to rain on Alexander and his men that night. Soon the entire army was soaked to the skin and shivering in the November wind. They were wet, cold, and trapped on a narrow plain with the strongest army in the world only a few miles away waiting to destroy them. The sole path of retreat was behind them, through the Gates into Syria, but this would take them only deeper into enemy territory. Like their king, the Macedonian army recognized that they had to fight at Issus and win or they would all perish.

  When the storm lifted, the Macedonians could see thousands of Persian campfires in the distance like stars in the sky. Alexander ordered his men to eat a hearty dinner and prepare to leave before dawn. While his soldiers tried to sleep, the king climbed a nearby hill and looked out at the vast Persian army. This was what he had dreamed of all his life, but now that the moment was here at last, he did know fear. Not for his life or for his brave men, but fear that something would go wrong. He spent the night sacrificing to the local gods, praying that they would be kind to him.

  While it was still dark, Alexander led the army toward Issus. He stopped his men periodically on the march to rest and accustom themselves to the sight of the enemy spread out across the plain from the mountains to the sea. As they neared the Pinarus River, he drew them up in final battle order. On his far right against the foothills he placed Parmenion’s son Nicanor with a unit of foot soldiers. Next to them were Macedonian cavalry, then thousands of infantry stretching almost a mile across the center of the battlefield, and finally the elite Thessalian cavalry next to the sea. Parmenion was in overall command of the left side of the line, while Alexander positioned himself on the right toward the center. It was a classic formation that he had used at the Granicus—swift-moving cavalry on the wings to encircle the enemy, and the mass of the infantry in the center to stab and slash their way through the Persian lines.

  Across the river tens of thousands of Persians were drawn up in deep formation with archers in front and the rest of the infantry extending across the whole line to the sea, where Darius had placed all his cavalry to sweep behind the Macedonians. He also stationed some foot soldiers on the heights above Alexander’s right wing to descend at an opportune moment. The Great King himself was in the center of the army with Greek mercenaries and his best Persian troops at his side.

  As the Macedonians advanced the final mile, the Persians remained in position on the far side of the river. The banks of the Pinarus were smooth on the side where Alexander’s men were approaching, but steep once they crossed the river. It was the same plan the Great King’s generals had used at the battle of the Granicus—force the Macedonians to attack across the river and up a high embankment. But even though the strategy had failed before, the Persians, while superior in numbers, were again taking a defensive stand against an aggressive enemy.

  Just before they were in range of enemy arrows, Alexander halted his army and rode down the entire Macedonian line encouraging his men. He not only cheered on his generals and officers, but the common soldiers as well. He called these by name and reminded them of their bravery in past battles. A mighty shout rose up from the Macedonian army that echoed across the plain. Alexander then ordered them to advance at a run as he turned his horse toward the river and led them into battle.

  Alexander and his companions charged at such speed that they were underneath the Persian arrows before the archers could take aim. They hit the river at a gallop and broke through the enemy formation, striking panic into the front-line troops. The Persians near Alexander began to pull back in terror as the Macedonians cut through their defenses. But suddenly the Greek mercenaries fighting for Darius struck hard against the Macedonian center and opened a gap in Alexander’s lines, tearing into his infantry. They pushed the Macedonians back into the river and killed many, all while the two sides shouted the vilest insults at each other in Greek.

  While the center of the Persian line was holding, the Great King’s cavalry near the sea rushed across the river and pushed back the horsemen from Thessaly. The fight on horseback along the coast was unrelenting as neither side gave way. Meanwhile Alexander’s right wing, the one part of his line that was actually advancing against the Persians, managed to break through and circle around behind the Greek mercenaries. This was the moment when the battle turned. Unable to fight both in front and behind, the mercenaries fell back. The Persian center then began to collapse and the cavalry, seeing their infantry lines crumble, turned and fled back across the river, riding over their own men to escape.

  Darius watched in horror as the unthinkable unfolded all around him. But even though he realized the Macedonians would win the battle, he refused to withdraw. He stood atop his war chariot ready to strike down any enemy who approached. Alexander could not resist such a perfect target. If he could slay Darius with his own hand, not only would the war be over but his glory, like that of Achilles, would never die. As Alexander rushed toward Darius, one of the Great King’s brothers led his horsemen between the two kings. But he was cut down. Atizyes, former satrap of Phrygia, died defending his lord, as did Rheomithres, who had fought bravely at the Granicus, along with Sabaces, satrap of Egypt. As the Macedonians closed in, it may have been Darius himself who slashed at Alexander, wounding him in the thigh with his sword. Even so, the Great King was now cut off from his army and about to die.

  What happened next is frozen in time, preserved in an exquisitely detailed mosaic found buried beneath the ashes of Mount Vesuvius in the Roman town of Pompeii. On it we see Alexander charging from the left, bare-headed but wearing a breastplate with a Gorgon’s head staring out to turn his enemies to stone. With his spear he skewers a Persian guard standing between him and Darius. The ground is littered with the dead and dying of both sides. A lone, barren tree stands in the background. A dark brown horse bleeds to death in the center. A Persian soldier taking his final breath as he lies on the ground sees his own reflection in a polished shield. A forest of Persian spears rises as men rush forward to save their king, who at last has turned to flee the battlefield in his chariot. But the most haunting image of all is the face of Darius, who has locked eyes with Alexander and stares at him, not in fear or anger, but in astonishment.

  Our written sources paint much the same picture, with Darius retreating at the last minute before the irresistible force of Alexander. Darius then broke through the chaos of battle and fled with the remains of his army eastward across the mountains. Alexander and his troops vainly pursued Darius for miles, riding out of the battlefield over gullies filled with the bodies of dead Persians. In all, many thousands of Persians were slain, while the Macedonian losses, though heavy, were far fewer. Alexander was bitterly disappointed that Darius had escaped, but as his companions surrounded him to offer their congratulations, he could rejoice that at twenty-three years of age, he had just defeated the Great King of Persia.

  When Alexander arrived at the camp of Darius, it was already late at night. He was exhausted from the battle and pursuit, in addition to not having slept for two days. He could see his soldiers looting the camp and portioning out the Persian women they captured. His men had reserved the royal tent of the Great King himself for Alexander. He entered this magnificent enclosure and was struck immediately by the superb furniture and treasures scattered throughout. �
�So this is what it means to be a king,” he marveled. The plates, basins, and even the bathtub were all made of gold, while the fragrance of rich perfumes and spices filled the air. The royal Macedonian pages had prepared a banquet for him with captured Persian food and had readied a hot bath. Alexander removed his dusty armor and went to the tub, remarking to one of his friends that he would like to wash off the sweat of battle in the bath of Darius. “No,” his companion corrected, “rather it is the property of Alexander.”

  After bathing, the king and his companions were settling down to eat when they heard wailing from a nearby section of the tent. Inquiring who was making such a horrible noise, Alexander was told that it was the mother of Darius, along with the Great King’s wife, two virgin daughters, and young son. They had torn their garments and were weeping for Darius, whom they believed to be dead. Alexander sent one of his companions, Leonnatus, to calm them. He arrived at the entrance to their quarters, but was unsure if he should enter without being announced. Finally, he pulled back the flaps and came before the women, who cried out in fear thinking that he had come to kill them. They begged him to allow them at least to prepare the body of Darius properly for burial before they were slain. Leonnatus assured them that the Great King was still alive and that Alexander meant them no harm. He was, in fact, insistent that they be treated with the utmost respect as royal ladies. The women finally calmed down and expressed their gratitude for the king’s kindness.