~Koschei~
Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion"- Alexander the Great
During Alexander the Greats invasion of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Persian Emperor Darius III was desperate to keep his falling Empire alive. Two years earlier he was defeated at Issus (portrayed in the famous alexander mosaic) which resulted in the capture of his wife, mother and two daughters. Alexander then made gains in the Levant after capturing the city of Gaza and taking Egypt in a bloodless conquest.
Darius III was so desperate had tried to negotiate a peace deal. Sources range from him outright saying the Greeks should leave Asia or to him offering his daughters hand in marriage. The negotiations failed. Darius III then did what he could to build up an army from the remaining parts of his empire.
The two armies met at a battle field that Darius III ordered his troops to flatten but this did not help. The Persian Empire had about 50,000-100,000 soldiers waiting for the Greeks whos forces numbered around 47,000.
As the battle begun the Persians were very unorganized and threw whatever they could at Alexander's army. That failed and he launched a massive attacks toward the main Persian line. In the fighting Darius' chariot was destroyed and soon fled on foot. The Hellenic forces decimated Darius' army of foot soldiers, cavalry, chariots and even war elephants. The Greeks and Macedonians lost 1,000 troops, while the Persians lost 40,000. These sources vary however given the circumstances they're probably true.
After the battle Darius III retreated with his remaining soldiers and planned to raise an army from his eastern most provinces in Persia, Central Asia and India. That failed as well when one of his generals Bessus. He was captured a year later and killed. The remaining Persian Satraps pledged loyalty to Alexander and their leaders were allowed to stay in power. The death of the Persian Empire lead to the Macedonian one Alexander the Great created.
Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion"- Alexander the Great
During Alexander the Greats invasion of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Persian Emperor Darius III was desperate to keep his falling Empire alive. Two years earlier he was defeated at Issus (portrayed in the famous alexander mosaic) which resulted in the capture of his wife, mother and two daughters. Alexander then made gains in the Levant after capturing the city of Gaza and taking Egypt in a bloodless conquest.
Darius III was so desperate had tried to negotiate a peace deal. Sources range from him outright saying the Greeks should leave Asia or to him offering his daughters hand in marriage. The negotiations failed. Darius III then did what he could to build up an army from the remaining parts of his empire.
The two armies met at a battle field that Darius III ordered his troops to flatten but this did not help. The Persian Empire had about 50,000-100,000 soldiers waiting for the Greeks whos forces numbered around 47,000.
As the battle begun the Persians were very unorganized and threw whatever they could at Alexander's army. That failed and he launched a massive attacks toward the main Persian line. In the fighting Darius' chariot was destroyed and soon fled on foot. The Hellenic forces decimated Darius' army of foot soldiers, cavalry, chariots and even war elephants. The Greeks and Macedonians lost 1,000 troops, while the Persians lost 40,000. These sources vary however given the circumstances they're probably true.
After the battle Darius III retreated with his remaining soldiers and planned to raise an army from his eastern most provinces in Persia, Central Asia and India. That failed as well when one of his generals Bessus. He was captured a year later and killed. The remaining Persian Satraps pledged loyalty to Alexander and their leaders were allowed to stay in power. The death of the Persian Empire lead to the Macedonian one Alexander the Great created.