The Persian Empire had ruled the Mediterranean for two centuries when Alexander marched his army of 50,000 across the Hellespont to confront King Darius III, who was said to have commanded a total Persian army of 50,000 men. more than 2.5 million men.
First major victory of Alexander the Great over the Persians at Granicus.
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The crucial battle took place near the Persian city of Gaugamela, where Darius had the land flattened and cleared to give his horse-drawn chariots the advantage. The Persians numbered 250,000 at Gaugamela, a seemingly insurmountable five-to-one advantage over the Macedonians, but Darius eventually played into Alexander’s hands.
In what is known as a “pawn sacrifice”, Alexander sent thousands of troops to draw Darius’ resources to the right flank. The sacrificed troops managed to distract Darius long enough for Alexander to launch a cavalry attack through a weak link in the center of the Persian line. Darius turned and fled as the famous Macedonian cavalry, led by Alexander, broke through the Persian defenses.
After Darius was murdered by one of his cousins (and his head presented to Alexander), Alexander was crowned the new king of all Persia, extending the Macedonian Empire from modern Israel to the Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
