The 8 most impressive battles of Alexander the Great

Alexander began his Persian campaign by leading his army into Asia Minor, and he crossed the Hellespont and advanced towards the Persian frontier.

At the Granicus River, near modern-day Biga, he encountered a force of Persian satraps supported by Greek mercenaries who had taken position on elevated ground along the eastern bank.

The river’s fast current and steep banks provided the defenders with natural protection, and they expected the Macedonians to delay their advance.

Parmenion advised caution and suggested waiting for better conditions, but Alexander ignored the advice and pressed forward. 

Rather than wait, Alexander directed his Companion Cavalry to charge across the river, followed by supporting infantry that forced a crossing under a hail of missiles.

The combat that followed saw Alexander surrounded and nearly struck down by Rhoesaces, a Persian noble, who raised his axe against the king.

Cleitus the Black stepped in at the critical moment and saved Alexander’s life by killing the attacker.

Although ancient sources highlight the danger, modern historians suggest the episode may have been exaggerated to enhance Alexander’s legend. 

The Persian army broke apart after suffering heavy losses, and the remaining Greek mercenaries were surrounded, captured, and either killed or enslaved.

Alexander sent around 2,000 of them back to Macedonia in chains, though not all were executed, and some were used for propaganda purposes.

With approximately 4,000 Persian casualties and the road into Asia Minor now open, the campaign moved quickly in his favour. 

After he had moved south along the coast of Caria, Alexander reached Halicarnassus, where Memnon of Rhodes, a skilled commander in Persian service, had fortified the city against assault.

Its thick walls and naval power, backed by a well-trained garrison, made it a challenging target, and Memnon used aggressive tactics to disrupt the Macedonian siege works whenever possible.

The city, which was the capital of Caria and housed the famous Mausoleum, was a key strategic and symbolic location. 

Alexander ordered the construction of siege towers, battering rams, and scaling ladders, which were assembled outside the range of enemy missiles.

In response, Memnon launched nighttime attacks and used fire to destroy key siege equipment, which forced Alexander to make repeated adjustments to his approach.

Progress slowed, but the Macedonians kept up pressure from different directions, which slowly wore down the defenders.

Memnon died not long after the siege had begun, which weakened Persian coordination in the region. 

Eventually, the outer defences had been breached after days of concentrated assault, and fighting spilled into the streets.

Memnon’s troops retreated to the citadel, which remained defiant even after most of the city fell.

Alexander left a garrison to maintain the siege and continued his march across Asia Minor, knowing that Halicarnassus had been effectively neutralised and that Persian authority in the region had collapsed.

He also secured the loyalty of Ada of Caria, who adopted Alexander as her son and helped stabilise the region. 

When Darius III had moved his royal army behind Alexander’s position and cut his lines of supply, the Macedonians wheeled around and met the Persians at Issus, near the coast of Cilicia.

Darius had intended to trap his enemy but had instead chosen a narrow coastal plain unsuited to his large forces, which included cavalry, chariots, and tens of thousands of infantry.

Estimates of Darius’ army vary widely, with ancient sources claiming up to 600,000 troops, though most modern historians consider 60,000 to 100,000 more likely.

The narrow terrain gave Alexander an advantage because it limited the enemy’s ability to move. 

Alexander placed his phalanx at the centre and massed his Companion Cavalry on the right, where he would lead them in person.

As his army advanced across the Pinarus River, Persian archers and javelin throwers caused losses, yet the Macedonian infantry stayed together and kept pressure along the line.

At the decisive moment, Alexander led a wedge formation through the Persian right and struck towards Darius’s centre. 

The Great King panicked and fled in his chariot, leaving behind his treasury, royal standard, and family, all of whom were captured by Alexander.

His mother, wife, and daughters were treated with respect, a gesture that boosted Alexander’s reputation across Asia and suggested divine favour.

With Darius in retreat, the Macedonian army marched south unopposed, and Alexander secured his position in western Asia. 

After he had secured the Levantine coastline, Alexander reached Tyre, a heavily fortified island city located about 700 metres offshore.

The Tyrians refused to surrender and killed the messengers that Alexander had sent under a flag of truce.

Given the city’s location and its naval power, a direct assault appeared impossible without first creating access from the mainland. 

Alexander ordered the construction of a causeway across the water, built from timber, stone, and rubble, which would allow siege towers and infantry to reach the walls.

Tyrian ships attacked the workers, and fire rafts were launched to destroy the siege equipment.

To counter these threats, Alexander assembled a fleet from Phoenician cities he had already captured and established control of the sea around the island.

The causeway, roughly one kilometre long, was widened and rebuilt repeatedly as it suffered damage from storms and enemy action. 

After months of construction and attacks, the Macedonians had breached the walls, and their troops entered the city.

The Tyrians fought with desperation, which forced Alexander’s soldiers to engage in brutal street fighting that continued until resistance collapsed.

Thousands of defenders were killed, and surviving civilians were enslaved. Ancient sources claim that around 2,000 captured men were crucified along the shoreline, though this figure may have been exaggerated.

The siege had lasted over seven months and had cost immense resources, but it eliminated the last Persian naval stronghold in the region. 

Alexander next moved towards Egypt but encountered resistance at Gaza, which sat atop a fortified mound and blocked the road south.

The city’s commander, Batis, refused to surrender, forcing Alexander to begin a siege that would last several weeks.

The elevation of the fortress prevented the immediate use of standard siege tactics, and the defenders made effective use of their position to disrupt Macedonian preparations.

Gaza’s strategic location and religious significance made it an important target for religious reasons. 

The engineers constructed large ramps to bring siege engines to the level of the walls.

These included towers and battering rams pushed forward under cover of shields, though many were damaged by missiles and sudden attacks from the defenders.

Alexander himself suffered a wound during the assault, likely to the shoulder or thigh, according to differing accounts, but he remained active and continued to command the siege operations. 

Once the walls had been breached, Macedonian troops stormed the city and fought room by room to eliminate resistance.

The defenders fought to the end, and Batis was eventually captured. As a symbolic gesture echoing Homeric epics, Alexander had him executed by dragging his body behind a chariot.

The siege had lasted about two months. With Gaza taken, the path into Egypt lay open, and Alexander crossed into the Nile Valley unchallenged. 

After he regrouped in Egypt, where he had been welcomed as a liberator, Alexander marched into Mesopotamia to confront Darius III once more.

The Persian king had assembled a massive army on the plains of Gaugamela and prepared the battlefield in advance by levelling the ground to suit his cavalry and scythed chariots.

Some ancient sources claimed Darius’ army numbered over 250,000, while Alexander’s forces likely numbered around 47,000.

Despite the disparity, Alexander developed a plan to disrupt and divide the Persian line. 

The Macedonian army advanced in an oblique formation, which drew the enemy cavalry away from the centre.

As the wings stretched out in pursuit, Alexander turned his cavalry towards the middle and launched a direct charge at Darius’s position.

Meanwhile, his centre held firm, and Parmenion’s forces on the left took heavy pressure from the Persian right. 

Darius again abandoned the battlefield and fled, and his flight caused his army to collapse.

The Macedonians pursued fleeing troops and captured much treasure, including Darius’s royal standard.

War elephants were present among the captured items, though they played little role in the actual battle.

The victory at Gaugamela effectively ended Persian resistance, and Alexander secured access to the empire’s great cities, including Babylon and Susa. 

Advancing towards Persepolis through the Zagros Mountains, Alexander encountered resistance at the Persian Gate, a narrow pass guarded by Ariobarzanes and a Persian detachment.

Using the terrain to their advantage, the defenders launched missiles and rolled boulders down onto the Macedonian column, which caused heavy losses and stopped progress through the pass.

This defence has often been likened to Thermopylae, though it was far shorter in duration and ultimately unsuccessful. 

Rather than repeat failed frontal assaults, Alexander relied on local guides who led him through a mountain trail during the night.

By morning, his forces had got around the defenders and launched a surprise attack from the rear, which caught the Persians between two Macedonian detachments.

The defenders fought fiercely but were surrounded and destroyed. 

With the pass secured, Alexander marched into Persepolis and seized the Persian treasury.

The ceremonial burning of the palace, later blamed on drunken celebration or a political statement, brought about the end of the Achaemenid dynasty.

Alexander’s control over the Persian heartland now appeared complete, though Darius had escaped once more. 

In the spring of 326 BC, Alexander crossed into the Punjab and encountered King Porus, whose army included chariots, cavalry, infantry, and a line of war elephants that posed a serious threat.

The swollen Hydaspes River presented a natural barrier, and Porus remained confident that Alexander could not cross it without being intercepted and destroyed.

Alexander’s forces numbered approximately 40,000, while Porus may have commanded fewer than 50,000, though precise figures are uncertain. 

To confuse his opponent, Alexander staged repeated mock crossings and sent visible detachments up and down the riverbanks.

Under the cover of a thunderstorm, he had led a selected force upstream during the night and crossed at a ford with limited opposition.

When Porus moved to meet this threat, he found himself outmanoeuvred and exposed to attacks from multiple angles. 

The elephants caused significant disruption, but the Macedonians countered them with javelins and archers, and they isolated and killed the mahouts, which caused the beasts to panic.

The Indian army eventually broke, and Porus was wounded and captured. Alexander admired his bravery and reinstated him as ruler of his territory under Macedonian control.

His beloved horse Bucephalus died during or shortly after the battle, which led Alexander to found the city of Bucephala in its memory.

The battle showed the limits of further conquest, as Alexander’s weary army refused to advance into the Ganges Valley, which forced a retreat that would mark the beginning of the long journey home.