Battle of Issus

This battle marked a transition from Alexander the Great’s liberation of Anatolia to his campaign in the east.

Date: November, 333 b. c.e.

Category: Wars and battles

Locale: Plain on the coast of the Gulf of Iskenderun in modern Turkey

Summary After his victory at Granicus (334 b. c.e.), Alexander the Great of Macedonia campaigned through Anatolia. He needed the coast of Syria-Phoenicia to ensure a connection with mainland Greece, threatened by the Persian fleet, and as a starting ground for his eastern campaign.

Trying to take advantage of the Cilician terrain, Persian Darius III laid a trap in the mountain pass that Alexander was going to take. Alexander, delayed by bad weather, became aware of Darius’s position and forced him into battle near the Gulf of Issus (IH-suhs). Both sides, divided by the

Alexander the Great (far left) defeats Darius HI (in chariot) at the Battle of Issus. (Library of Congress)

Pinarus River, had cavalry on the flanks and prolonged lines of infantry in the center.

The gradually widening phalanx of Alexander drove back the left half of the Persian forces. The Persian cavalry and Greek mercenaries on the right pressed on the left flank of Alexander’s forces and almost cut them in two. Sensing the danger, Alexander broke through the lines of heavy Persian infantry and personally encountered Darius. The latter retreated followed by the rest of the Persian army. The Macedonians pursued them until nightfall and seized the Persian treasury and several members of the royal family.

Significance The victory, which gave Alexander the title “king of Asia,” was followed by his Egyptian campaign (332-331 b. c.e.) and the final defeat of Darius at Gaugamela (331 b. c.e.).

Further Reading

Bosworth, A. B. Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. Alexander. London: Greenhill Books, 1993. Lonsdale, David J. Alexander the Great, Killer of Men: History’s Greatest Conqueror and the Macedonian Art of War. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004.

Warry, John Gibson. Alexander, 334-323 B. C.: Conquest of the Persian Empire. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005.

Sviatoslav Dmitriev

See also: Alexander the Great; Alexander the Great’s Empire; Gaugamela, Battle of; Granicus, Battle of; Macedonia.