Battle of Granicus

Alexander’s first victory over the Persians illustrated the power of the superbly drilled Macedonian phalanx and his strategic genius.

Date: Spring, 334 b. c.e.

Category: Wars and battles

Locale: Granicus (Kocaba§) River, in Hellespontine Phrygia

Summary In 334 b. c.e., Alexander the Great invaded Persia, fulfilling the plans laid by his father Philip II of Macedonia. Close to the Hellespont

Alexander the Great, mounted on horseback and brandishing a sword (upper right}, defeats the Persians at the Battle of Granicus. (Library of Congress)

(Dardanelles), the invader was met by a Persian army. The Persian force— led by satraps, not the Persian king Darius III—was hastily levied and outnumbered by the Macedonians. The Persians faced Alexander on the steep east bank of the river, evidently expecting that the Macedonian army, on the opposite bank would become disarrayed when marching down that bank, crossing the river, and then pushing uphill against them.

Although the sources are somewhat confused on the details, it seems that Alexander attacked quickly. Parmenion commanded the Macedonian left and Alexander the right. The steepness of the river banks prevented the army attacking in extended line, so it crossed the river with two cavalry charges, the first to disrupt the Persian line and the second to protect the infantry, and then in fierce fighting routed the Persians. The Persian’s Greek mercenaries, which had not been deployed, were defeated by Alexander, and many slaughtered.

Significance The battle at Granicus (grah-NI-kuhs) allowed Alexander to establish his own satrap in Hellespontine Phrygia and move further inland in his conquest of Persia. It also served to alert Darius III to the need for leading the Persian army himself.

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.

Ian Worthington

See also: Alexander the Great; Alexander the Great’s Empire; Macedonia; Philip II of Macedonia.