Alexander left Egypt in the spring of 331 B. C.E. and returned to Tyre to gather his troops. Through the spring and summer, they prepared for their next battle, at Gaugamela, which would turn out to be the decisive clash for the Persian Empire.
King Darius had been preparing for this encounter with Alexander since his humiliating defeat at Issus. He amassed a large number of soldiers and added new weapons to his arsenal. He fitted the wheels of 200 chariots with razor-sharp, curved blades that could slash the legs of the enemy’s horses and foot soldiers. He also brought in 15 Indian war elephants.
The battle took place near the village of Gaugamela, east of the Tigris River in what is now Iraq. Darius chose the broad plain as the battle site to make sure his troops would not get hemmed in as they had at Granicus and Issus. He had workers smooth over rough spots on the field to level the ground for his special chariots. In some spots, his soldiers placed metal spikes on the ground to cripple the Macedonian horses.
Alexander reportedly had 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry. Estimates of the size of Darius’s army range from 250,000 to 1 million soldiers. Alexander lured the Persians into attacking his right and left flanks. This opened up a gap in their center, where Darius was fighting. Seizing the moment, Alexander quickly led his cavalry through to the center and galloped toward Darius, killing his chariot driver. Before he could get to the Persian king, however, Darius leapt from the chariot and fled the battlefield on horseback. Most of his men soon followed. Estimates of casualties at Gaugamela vary, depending on the source. Historians have estimated the Persians lost anywhere from 40,000 to 200,000 soldiers. Macedonian losses have been estimated at 150 to 1200 soldiers.
Some historians call the Battle of Gaugamela the greatest battle of antiquity. Its outcome changed the course of history, ending more than two centuries of Persian rule in Asia.
World History
