Throughout all of Alexander’s conquests the fear remained that Memnon might attack Greece while Alexander was no where near to defend it. His fears became a reality when Memnon’s forces, traveling by sea after their retreat at the Battle at Bodrun, made way to Greece and took the cities of Chios and Lesbos. Luckily, for not only Alexander but for the rest of the Macedonians, Memnon became ill and died. Darius, after learning about Memnon’s death, proceeded to search for an equal replacement but failed. Darius soon realized that he would have to fight his own battles. Darius the King of Persia was not only a war leader but a semi-divine being in the minds of the Persians. Alexander had journeyed down from central Anatolia to Tarsus. At Tarsus he fell ill from malaria and came close to death. Alexander, a true fighter, recovered quickly and moved down into the narrow gap between the amanus mountains and the sea. He had hoped to lure Darius into his narrow battlefield, but Darius wasn’t easily fooled. Darius tried to defeat him by sending troops to the rear of Alexander’s army. Alexander, after learning of Darius’s plan, ran him off and pursued him to the small town of Issus. The Battle of Issus took place in November 333 BC on the Payas river. Darius’s army was significantly larger then Alexander’s. This didn’t stop Alexander before, nor would it stop him now. Darius’s plan was to hold Alexander on the river-line and use his best cavalry on the right, along the seashore, to break through Alexander’s left-wing army. Alexander assessed the situation from his standard position up on the right wing. He saw that Darius’s cavalry were concentrated on his left by the sea, and immediately switched his to the left to back up his army. Once he realized that there was a weak Persian formation of inexperienced archers against the foothills, Alexander was sure that Darius did not have enough confidence in his infantry to hold the line on its own. Realizing Darius’s weakness, Alexander led an attack himself down the river to the right. The Persian archers failed to protect the land from Alexander’s pursuit. Alexander’s Companion Cavalry marched down across the river and annihilated the Persian infantry line. Now the path was cleared to reach the Persian center, comprised mainly of Greek mercenaries. The mercenaries held their own for a short while against Alexander’s phalanx, but soon realized they were being surrounded. The mercenaries accepted their loss and retreated. Alexander’s main focus now was Darius himself. Alexander’s main objective in the Battle of Issus was to capture or kill Darius. Alexander came very close to Darius but not close enough. Alexander’s army came so close that Darius’s kinsmen were fighting hand-to-hand in order to protect their king. Darius’s forces were being wounded quickly left and right. Darius had no choice but to flee with his body guards, leaving his leader less army to fend for themselves. Once again Alexander emerges victorious but without his Darius. Through the years Alexander swept the Persians away from the coast of Phoenicia and in 332 drove them out of Egypt, a land they had held for two centuries. The Egyptians welcomed him as a liberator and recognized him as their Pharaoh. Alexander and his army marched on to Tyre to met great opposition. The Tyrians fought off Alexander’s army as long as they could, but soon surrendered their city to Alexander. One year later Alexander and Darius would meet again. On October 1st 331 BC , Alexander’s troops pursued Darius into the town of Gaugamela. The Battle of Gaugamela would later be called one of the most decisive battles in history. Alexander once again showed great war-skills by luring the Persians into a premature assault to weaken the backbone of their army. At the same time the Persians attacked Alexander’s right flank and forced a gap in the phalanx. Through this gap the Persians swept around Alexander�

Some topics in this essay:
Babylon Alexander, Memnon Rhodes, Companion Cavalry, Darius Alexander, Alexander’s Army, Battle Gaugamela, Persopolis Persopolis, BC Payas, Gordion Alexander, Fortunately Alexander, alexander’s army, greek mercenaries, babylon alexander, alexander’s companion, army alexander, companion cavalry, darius alexander, hold alexander, alexander’s companion cavalry, gain entrance, darius king persia, alexander army, plan hold alexander, alexander emerges victorious, king philip ii,