118 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
118 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
<!-- factbase:2eca19 -->
|
||
# Battle of Gaugamela
|
||
|
||
## Overview
|
||
The Battle of Gaugamela (1 October 331 BCE) was the decisive battle in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persian King Darius III, effectively ending the Achaemenid Persian Empire. @t[=331 BCE] The date is confirmed by Babylonian astronomical diaries. [^3]
|
||
|
||
## Key Facts
|
||
- Date: 1 October 331 BCE @t[=331 BCE]
|
||
- Location: Gaugamela, near the Jomel River east of Mosul (exact site uncertain; near modern Erbil/Mosul region, Iraq) [^3]
|
||
- Belligerents: Macedon vs. Persian Empire
|
||
- Commanders: Alexander the Great vs. Darius III; Persian right commanded by Mazaeus
|
||
- Result: Decisive Macedonian victory [^1]
|
||
|
||
## The Battle
|
||
- Alexander: ~47,000 troops (including ~7,000 cavalry [^3]); Darius: ancient sources give wildly varying figures (40,000–200,000 cavalry; 200,000–1,000,000 infantry) regarded as unreliable by modern scholars [^3]
|
||
- Darius leveled the battlefield to give his scythed chariots and cavalry a decisive advantage; some Persian forces were equipped with Macedonian-style sarissae [^3]
|
||
- A lunar eclipse on 20 September was interpreted as an omen of Darius' defeat [^3]
|
||
- Alexander used an oblique advance to the right, threatening to outflank Darius' left and leave the prepared ground
|
||
- Darius launched scythed chariots and sent his best cavalry left, creating a gap near his center
|
||
- A wedge of Macedonian cavalry poured through the gap while the phalanx attacked frontally, both driving toward Darius
|
||
- Darius fled; the Persian army collapsed, though Persian and Indian troops briefly penetrated the Macedonian camp [^3]
|
||
|
||
## Aftermath
|
||
- Mazaeus, who commanded the Persian right, surrendered Babylon to Alexander ~20 days after the battle and was appointed its satrap [^3]
|
||
- Alexander captured Susa and Persepolis (by January 330 BCE) @t[=330 BCE] [^3]
|
||
- Darius III fled to Ecbatana, then was murdered by his own satrap Bessus (330 BCE) @t[=330 BCE] [^1]
|
||
- Marked the end of the Achaemenid dynasty after ~220 years [^2]
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
[^1]: Arrian, *Anabasis of Alexander* 3.8–15
|
||
[^2]: Heckel, W. *The Conquests of Alexander the Great* (Cambridge, 2008)
|
||
[^3]: Badian, Ernst. "Gaugamela." *Encyclopaedia Iranica* Vol. X, Fasc. 3 (2000, updated 2015). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gaugamela/ — citing Sachs, A.J. and Hunger, H. *Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia* (Vienna, 1988), pp. 178–79 for the date; Arrian 3.12.5 for cavalry numbers; Diodorus 17.53.1 for sarissae; Bosworth, A.B. *Conquest and Empire* (Cambridge, 1988) pp. 76–85
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Review Queue
|
||
|
||
<!-- factbase:review -->
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 9: "Location: Gaugamela, near the Jomel River east of Mosul (exact site uncertain..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Belligerents: Macedon vs. Persian Empire" - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Commanders: Alexander the Great vs. Darius III; Persian right commanded by Ma..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Result: Decisive Macedonian victory [^1]" - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 15: "Alexander: ~47,000 troops (including ~7,000 cavalry [^3]); Darius: ancient so..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Darius leveled the battlefield to give his scythed chariots and cavalry a dec..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "A lunar eclipse on 20 September was interpreted as an omen of Darius' defeat ..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Alexander used an oblique advance to the right, threatening to outflank Dariu..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Darius launched scythed chariots and sent his best cavalry left, creating a g..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "A wedge of Macedonian cavalry poured through the gap while the phalanx attack..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 21: "Darius fled; the Persian army collapsed, though Persian and Indian troops bri..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Mazaeus, who commanded the Persian right, surrendered Babylon to Alexander ~2..." - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 27: "Marked the end of the Achaemenid dynasty after ~220 years [^2]" - when was this true?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[conflict]` Line 25: "Alexander captured Susa and Persepolis (by January 330 BCE) @t[=330 BCE] [^3]" @t[-0330..-0330] overlaps with "Darius III fled to Ecbatana, then was murdered by his own satrap Bessus (330 ..." @t[-0330..-0330] - were both true simultaneously? (line:26) [pattern:unknown]
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 8: "Date: 1 October 331 BCE @t[=331 BCE]" - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Belligerents: Macedon vs. Persian Empire" - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Commanders: Alexander the Great vs. Darius III; Persian right commanded by Ma..." - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Alexander used an oblique advance to the right, threatening to outflank Dariu..." - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Darius launched scythed chariots and sent his best cavalry left, creating a g..." - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "A wedge of Macedonian cavalry poured through the gap while the phalanx attack..." - what is the source?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 9: "Location: Gaugamela, near the Jomel River east of Mosul (exact site uncertain..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 15: "Alexander: ~47,000 troops (including ~7,000 cavalry [^3]); Darius: ancient so..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 16: "Darius leveled the battlefield to give his scythed chariots and cavalry a dec..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 17: "A lunar eclipse on 20 September was interpreted as an omen of Darius' defeat ..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 21: "Darius fled; the Persian army collapsed, though Persian and Indian troops bri..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 24: "Mazaeus, who commanded the Persian right, surrendered Babylon to Alexander ~2..." - Badian source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|
||
|
||
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 27: "Marked the end of the Achaemenid dynasty after ~220 years [^2]" - Heckel source from 2008 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
|
||
>
|