12. Marching east
In year 2 of the 113th Olympiad, in the month of Hekatombaion, the people of this city dedicated this shrine to Zeus for the safety, well-being and glory of the Great King Alexander, King of the Macedonians, Persians, Babylonians and all the peoples of Asia, Hegemon of the Hellenic League.
- Inscription at a shrine of Zeus at Nikopolis (OTL Mosul)
In June 327 Alexander reached the city of Arbela in northern Mesopotamia, where Parmenion had already gathered reinforcements for the king. His march east from Gordion had gone without incident, but once he arrived at Arbela he received news from further east. An advance force had already been send east, as requested by Alexander, under the joint command of Lysimachos and Aristonous. In March 10000 men had set out from Ecbatana under their command, marching east to confront the rebels, who had by now gathered their forces at Hekatompylos [1]. The army there was under the command of the satrap of Parthia and Hyrcania, Phrataphernes, and consisted mostly of local infantry (many recruited from the hill tribes of Hyrcania), cavalry (both local and from the steppes) and even some Greek hoplites, mercenaries that had fled east after the battle of Mepsila. Phrataphernes probably outnumbered his opponents, but not by much. Satibarzanes and ‘Artaxerxes IV’ remained in Baktra, where they were gathering a larger army for the reconquest of Persia and Mesopotamia. They had managed to destroy Balakros’ force and kill the general himself in a surprise attack in one of the many valleys of Bactria, but a war against Alexander himself would require more preparations.
Aristonous and Lysimachos were meant to assess the situation and, if possible, delay the enemy advance. Their army largely consisted of fresh recruits, few light troops to guard the flanks and not much cavalry. Reports send to the generals by spies however indicated that Phrataphernes’ army was not large, and conquering Hekatompylos would give the Macedonians an excellent base for campaigns further east. Sensing an opportunity to score a great victory Aristonous urged action, and Lysimachos acquiesced, the army marched thus marched on Hekatompylos. During their march they were almost continually harassed by Phrataphernes’ light cavalry, and the Macedonian light cavalry was ambushed while trying to drive them away. Despite these setbacks the generals decided to push on, and reached Hekatompylos in May, and to their surprise just outside the city they were confronted with the army of Phrataphernes. Because of Macedonian dominance in the open field they had expected that Phrataphernes would let it come to a siege or that he would retreat. Eager as they were the Macedonians formed up their formation and advanced on the Hyrcanian positions, the phalanx advanced while the heavy cavalry attempted to outflank the Hyrcanians. A charge of Phrataphernes’ cavalry forced the Macedonian cavalry to retreat to guard the phalanx, and they came increasingly under fire from Phrataphernes’ light cavalry, which consisted mainly of horse archers from the steppes, mostly supplied by the Dahae, and Iranian cavalry armed with javelins and axes. The Hyrcanian infantry had fallen back, but now struck the flanks of the phalanx while the Greek mercenaries managed to hold back the centre. Often armed with a bundle of javelins and an axe they managed to hack their way into the phalanx, whose long pikes were of no use in a close-hand melee. Many of the phalangites dropped their pikes and drew their swords, but that lead to less pressure against the Greek mercenaries in the centre, who were now no longer being driven back and instead managed to put pressure on the phalanx itself.
Phrataphernes, seeing a great victory in his grasp, now committed his heavy cavalry. The Macedonian cavalry was swept from the field, with Aristonous dying on the field, now the phalanx was isolated and started to fall apart. Despite a spirited resistance from the Macedonian troops victory was total for the rebels. Lysimachos, who was in charge of the phalanx, managed to escape the field with a small bodyguard, but most of the army did not. Lysimachos escaped west, where he relayed the news of the defeat personally to the king himself. Despite what you might expect he was not punished for the defeat, according to later sources hostile to Lysimachos that was because he unduly put all blame for the Battle of Hekatompylos on Aristonous. It is also possible Alexander did not punish him because Lysimachos was a friend of him. The victory emboldened the cause of Artaxerxes IV, and not long after the battle of Hekatompylos Phrataphernes was joined by Satibarzanes, Spitamenes and Artaxerxes IV himself, gathering an army 70000 strong at Hekatompylos. By now they must have heard of Alexander’s return to Asia, and now that they were confident in their ability to defeat the Macedonians they sought to confront him.
Alexander had now gathered his army at Arbela, which was quite different from the armies that Philip had used to conquer his empire. While still based around the phalanx as anvil and the hetairoi as hammer, Alexander deployed larger amounts of light troops, still mostly Illyrians and Thracians but by now he also employed Persian archers. The rear of the army and the baggage train was to be guarded by the troops levied from the Hellenic League, the flanks would be covered by the hypaspistai. Alexander and Krateros were also joined by Atropates, satrap of Media, with a contingent of Median cavalry. A final addition to the army, under the command of the officer Peukestas, were several thousand Persian heavy infantrymen known as the Kardakes. They were an late Achaemenid experiment in replicating the Greek hoplite infantry, armed with an aspis shield and a spear. Alexander’s cavalry, often the decisive factor in his battles, was diverse in origins. The heavy cavalry, the hetairoi, were Macedonians, and complemented by the excellent Thessalian horsemen. The light cavalry was also partially drawn from Macedon, but also included large Thracian, Armenian and now also Persian contingents. In July, eager to leave the searing heat of the Mesopotamian plains, Alexander and his army marched east, into the Zagros, where they first stopped at Ecbatana. There he was reinforced by Atropates, and he also received some good news. The rebels, emboldened by their recent success, had hoped to seize the old Achaemenid heartland by surprise. A cavalry force had been send south to Persia from Hekatompylos, but was defeated near Pasargadae by Philotas, military governor of Persia. Despite this setback Artaxerxes IV, or more likely Satibarzanes, did not relent, and the with the final confrontation with Alexander on the horizon he decided to act. The satrap’s army marched west from Hekatompylos and occupied the city of Rhagai [2] in northern Iran. It was probably there that the rebels received word from their scouts that Alexander was on his way, and it was there that they decided to confront him.
The battle was fought just west of the city, on an open plain between some hills, around the beginning of August 327. Showcasing their confidence, the leaders of the rebellion were present on the field, each of them leading their own contingents. The Bactrians and Arachosians were positioned in the centre, under Satibarzanes, on the right stood the Sogdians under Spitamenes and on the left the Parthians and Hyrcanians under Phrataphernes. Apart from a small core of heavy infantry, mostly the remaining Greek mercenaries, the satrap’s armies mostly consisted of lightly armed conscripted infantry and large amounts of cavalry. Alexander, aware that the enemy’s cavalry outnumbered his, changed his formation accordingly. Knowing that being outflanked was the bane of the phalanx he positioned his army between two hills, and stretched his phalanx between them, occupying the hills with both non-phalangite heavy infantry and light infantry. Alexander took a considerable risk by stretching his phalanx so far, but he trusted that his troops would be able to hold the line against the charge of the enemy. Deliberately he had thinned the line the most in its centre, but it was also there that he had placed his most experienced and trusted troops, under the command of his good friend Ptolemaios. The Persian and Greek infantry would form a second line behind the phalanx, to counter an enemy breakthrough, while the hypaspistai were tasked with guarding the hills that anchored the phalanx. The troops on the steep hill on the left of the Macedonian phalanx were under command of Perdiccas, while the troops on the less steep hill on the right side were commanded by Krateros. The Thessalian and Median cavalry, under command of Koinos, was stationed in front of the hill on the left side of the phalanx, tasked with threatening the enemy flank, and thus distracting at least a portion of their cavalry. They were also supported by a group of Thracian light infantry. Another detachment, consisting of Thracian cavalry under command of Seleukos, was to harass the enemy’s advance. Alexander himself and the hetairoi were stationed behind the phalanx on a slight rise, clearly visible for the enemy.
The satraps, it seems, were confident of their victory. Already twice they had managed to overcome the Macedonians, why wouldn’t they do so another time? Even Alexander’s strong defensive position did not make them hesitate. They outnumbered him almost two to one, they were deploying 70000 men while Alexander had at most 40000. There were no negotiations or parlay between the two sides on the eve of battle, both sides it seems were eager to settle accounts on the battlefield. It started early in the morning, with Parthian and Scythian cavalry darting forward, harassing the Macedonian lines from afar with their bows. They were chased off by the Thracians under Seleukos, but he had to retreat behind the phalanx when the satrap’s infantry advanced. In the meantime Koinos and his cavalry rode forth, assailing the flank of the Sogdian infantry before being chased off by Spitamenes and his cavalry. Koinos then rode west, being chased by the Sogdian cavalry and thus distracting them from the battle. The Sogdian infantry had regrouped, and started assaulting the Macedonian position on the hill to the left, but to no avail. Fighting uphill was not easy, certainly not if it was so steep. Meanwhile the Sogdians were peppered with projectiles from the light infantry further on the hill, while facing off against the prowess of the hypaspistai.
On the plains the bulk of the satrap’s infantry now started their assault on Alexander’s phalanx. Satibarzanes, himself in a chariot, followed close behind with his cavalry, hoping to exploit any gap that his infantry would make in the Macedonian ranks. On the hill to the right Phrataphernes had commenced his assault, which went noticeably better than the Sogdian assault on the hill to the left. The hill on the right was not steep, it had a relatively gentle slope, and the Hyrcanians, who made up most of Phrataphernes’ infantry, were famed as mountaineers, so they were quite used to fighting on a hillside. Slowly but surely Krateros’ troops were driven off the hilltop. Phrataphernes, seeing that the fight was going well, rode in with his bodyguard and encouraged his troops. Krateros did the same, rallying his troops, while at the same time sending a messenger to Alexander asking for reinforcements. Alexander, upon hearing the news from Krateros, immediately send the Greeks, Persians and the Thracian cavalry under Seleukos to the hill. He knew, or at least hoped, that the phalanx would hold, but he could not risk losing one of the flanks, so he send his second line to shore up Krateros’ position. This seemed to have worked, for Krateros now managed to hold out and, inch by inch, reclaimed the hilltop.
Now all of Alexander’s troop were engaged, something Satibarzanes must have noticed. He now ordered his heavy infantry onward, straight into the thinned centre of the phalanx, to finally break the Macedonians. At the same time he had some of his cavalry attempt to break through, while he would stay back with most of the cavalry to launch the final charge, making certain that the Macedonians would be routed. Little by little the Macedonian centre under Ptolemaios started falling back, though not in an uncontrolled fashion, but carefully the phalangites seemed to retreat. It was then that Alexander made his move, together with the hetairoi he rode off, seemingly in retreat. Satibarzanes must have seen the royal banner of the Argeads, a sunburst on a purple field, now seemingly moving away from the battlefield. With the Macedonian centre buckling under the weight of his assault and their king abandoning them Satibarzanes saw his chance, and now charged in with the rest of his cavalry, most notably the heavily armoured Bactrian lancers. Despite their king seemingly fleeing, the Macedonians did not rout, they only slowly gave away ground in the centre, while on the flanks the phalanx held firm. Where at first the phalanx formed a straight line, by now it was u-shaped. It is unknown whether Satibarzanes ever realized that he was walking into a trap or not, or whether he saw the royal banner reappearing on the hill to his left. Far from fleeing, Alexander and the hetairoi had ascended, out of Satibarzanes’ view, the hill to their right, from which Krateros had managed to drive away the Hyrcanians. Now Alexander and the hetairoi charged downhill, effortlessly breaking through a meagre cavalry screen and into the rear of the enemy formation, now completely surrounded. A great cheer went up from the ranks of the phalanx when they saw their king, the sun reflecting on his gilded helmet, leading the hetairoi into Satibarzanes’ ranks. Now the phalanx, who had preserved their strength for precisely this moment, started its advance into the startled ranks of their enemies, who not so long ago thought that victory was in their grasp. The satrap’s army, now compressed between the phalanx and Alexander’s cavalry, attempted to resist the Macedonian advance but to no avail, and soon afterwards panic made itself master of the rebel troops. Eager as they were to escape their encirclement many of them fell not to Macedonian arms but in a stampede by their fellow soldiers. Satibarzanes too fell on the field, supposedly after seeing Alexander storm his position he tried to escape, but his driver turned the chariot around too fast, after which Satibarzanes fell out and was crushed to death beneath the hooves of the Macedonian cavalry.
Alexander confronting Satibarzanes
Koinos in the meantime had managed to defeat the Sogdian cavalry, who were ambushed by the Thracian infantry while chasing him, after which Koinos turned his cavalry around and charged into the Sogdian ranks. The Sogdians were defeated and Spitamenes was killed in battle. Koinos returned to the field afterwards and assaulted the rebels’ rear guard, which he managed to defeat and afterwards captured their baggage train. Meanwhile Alexander had mopped up the satrap’s main force, the field now littered with the dead and the dying. The satrap’s army was crushed decisively, with thousands death and even more now destined for an inhuman and brutal life of slavery. For Alexander himself and his empire this was a great victory, more or less crushing resistance in a single battle instead of fighting a long campaign. This was mostly because of the satrap’s overconfidence, thinking that because they could beat Balakros and Aristonous on the battlefield they could also best Alexander. After the battle ‘Artaxerxes IV’ once again disappears from the record, now for good. Of the satraps only Phrataphernes survived the battle, he managed to flee the field with a small group of cavalry. He returned to the Hyrcanian capital Zadrakarta, from where he attempted to resist Alexander. The king, who had no time to besiege the city, delegated the subjugation of Hyrcania to Perdiccas, who was given 15000 men to complete his objective.
After the battle Alexander marched northeast, through the Caspian Gates and afterwards occupying Hekatompylos. After receiving the subjugation of the Parthians, and leaving behind Seleukos as satrap with a garrison, he marched further and occupied the city of Susia [3] in October 327. There he planned to stay for a couple months, waiting for additional supplies and reinforcements from the west, after which he would resume his march. Alexander himself would march north, past Merv, until he would reach the Oxus, after which he would follow the river upstream until reaching Baktra. A second force would be send south from Susia, under command of Krateros, by now a trusted confidante of Alexander, to Areia, Drangiana and Arachosia beyond. These were the plans of Alexander, hoping to finally solidify his grip on the eastern provinces of his empire.
Footnotes
- Location is disputed, most likely Shahr-i-Qumis in north-eastern Iran, which for the sake of the TL I assume is true.
- Near modern day Tehran.
- Modern day Tus in north-eastern Iran.