After the Battle of Gaugamela, Darius III and what remained of his armies fled eastwards into the Upper Satrapies, leaving Babylonia behind. The satrap of Babylonia, Mazaeus, quickly defected to Alexander and Darius III was murdered by his own generals. What if he fled southwards into Babylonia, with the survivors of Gaugamela, to organize a defense of Babylon? How would the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire go differently from OTL? Could stronger resistance force Alexander to stop and consolidate his gains?
WI: Darius III flees southward to Babylonia
- Thread starter SunKing105
- Start date
Martinus Padueius
Banned
It's an impossible position for him, what resistance? He's lost the vast majority of his army and is left with only a few thousand men. Babylon, on hearing that their Persian oppressor has lost so badly, might very well revolt and close its gates to him. As Mesopotamia is so flat and easily navigable, he can't outrun Alexander. Darius's only option was to move east into Persia and rally support from his own warlike people. If Darius decides to go to Babylon either his soldiers mutiny, Bessos kills him then instead of later, or he's abandoned when Babylon remains closed to him. There's a small chance his Greek mercenaries stay with him, they could be surprisingly loyal and many were anti-Macedonian exiles.
On the extreme off-chance he's let into Babylon and he isn't killed, Alexander quickly storms the city. I doubt Alexander will experience as much trouble getting through the Persian gates now, as the Persian satraps have no leader.
On the extreme off-chance he's let into Babylon and he isn't killed, Alexander quickly storms the city. I doubt Alexander will experience as much trouble getting through the Persian gates now, as the Persian satraps have no leader.