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Following his defeat in Gaugamela Darius had managed to escape the battle with a small core of his forces remaining intact. The Bactrian cavalry and Bessus managed to catch up with him, as did some of the survivors of the Royal Guard and 2,000 Greek mercenaries.
At this point, the Persian Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire was divided into two halves – East and West. On his escape, Darius gave a speech to what remained of his army. He planned to head further East, and raise another army to face Alexander while he and the Macedonians headed to Babylon. At the same time he dispatched letters to his Eastern satrapies asking them to remain loyal.
The satrapies, however, had other intentions. Bessus murdered Darius, before fleeing eastwards. Alexander would pursue Bessus, eventually capturing and executing him the following year. The majority of the existing satraps were to give their loyalty to Alexander, and be allowed to keep their positions, however, the Persian Empire is traditionally considered to have fallen with the death of Darius.
WI Darius III wasnt murdered by his kinsman Bessus (who briefly succeeded him as Artaxerxes V)? Could he had mustered another army to face Alexander?
How is this altering History? Any thoughts?
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