WI: Darius III killed at Gaugamela

In 331 BC, during the battle of Gaugamela, Alexander had successfully drawn much of the Achaemenid Cavalry to the flanks, allowing him to strike a blow at Darius III himself. Alexander then quickly overran his personal bodyguard, causing Darius III to panic and flee. Alexander apparently threw a spear at him which narrowly missed Darius III. Darius tried to escape in his royal chariot, but the chariot failed and he had to find a horse, where he escaped.

Now what if Darius III had been killed at Gaugamela? Would Bessus and other Persian notables surrender to Alexander? Will Alexander go to the eastern reaches of the Achaemenid Empire? What would happen after Alexander's death?
 
I believe he had a son, Ochus, whose age is unknown, and he had 2 daughters, Stateira II and Drypetis, the former being married to Alexander and the latter being married to Hephaestion.
 
In 331 BC, during the battle of Gaugamela, Alexander had successfully drawn much of the Achaemenid Cavalry to the flanks, allowing him to strike a blow at Darius III himself. Alexander then quickly overran his personal bodyguard, causing Darius III to panic and flee. Alexander apparently threw a spear at him which narrowly missed Darius III. Darius tried to escape in his royal chariot, but the chariot failed and he had to find a horse, where he escaped.

Now what if Darius III had been killed at Gaugamela? Would Bessus and other Persian notables surrender to Alexander? Will Alexander go to the eastern reaches of the Achaemenid Empire? What would happen after Alexander's death?
Well Alexander would have a slightly easier life as the death of Darius will made his recognition as only legitimate ruler of Persia an indisputable fact. Is possible who without the need to capture Darius Alexander will not go deep in the Eastern provinces of the Empire (so no Bactria and no India, and consequently no Roxane) at least for some time and without a rebellion in the border provinces he will instead put his energies in consolidating his conquest (or expansion elsewhere, like Arabia)
 
Well Alexander would have a slightly easier life as the death of Darius will made his recognition as only legitimate ruler of Persia an indisputable fact. Is possible who without the need to capture Darius Alexander will not go deep in the Eastern provinces of the Empire (so no Bactria and no India, and consequently no Roxane) at least for some time and without a rebellion in the border provinces he will instead put his energies in consolidating his conquest (or expansion elsewhere, like Arabia)
Would Alexander be quite content to not to expand further east? The man was a bit of a meglomaniac
 

Dolan

Banned
Darius would get better reputation by historians.

Sure, the Greeks might still thought him a coward, but his story could ended up changing into being killed after bested in personal, man-to-man combat against Alexander, especially with the rest of the Persians.

There will be no shame coming from running "prematurely" and thus suspected of causing Persian defeats.
 
Darius would get better reputation by historians.

Sure, the Greeks might still thought him a coward, but his story could ended up changing into being killed after bested in personal, man-to-man combat against Alexander, especially with the rest of the Persians.

There will be no shame coming from running "prematurely" and thus suspected of causing Persian defeats.

Well likely Darius’ reputation was pretty much ruined after the previous battle of Issus, when he lost the battle and escaped leaving his family inside his camp but still at least he escaped only once instead of twice and was killed in the battle, not by his supporters during the flight...


Would Alexander be quite content to not to expand further east? The man was a bit of a meglomaniac
Well if he has no need to go at the eastern border is pretty easy finding something else to conquer (maybe Arabia and after consolidating his power in Asia, likely with earlier weddings of Susa, he will go to conquer Carthage, Sicily and avenge his uncle and brother-in-law in Italy)
 
Darius III definitely lost more prestige by fleeing constantly and especially leaving his royal camp to be captured. In the legitimacy system he lived under, that Elamite-Assyrian-Babylonian understanding that Persian royal legitimacy was based, such an action is unforgivable. Many Assyrian kings were defeated and some killed in battle. These were not bemoaned as failures. However, an Assyrian king who avoided a battle or fled without a tactical cause, was dethroned. Persian royal understanding was similar to this, at least in its early days.
 

Dolan

Banned
Well likely Darius’ reputation was pretty much ruined after the previous battle of Issus, when he lost the battle and escaped leaving his family inside his camp but still at least he escaped only once instead of twice and was killed in the battle, not by his supporters during the flight...



Well if he has no need to go at the eastern border is pretty easy finding something else to conquer (maybe Arabia and after consolidating his power in Asia, likely with earlier weddings of Susa, he will go to conquer Carthage, Sicily and avenge his uncle and brother-in-law in Italy)

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Darius III definitely lost more prestige by fleeing constantly and especially leaving his royal camp to be captured. In the legitimacy system he lived under, that Elamite-Assyrian-Babylonian understanding that Persian royal legitimacy was based, such an action is unforgivable. Many Assyrian kings were defeated and some killed in battle. These were not bemoaned as failures. However, an Assyrian king who avoided a battle or fled without a tactical cause, was dethroned. Persian royal understanding was similar to this, at least in its early days.

That's why I said Darius would likely recover some of his reputations here, and there are arguments that his defeat at Issus is much more tactical and through compared to Gaugamela (where Darius actually fled when his right flank could be said to be actually winning).

Darius' defeat at Gaugamela was caused mostly by the Psychological impact of him fleeing too early. Have him stand his ground, even if he died in the process, there are possibilities that the left flank under Parmenion will actually break, as the left-wing Macedonian cavalry has been encircled by Persian right-wing. And if Darius didn't died on impact but fight on for a while, there could be the chance that the Elephants would be used to break Alexander's companions instead of merely sitting their asses at the rear.

But yeah, since the WI was about Darius being killed, not *successfully* standing his ground, I'll assume he put up a fight, managed to use his Elephant forces to maul the Hetairoi, and overall, Alexander's victory at Gaugamela could be called as Pyrrhic (if not because Pyrrhos isn't even born yet). Instead of emerging victorious with his forces mostly intact, Macedonian Left Flank cavalry would be mauled by Persian cavalry before the later eventually broke, and Parmenion is likely to be dead from such fight. The Pezhetairoi at the center might be spared from too many extra casualties, but I would bet that the elite Hypaspistai and Agrianikoi would be mostly slain here.

In essence, Alexander would still win, but this time, he would be forced to actually consolidate the territory he has conquered, and wait for another reinforcement to come from Makedonia before he could hope to press further east. He might be able to take Babylon, but he would need to essentially forced to recuperate his forces there.

In the meantime, maybe Bessos or Ariobarzanes could use the precious time Alexander spent recuperating to muster a much larger force at the Persian Gate, this coupled with the mauling he received at Gaugamela, might force Alexander to actually reconsider his options of consolidating the gain instead of pressing further east (it's unlikely Persian remnants could actually attack Alexander's position either).

Alexander might still want to go east, but it would take at least another two or three years, enough time to get busy with his wives and getting Alexander IV early on. Plus, with Parmenion died "Heroically" at Battle, there will be no need to purge him later, that means if the poisoning plot was true, the plotters won't have any reasons to kill Alexander this time, so Alex might live much *MUCH* longer here.

...

And as for Darius, sure, he would still be shamed on fleeing at Issus, but once the records of the battle become known, it would be certain that Darius was FORCED to flee or face certain, needless death (because his isolated force of chariots was bogged down and Alexander led the Hypaspistai attacking ON FOOT). He would be then lionized at Gaugamela as he heroically stands his ground there. Some accounts might even romanticize the depiction by writing about Darius and Alexander facing each other in single combat or something like that, considering Darius' own youth, it was a believable story.
 
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That's why I said Darius would likely recover some of his reputations here, and there are arguments that his defeat at Issus is much more tactical and through compared to Gaugamela (where Darius actually fled when his right flank could be said to be actually winning).

Darius' defeat at Gaugamela was caused mostly by the Psychological impact of him fleeing too early. Have him stand his ground, even if he died in the process, there are possibilities that the left flank under Parmenion will actually break, as the left-wing Macedonian cavalry has been encircled by Persian right-wing. And if Darius didn't died on impact but fight on for a while, there could be the chance that the Elephants would be used to break Alexander's companions instead of merely sitting their asses at the rear.

But yeah, since the WI was about Darius being killed, not *successfully* standing his ground, I'll assume he put up a fight, managed to use his Elephant forces to maul the Hetairoi, and overall, Alexander's victory at Gaugamela could be called as Pyrrhic (if not because Pyrrhos isn't even born yet). Instead of emerging victorious with his forces mostly intact, Macedonian Left Flank cavalry would be mauled by Persian cavalry before the later eventually broke, and Parmenion is likely to be dead from such fight. The Pezhetairoi at the center might be spared from too many extra casualties, but I would bet that the elite Hypaspistai and Agrianikoi would be mostly slain here.

In essence, Alexander would still win, but this time, he would be forced to actually consolidate the territory he has conquered, and wait for another reinforcement to come from Makedonia before he could hope to press further east. He might be able to take Babylon, but he would need to essentially forced to recuperate his forces there.

In the meantime, maybe Bessos or Ariobarzanes could use the precious time Alexander spent recuperating to muster a much larger force at the Persian Gate, this coupled with the mauling he received at Gaugamela, might force Alexander to actually reconsider his options of consolidating the gain instead of pressing further east (it's unlikely Persian remnants could actually attack Alexander's position either).

Alexander might still want to go east, but it would take at least another two or three years, enough time to get busy with his wives and getting Alexander IV early on. Plus, with Parmenion died "Heroically" at Battle, there will be no need to purge him later, that means if the poisoning plot was true, the plotters won't have any reasons to kill Alexander this time, so Alex might live much *MUCH* longer here.

...

And as for Darius, sure, he would still be shamed on fleeing at Issus, but once the records of the battle become known, it would be certain that Darius was FORCED to flee or face certain, needless death (because his isolated force of chariots was bogged down and Alexander led the Hypaspistai attacking ON FOOT). He would be then lionized at Gaugamela as he heroically stands his ground there. Some accounts might even romanticize the depiction by writing about Darius and Alexander facing each other in single combat or something like that, considering Darius' own youth, it was a believable story.
Well then maybe you have missed the exact proposed POD aka Darius dying killed by the spear who Alexander throw at him while he was starting to escape...
That would be only a quicker end of the battle AND after Darius’ death Alexander would have an easier life in being recognized King of Persia not harder as Alexander would be the natural successor to Nathe deceased Darius for many of the nobles still loyal to him
 

Dolan

Banned
Well then maybe you have missed the exact proposed POD aka Darius dying killed by the spear who Alexander throw at him while he was starting to escape...
That would be only a quicker end of the battle AND after Darius’ death Alexander would have an easier life in being recognized King of Persia not harder as Alexander would be the natural successor to Nathe deceased Darius for many of the nobles still loyal to him
Uh... Whoops... So basically Darius actually died an even more shameful death?

Well then, he become the laughingstock from India to Rome and Cathage, that's it.
 
Uh... Whoops... So basically Darius actually died an even more shameful death?

Well then, he become the laughingstock from India to Rome and Cathage, that's it.
Not exactly. Being killed by the enemy during the battle is still much better than his OTL death and at that point of the battle in which he would be killed Darius was apparently still fighting: Alexander had directly attacked Darius and won over his personal bodyguards so Darius’ retreat in his chariot is not yet definitely the OTL flight from the battle but can still be a strategic retreat (either for trying to attract Alexander and his men too deep in the Persian army or to go in safety behind the troops before taking back again the command on the field...
If he died just after being hit by Alexander’s spear he was killed on the field by his enemy, if he was seriously injured by the spear and died in more time he was still unable to continue to fight (or run away abandoning his army) and needed to be treated by a doctor si his dying in his tent is perfectly normal (in both cases is pretty likely who Darius’ army demoralized and do not make any use of the elephants and Alexander and his men will be able to receive and use the vantage from Alexander’s lucky hit (who was the second blow who Darius received from Alexander in this battle) likely overrunning most of Persian army before their surrender.

ATL AH historians most likely will try to theorize about what Darius would have done if he was not hit by Alexander’s spear (continuing to fight leading his men from another point, remaining in the rear of his army for preventing another direct confront with Alexander or escaping again)
 
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That's why I said Darius would likely recover some of his reputations here, and there are arguments that his defeat at Issus is much more tactical and through compared to Gaugamela (where Darius actually fled when his right flank could be said to be actually winning).

Darius' defeat at Gaugamela was caused mostly by the Psychological impact of him fleeing too early. Have him stand his ground, even if he died in the process, there are possibilities that the left flank under Parmenion will actually break, as the left-wing Macedonian cavalry has been encircled by Persian right-wing. And if Darius didn't died on impact but fight on for a while, there could be the chance that the Elephants would be used to break Alexander's companions instead of merely sitting their asses at the rear.

But yeah, since the WI was about Darius being killed, not *successfully* standing his ground, I'll assume he put up a fight, managed to use his Elephant forces to maul the Hetairoi, and overall, Alexander's victory at Gaugamela could be called as Pyrrhic (if not because Pyrrhos isn't even born yet). Instead of emerging victorious with his forces mostly intact, Macedonian Left Flank cavalry would be mauled by Persian cavalry before the later eventually broke, and Parmenion is likely to be dead from such fight. The Pezhetairoi at the center might be spared from too many extra casualties, but I would bet that the elite Hypaspistai and Agrianikoi would be mostly slain here.

In essence, Alexander would still win, but this time, he would be forced to actually consolidate the territory he has conquered, and wait for another reinforcement to come from Makedonia before he could hope to press further east. He might be able to take Babylon, but he would need to essentially forced to recuperate his forces there.

In the meantime, maybe Bessos or Ariobarzanes could use the precious time Alexander spent recuperating to muster a much larger force at the Persian Gate, this coupled with the mauling he received at Gaugamela, might force Alexander to actually reconsider his options of consolidating the gain instead of pressing further east (it's unlikely Persian remnants could actually attack Alexander's position either).

Alexander might still want to go east, but it would take at least another two or three years, enough time to get busy with his wives and getting Alexander IV early on. Plus, with Parmenion died "Heroically" at Battle, there will be no need to purge him later, that means if the poisoning plot was true, the plotters won't have any reasons to kill Alexander this time, so Alex might live much *MUCH* longer here.

...

And as for Darius, sure, he would still be shamed on fleeing at Issus, but once the records of the battle become known, it would be certain that Darius was FORCED to flee or face certain, needless death (because his isolated force of chariots was bogged down and Alexander led the Hypaspistai attacking ON FOOT). He would be then lionized at Gaugamela as he heroically stands his ground there. Some accounts might even romanticize the depiction by writing about Darius and Alexander facing each other in single combat or something like that, considering Darius' own youth, it was a believable story.
Not gonna lie, I'd read this timeline and rec it to my friends.
 
I think that if the conquest of Persia takes longer as a result, he would turn away from India and go for conquering Arabia in it's stead. We might also see a Greco Persian culture emerge like he planed.
 
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