Quiz1. What year was the exiles decree?2. Why was the exiles decree introduced?3. What years were the King Agis rebellion?4. How did this decree help gain Alexander some

supporters?5. Why did some people not like the exiles decree?6. What benefits did Alexander get from the exiles

decree?7. In the King Agis rebellion, who was rebelling in

Thrace?8. What lead to the death of King Agis?9. Who was the deputy hegemon left to look after

Greece?10. What was the outcome for Sparta at the end of the

rebellion?

quiz1. What year was the battle at Granicus?2. What is Granicus?3. Who was in charge of the Greek Mercenaries (on the

Persian side) at this battle?4. Why did Darius not attend the battle?5. What was the idea that someone on the Persian side

came up with, to avoid fighting the Greeks on land?6. Why did the Persians ignore this idea?7. Who was Alexander’s second in command?8. What was the suggestion that he made to Alexander

before the battle (that Alexander ignored)9. In which area of the world was Granicus located?10. Who was left in charge, in Greece as Deputy

Hegemon?

The Battle at Granicus

334 BCAlexanders first battle on Persian territory

Military Matters/ The Battles

The river Granicus today

How rivery!

The battle at Granicus, 334BC• The Persians had collected troops from Asia Minor and were waiting

for Alexander with a large army at the river Granicus, which formed

a kind of ‘Gateway’ to Asia Minor.

Bring it on Alexander!

We’ll stop you from going any

further!

• The Persian King Darius was not at the battle. He didn’t believe that the threat of Alexander in battle was serious.

• So Darius sent some Satraps = (Governors of Persian provinces) to lead the Persian army. These people were:

• Spithridates, the satrap of the province Lydia• Aristes, satrap of Phrygia• Memnon, The Greek commander of the Greek

Mercenries, who was hired by the Persians

• The combined Persian Army was, according to Arrian, about 40, 000 half cavalry and half infantry but this may be exaggerated.

DariusWhat mightDarius beThinking aboutAlexander at this point?

Memnon (where was he from?) advised the Persian Commanders not to fight Alexander in a set battle because he knew

how good the Macedonian army was (when had the Macedonian army previously shown that they were good)?

Instead he suggested that they withdraw and destroy all the harvests and food so that Alexander’s army would starve. He thought they should fight Alexander by Sea instead (Persians had a good navy)

• But the Persians avoided Memnon’s advice…..Why? Perhaps they Didn’t trust the GreekPerhaps they Felt silly avoiding the fight

The Persians had a good position:• They had chosen the site to battle on

• They were high up on the far bank of the river and Alexander and his troops would have to climb the bank while the Persians fired down on them

The Persian side

The Macedonian side• When the Macedonians reached the river, late afternoon,

Parmenio advised A_____ not to _____. But to wait until dawn and attack while persians were off guard, he thought it was too hard to cross the river.

• But Alexander ignored and attacked straight away. He wanted a morale boost and a military victory from fighting the P_______ on their own ground from a disadvantaged position.

Parmenio

Alexander andBucephalus

…And Can we have a commentary please about

The River itself?Yeah, no worries, so we’ve just had a bit of a look-see and the river isn’t too wide today. But it has picked up a lot of speed and it is rather fast flowing so it’s going to be a tough match. It will be interesting to see how Alexander’s team deals with the

conditions. Persia definitely have the upper hand with their position on the bank

there. Okay Folks, Watch out for how ol’ Alex reacts to these steep and muddy

banks too. Back to you in the commentary box!

Persians arrange their army…• Mistake 1: Persians

put their cavalry in front, on the edge of the bank, and their infantry behind. (Cavalry had no room to move, and infantry could not charge forward) •They put the cavalry first as

they are important in the army and they didn’t trust M_______ and the Greek Infantry.

Memnon &Persian mercenaries (Hired Greeks)

Persian Cavalry

river

Alexander arranges his armyHe arranged his army in his standard battle formation:

• Infantry Phalanx in the centre• Alexander and companion cavalry on right wing• Cavalry of Thessalians on the left wing( This meant he had both infantry and cavalry front line up

agaisnt the Persians cavalry-only front line)

cavalry

phalanx

cavalry

Persian mercenaries (Hired Greeks)

Persian Cavalry

Alexander and Companion Cavalry on right wing

Phalanx

Greek allies (Thracian and Thessalian cavalry)

Granicusriver

What the battle looked like

• The Battle• Alexander was located on the side (with his companion cavalry)• He was the main target for the Persian army

Persian army

The battle• Alexander was located to the side of his army.

He was the main target for the Persians. So Persians decided to move their men to the side as well, so there would be more men directly opposite Alexander (to strengthen the attack against Alexander)

• But because they did this. There were less men in the centre of the Persian army and it weakened the centre. So what area of the Persian Army should Alexander attack?

• So, Alexander targeted the weakened centre. He went across on a diagonal. He and the companion cavalry charged across the river and attacked the middle of the army.

The battle• The Persian centre collapsed, fell apart and was

being fully attacked by Alexander. • In the fighting, Alexander is almost killed by

Spithridates (A Persian S_____), but lucklily Cleitus (Alexander’s family friend) rescued Alexander and killed Spithridates.

• When the Persian cavalry on the side of the army saw Alexander storm into the centre of their army and start killing, they began to run away from the battle completely.

• The whole Persian cavalry front had been defeated which exposed the Persian army menbers who were in behind the Persian cavalry…(who were they?)

The greek mercenaries! People who had been traitors to Greeceand joined the opposing team (the Persians)!

So…Alexander needed to punish them

• The remainder of Alexander’s army crossed the Granicus river comfortably and surrounded the Persian infantry

• The mercenaries asked for Mercy what do you think Alexander will do?

• They were all killed, except for 2000 men• This was because it was his policy, they were

traitors. What earlier pact had they broken?• The remaining 2000 were sent in chains to work in

macedonian mines

The result of the battle at Granicus, 334BC

• Persians were beaten and many had fled. Alexander had achieved an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Granicus and the whole of Western Asia Minor lay open before him. He was seen as a liberator, freeing cities from Persian rule.

• The morale of the Macedonian army had been boosted.

• The Persians and Darius now knew what they were up against. What would Darius do for the next battle?

• Darius would make sure he fought the next battle!

• Alexander sends 3000 suits of Persian armour as an offering to Athena (the patron god of Athens) highlighting his ability to defeat the Persians.

Homework• Paul Artus: p.44-45. Read.• Workbooks: page 41 and 42, read &

answer questions

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