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155-479: (Redirected from Macedonian Army ) Macedonian army may refer to: Ancient Macedonian army Army of the Republic of North Macedonia Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Macedonian army . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

310-418: A lochos , was commanded by a lochagos who was in the front rank. Junior officers, one at the rear and one in the centre, were in place to steady the ranks and maintain the cohesion of the formation, similar to modern-day NCOs . The commander of the syntagma theoretically fought at the head of the extreme far-right file. According to Aelian , a syntagma was accompanied by five additional individuals to

465-530: A pilos helmet and wielding a short sword showing a pronounced Spartan influence on the Macedonian army before Philip II. Nicholas Sekunda states that at the beginning of Philip II's reign in 359 BC, the Macedonian army consisted of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry, the latter figure similar to that recorded for the 5th century BC. However, Malcolm Errington cautions that any figures for Macedonian troop sizes provided by ancient authors should be treated with

620-477: A Katerini tomb, dated perhaps to the reign of Amyntas III of Macedon . His early infantry were also equipped with protective helmets and greaves , as well as sarissa ( pikes ), yet according to Sekunda they were eventually equipped with heavier armour such as cuirasses , since the Third Philippic of Demosthenes in 341 BC described them as hoplites instead of lighter peltasts. As evidenced by

775-543: A cornel wood shaft called the xyston . The double spear points meant that, should the xyston break during a battle, the rider need only turn his weapon around to re-arm himself. The Thessalian and Greek cavalry would have been armed similarly to the Companions. The xyston was used to thrust either overarm or underarm with the elbow flexed. This is usefully illustrated in the Alexander Mosaic, King Alexander

930-476: A dagger as a secondary weapon along with their shields . There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that the different classes of Macedonian soldier trained to use a variety of arms and equipment. Certainly, cavalry, including Alexander himself, fought on foot during sieges and assaults on fortified settlements, phalangites are described using javelins and some infantrymen were trained to ride horses. The deployment of differing types of armour and weapons

1085-459: A strategos , a variable number of taxeis formed a phalanx under a phalangiarch. On his Asian campaign, Alexander, had a phalanx of 6 veteran taxeis , numbering 9,000 men. Between Susa and India a seventh taxis was created. Antipater, as regent in Macedonia, was left with 8 taxeis of younger, less-experienced recruits. Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa , which was

1240-445: A wedge formation, which facilitated both manoeuvrability and the shock of the charge. The advantage of the wedge was that it offered a narrow point for piercing enemy formations and concentrated the leaders at the front. It was easier to turn than a square formation because everyone followed the leader at the apex, "like a flight of cranes". Philip II introduced the formation, probably in emulation of Thracian and Scythian cavalry, though

1395-513: A 1,000 strong unit of horse archers that was recruited from various Iranian peoples. They were very effective at scouting and in screening the rest of the army from the enemy. Firing their bows whilst mounted, they offered highly mobile missile fire on the battlefield. At the Battle of Hydaspes, the massed fire of the horse archers was effective at disordering the Indian cavalry and helped to neutralise

1550-643: A Greek invasion of Arabia . In the years following his death, a series of civil wars broke out across the Macedonian Empire, eventually leading to its disintegration at the hands of the Diadochi . With his death marking the start of the Hellenistic period , Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion and syncretism that his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism and Hellenistic Judaism . He founded more than twenty cities , with

1705-486: A Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury. On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops to loot the city for several days. Alexander stayed in Persepolis for five months. During his stay, a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes I and spread to the rest of the city. Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for

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1860-453: A barbarian) and no youth was considered to be fit to sit with the men at table until he had killed, on foot with a spear, a wild boar . When Philip took over control of Macedon , it was a backward state on the fringes of the Greek world and was beset by its traditional enemies: Illyrians , Paeonians and Thracians . The basic structure of the army inherited by Philip II was the division of

2015-477: A classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira , which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile. Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy , Hephaistion , and Cassander . Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as

2170-403: A degree of skepticism, since there are very few means by which modern historians are capable of confirming their veracity (and could have been possibly lower or even higher than the numbers stated). Philip's first achievement was to unify Macedon through his army. He raised troops and made his army the single fount of wealth, honour and power in the land; the unruly chieftains of Macedonia became

2325-416: A distance; the weapons of the first five rows of men all projected beyond the front of the formation, so that there were more spearpoints than available targets at any given time. The men of the rear ranks raised their sarissas so as to provide protection from aerial missiles. A phalangite also carried a sword as a secondary weapon for close quarter fighting should the phalanx disintegrate. The phalanx, however,

2480-444: A fairly minimal baggage train, with only one servant for every ten men. This gave it a marching speed that contemporary armies could not hope to match — on occasion forces surrendered to Alexander simply because they were not expecting him to show up for several more days. This was made possible thanks to the training Philip instilled in his army, which included regular forced marches. The Hypaspists ( Hypaspistai ) were

2635-561: A fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 38,000 drawn from Macedon and various Greek city states, mercenaries, and feudally raised soldiers from Thrace , Paionia , and Illyria . He showed his intent to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying he accepted Asia as a gift from the gods. This also showed Alexander's eagerness to fight, in contrast to his father's preference for diplomacy. After an initial victory against Persian forces at

2790-602: A helmet in battle. Although the Companion cavalry is largely regarded as the first real shock cavalry of Antiquity, it seems that Alexander was very wary of using it against well-formed infantry, as attested by Arrian in his account of the battle against the Malli, an Indian tribe he faced after Hydaspes. There, Alexander did not dare assault the dense infantry formation with his cavalry, but rather waited for his infantry to arrive, while he and his cavalry harassed their flanks. It

2945-507: A lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia , Central Asia , parts of South Asia , and Egypt . By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India . He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle . In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he campaigned in

3100-686: A longer spear and a smaller and lighter shield. However, the Macedonian king also innovated; he introduced the use of a much longer spear, the two-handed pike . The Macedonian pike, known as the sarissa , gave its wielder many advantages both offensively and defensively. For the first time in Greek warfare, cavalry became a decisive arm in battle. The Macedonian army perfected the co-ordination of different troop types in an early example of combined arms tactics—the heavy infantry phalanx, skirmish infantry, archers, light cavalry and heavy cavalry , and siege engines were all deployed in battle; each troop type being used to its own particular advantage and creating

3255-589: A number of javelins and a sword, carried a light shield but wore no armour, though they sometimes had helmets; they were adept at skirmishing and were often used to guard the flanks of more heavily equipped infantry. They usually adopted an open order when facing enemy heavy infantry. They could throw their javelins at will at the enemy and, unencumbered by armour or heavy shields, easily evade any counter-charges made by heavily equipped hoplites. They were, however, quite vulnerable to shock-capable cavalry and often operated to particular advantage on broken ground where cavalry

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3410-698: A prophecy. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria , which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death. Control of Egypt passed to Ptolemy I (son of Lagos), the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC) after the death of Alexander. Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into Achaemenid Assyria in Upper Mesopotamia (now northern Iraq ) and defeated Darius again at

3565-603: A result of poisoning by Olympias. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered 3,000 Macedonian cavalry and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa , and ordered his men to ride over Mount Ossa. When

3720-423: A sauroter; it seems to have had an iron sleeve in the middle which may mean that it was in two pieces for the march with the sleeve joining the two sections before use. Like the xyston, the sarissa was greatly tapered towards the point. This, along with the sauroter, helped to make the point of balance as far towards the butt of the weapon as possible. It should be stressed that the archaeological discoveries show that

3875-612: A series of campaigns that lasted for 10 years. Following his conquest of Asia Minor , Alexander broke the power of Achaemenid Persia in a series of decisive battles, including those at Issus and Gaugamela ; he subsequently overthrew Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety. After the fall of Persia, the Macedonian Empire held a vast swath of territory between the Adriatic Sea and

4030-602: A short bloodless campaign by Alexander restored them to allegiance. The Thessalians were considered the finest cavalry of Greece. The Thessalian heavy cavalry accompanied Alexander during the first half of his Asian campaign and continued to be employed by the Macedonians as allies until Macedon 's final demise at the hands of the Romans. Its organization and weaponry were similar to the Companion Cavalry, though

4185-552: A significant subject of study in military academies worldwide. Legends of Alexander's exploits coalesced into the third-century Alexander Romance which, in the premodern period, went through over one hundred recensions, translations, and derivations and was translated into almost every European vernacular and every language of the Islamic world. After the Bible , it was the most popular form of European literature. Alexander III

4340-481: A smaller shield seem to have been innovations devised by Philip himself, or at the very least he produced the definitive synthesis of earlier developments. Diodorus claimed that Philip was inspired to make changes in the organisation of his Macedonian infantry from reading a passage in the writings of Homer describing a close-packed formation. Imitating the Greek example of martial exercises and issuing of standard equipment for citizen soldiery, Philip II transformed

4495-417: A sword with a blade length of 55 cm (22 in) and a weight of 300 g (11 oz). The cutting swords are particularly associated with cavalry use, especially by Xenophon , but pictorial representations would suggest that all three sword types were used by cavalry and infantry without obvious distinction. Each Companion cavalryman was equipped with a 3 m (9.8 ft) double-ended spear with

4650-510: A synergy of mutual support. Ancient Macedonians and other Greeks (especially Thessalian cavalry) and a wide range of mercenaries from across the Aegean and the Balkans were employed by Phillip. By 338 BC, more than a half of the army for his planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire came from outside of Macedon's borders—from all over the Greek world and the nearby barbarian tribes, such as

4805-468: A type of pike . The length of these pikes was such that they had to be wielded with two hands in battle. The traditional Greek hoplite used his spear single-handed, as the large Argive or Argolic shield needed to be gripped by the left hand, therefore the Macedonian phalangite gained in both weapon reach and in the added force of a two handed thrust. At close range, such large weapons were of little use, but an intact phalanx could easily keep its enemies at

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4960-610: A uniquely flexible and effective army. By introducing military service as a full-time occupation, Philip was able to drill his men regularly, ensuring unity and cohesion in his ranks. In a remarkably short time, this led to the development of one of what was among the world's finest military machines for the era. Tactical improvements included the latest developments in the deployment of the traditional Greek phalanx made by men like Epaminondas of Thebes and Iphicrates of Athens . Philip improved on these military innovators by using both Epaminondas' deeper phalanx and Iphicrates' combination of

5115-615: A usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan . The campaign took Alexander through Media , Parthia , Aria (West Afghanistan), Drangiana , Arachosia (South and Central Afghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan), and Scythia . In 329 BC, Spitamenes , who held an undefined position in

5270-616: A variety weapons, rounded out the cavalry. By the time Alexander campaigned in India, and subsequently, the cavalry had been drastically reformed and included thousands of horse-archers from Iranian peoples such as the Dahae (prominent at the Battle of Hydaspes ). Scholarship is divided as to the ethnic composition of the prodromoi of the Macedonian army. Most authorities regard the prodromoi as being raised from Macedonians, which would parallel

5425-438: Is a common mistake to portray the Companion cavalry as a force able to burst through compact infantry lines. Alexander usually launched the Companions at the enemy after a gap had opened up between their units or disorder had already disrupted their ranks. However, the ancient historian Arrian implies that the Companion cavalry were successful in an assault, along with heavy infantry, on the Greek mercenary hoplites serving Persia in

5580-496: Is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lion's image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations for these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus . Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed

5735-403: Is shown thrusting with his xyston underarm, whilst immediately behind him a cavalryman is employing the overarm thrust. There is no evidence that the Macedonian cavalry ever used a two-handed grip on their lances, as did later Sarmatian and Roman lancers. The shaft of the xyston was tapered allowing the point of balance, and therefore the hand grip, to be approximately two thirds of the length of

5890-461: The Agrianes , a Paeonian tribe, were the elite light infantry of the Macedonian army. They were often used to cover the right flank of the army in battle, being posted to the right of the Companion cavalry, a position of considerable honour. They were almost invariably part of any force on detached duty, especially missions requiring speed of movement. Other nationalities also provided peltasts for

6045-570: The Alexander Sarcophagus , troops serving Alexander the Great were also armoured in the hoplite fashion. However, Errington argues that breastplates were not worn by the phalanx pikemen of either Philip II or Philip V's reign periods (during which sufficient evidence exists). Instead, he claims that breastplates were only worn by military officers , while pikemen wore the kotthybos along with their helmets and greaves, wielding

6200-428: The Battle of Gaugamela . Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela . Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan ) while Alexander captured Babylon . Babylonian astronomical diaries say that "the king of the world, Alexander" sent his scouts with a message to the people of Babylon before entering

6355-677: The Battle of the Granicus , Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis ; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. Miletus , held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus , in Caria , Alexander successfully waged his first large-scale siege , eventually forcing his opponents,

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6510-695: The Illyrians , the Paeonians , and the Thracians . As a result of uneven manuscript survival, most of the primary historical sources for this period have been lost, and scholarship is thus largely reliant on the works of the Greek historians Diodorus Siculus and Arrian , in addition to the incomplete writings of the Roman historian Curtius , all of whom lived centuries later than the events they describe in their works. If Philip II of Macedon had not been

6665-885: The Indus River . Alexander endeavored to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea" and invaded India in 326 BC, achieving an important victory over Porus , an ancient Indian king of present-day Punjab , at the Battle of the Hydaspes . Due to the mutiny of his homesick troops, he eventually turned back at the Beas River and later died in 323 BC in Babylon , the city of Mesopotamia that he had planned to establish as his empire's capital. Alexander's death left unexecuted an additional series of planned military and mercantile campaigns that would have begun with

6820-498: The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), at times siding with either Athens or Sparta and supplemented by local Greek infantry instead of relying on Macedonian infantry. Macedonian infantry in this period consisted of poorly trained shepherds and farmers , while the cavalry was composed of noblemen eager to win glory. An early 4th-century BC stone-carved relief from Pella shows a Macedonian hoplite infantryman wearing

6975-572: The Persian Empire included 1,800 such men. This number would have risen no higher than 2,000. They were typically entrusted with the defensive role of guarding the left flank from enemy cavalry, allowing the decisive attack to be launched on the right. They often faced tremendous opposition when in this role. At Issus and Gaugamela , the Thessalians withstood the attack of Persian cavalry forces, though greatly outnumbered. At Ecbatana,

7130-559: The Seven Wonders of the World , burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Alexander. Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception. In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike , sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus

7285-465: The Taurus into Cilicia . After a long pause due to an illness, he marched on towards Syria. Though outmanoeuvered by Darius's significantly larger army, he marched back to Cilicia, where he defeated Darius at Issus . Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis , and a fabulous treasure. He offered a peace treaty that included

7440-468: The elite arm of the Macedonian infantry. The word 'hypaspists' translates into English as 'shield-bearers'. During a pitched battle, such as Gaugamela , they acted as guard for the right flank of the phalanx and as a flexible link between the phalanx and the Companion cavalry. They were used for a variety of irregular missions by Alexander, often in conjunction with the Agrianians (elite skirmishers),

7595-459: The "Companions". Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer , and in particular the Iliad ; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns. Alexander was able to quote Euripides from memory. In his youth, Alexander

7750-617: The Achaemenid throne. The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius. However, as basic forms of community life and the general structure of government were maintained and resuscitated by Alexander under his own rule, he, in the words of the Iranologist Pierre Briant "may therefore be considered to have acted in many ways as the last of the Achaemenids ." Alexander viewed Bessus as

7905-702: The Athenian prodromoi , who were raised from the Thetes, the lowest census class of Athenian citizens. Sekunda, however, gives them an origin from Thrace . Arrian usually differentiates the prodromoi from the Paeonian light cavalry, which suggests a fixed ethnic composition. This uncertainty is probably due to the lack of a definite understanding of the use of the term prodromoi by the primary sources, referred to above. The prodromoi , are sometimes referred to as sarissophoroi , "pikemen" or "lancers", which leads to

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8060-610: The Balkans and reasserted control over Thrace and parts of Illyria before marching on the city of Thebes , which was subsequently destroyed in battle . Alexander then led the League of Corinth , and used his authority to launch the pan-Hellenic project envisaged by his father, assuming leadership over all Greeks in their conquest of Persia . In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Persian Empire and began

8215-422: The Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace. During this time, Alexander adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis , either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social superiors. This was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing

8370-541: The Black . Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas , a relative of his mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania . Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre , ride, fight, and hunt. When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents . The horse refused to be mounted, and Philip ordered it away. Alexander, however, detecting

8525-454: The Companion cavalry. After taking control of the gold-rich mines of Mount Pangaeus, and the city of Amphipolis that dominated the region, he obtained the wealth to support a large army. It was a professional army imbued with a national spirit, an unusual combination for the Greek world of the time. The armies of contemporary Greek states were largely reliant on a combination of citizens and mercenaries. The former were not full-time soldiers, and

8680-484: The Companions and select units of phalangites. They were prominent in accounts of Alexander's siege assaults in close proximity to Alexander himself. The Hypaspists were of privileged Macedonian blood and their senior chiliarchy (χιλιαρχία) formed the Agema foot bodyguard of Alexander III. The organisation of the hypaspist regiment seems to have been into units of 500 (pentakosiarchies) before 331 and later, by 327, it

8835-505: The Companions were reformed into regiments (hipparchies) of 2–3 squadrons. In conjunction with this, each squadron was divided into two lochoi. This was probably undertaken to allow for the increase in size of each squadron, as reinforcements and amalgamations meant that the Companion cavalry grew in size. At this time, Alexander abandoned the regional organisation of the ilai, choosing their officers regardless of their origins. The individual Companion cavalry squadrons were usually deployed in

8990-548: The Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight. This reply apparently delighted Alexander who is reported to have said, "But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes." At Corinth, Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip,

9145-505: The Foot Companions were able to execute complex manoeuvres in absolute silence, an ability that was fascinating and unnerving to enemies. These foot-soldiers fought in close-ranked rectangular or square formations, of which the smallest tactical unit was the 256 men strong syntagma or speira . This formation typically fought eight or sixteen men deep and in a frontage of thirty-two or sixteen men accordingly. Each file of 16 men,

9300-510: The Greek city of Perinthus , Alexander reportedly saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi , a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. While Philip was occupied in Thrace, Alexander was ordered to muster an army for a campaign in southern Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he

9455-399: The Greek infantry formed the defensive rear of the box formation Alexander arranged his army into, while the Macedonians formed its front face. Nevertheless, they performed a valuable function in facing down attempts by the Persian cavalry to surround the Macedonian army and helped deal with the breakthrough of some Persian horsemen who went on to attack the baggage. The peltasts raised from

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9610-600: The Greek world. Cretan archers were famed for their powerful bows, firing arrows with large, heavy heads of cast bronze. They carried their arrows in a quiver with a protective flap over its opening. Cretan archers were unusual in carrying a shield, which was relatively small and faced in bronze. The carrying of shields indicates that the Cretans also had some ability in hand-to-hand fighting, an additional factor in their popularity as mercenaries. Archers were also raised from Macedonia and various Balkan peoples. Alexander inherited

9765-629: The Illyrian chieftain Cleitus and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria, Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, he secured his northern frontier. While Alexander campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediately headed south. While

9920-519: The Indian chariots. Suitable men from the Macedonian peasantry were recruited into an infantry formation , called the phalanx. It was developed by Philip II , and later used by his son Alexander the Great in his conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . These infantrymen were called Pezhetairoi , which translates as 'Foot Companions'. Philip II spent much of his youth as a hostage at Thebes , where he studied under

10075-465: The League of Corinth and hired mercenaries. These infantrymen would have been equipped as hoplites with the traditional hoplite panoply consisting of a thrusting spear ( doru ), bronze-faced Argive shield and body armour. In appearance, they would have been almost identical to the hypaspists. In battle, the Greek hoplites had a less active role than the Macedonian phalangites and hypaspists. At Gaugamela,

10230-567: The Macedonian army from a levied force of farmers into a well-trained fighting force . Foot Companions were levied from the peasantry of Macedon. Once levied they became professional soldiers. Discharge could only be granted by the King. Under Philip, the Foot Companions received no regular pay. This seems to have changed by Alexander's time as during the mutiny at Opis in 324 BC, the men were chastised by Alexander for having run up debts despite earning "good pay". Through extensive drilling and training,

10385-577: The Macedonian army. Especially numerous were the Thracians; the Thracian peltasts performed the same function in battle as the Agrianians, but for the left wing of the army. It is unclear if the Thracians, Paeonians, and Illyrians fighting as javelin throwers, slingers , and archers serving in Macedonian armies from the reign of Philip II onward were conscripted as allies via a treaty or were simply hired mercenaries . Peltasts were armed with

10540-415: The Macedonian court a good knowledge of Persian issues, and may even have influenced some of the innovations in the management of the Macedonian state. Suda writes that Anaximenes of Lampsacus was one of Alexander's teachers, and that Anaximenes also accompanied Alexander on his campaigns. At the age of 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. Philip II had waged war against the Thracians to

10695-436: The Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on

10850-521: The Paeonian cavalry was usually brigaded with the Prodromoi and often operated alongside them in battle. They appear to have been armed with javelins and swords and are, unusually, described as carrying shields. Initially only one squadron strong, they received 500 reinforcements in Egypt and a further 600 at Susa. Largely recruited from the Odrysian tribe, the Thracian cavalry also acted as scouts on

11005-713: The Royal Squadron, which numbered 300. The Royal Squadron was also known as the Agema – "that which leads". Each squadron was commanded by an ilarchēs (ilarch) and appears to have been raised from a particular area of Macedon. Arrian, for instance, described squadrons from Bottiaea, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Anthemus. It is probable that Alexander took eight squadrons with him on his invasion of Asia totalling 1,800 men, leaving seven ilai behind in Macedon (the 1,500 cavalrymen mentioned by Diodorus). Between 330 BC and 328 BC,

11160-566: The Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese . Alexander stopped at Thermopylae where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth . Athens sued for peace and Alexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes

11315-475: The Thessalians with Alexander's army were disbanded and sent home. Some remained with the army as mercenaries, yet these too were sent home a year later when the army reached the Oxus River . The Hellenic states allied to, or more accurately under the hegemony of, Macedon provided contingents of heavy cavalry and the Macedonian kings hired mercenaries of the same origins. Alexander had 600 Greek cavalrymen at

11470-707: The Thracian forces manning the heights. The Macedonians marched into the country of the Triballi and defeated their army near the Lyginus river (a tributary of the Danube ). Alexander then marched for three days to the Danube , encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish . News then reached Alexander that

11625-476: The aid and support of the Iranian upper classes. The Greeks however regarded the gesture of proskynesis as the province of deities and believed that Alexander meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it. During the long rule of the Achaemenids, the elite positions in many segments of the empire including the central government,

11780-583: The animal died (because of old age, according to Plutarch, at age 30), Alexander named a city after him, Bucephala . When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor , and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus , the latter offering to resign from his stewardship of the Academy to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as

11935-473: The army when it was on the march. In battle, they were used in a shock role to protect the right flank of the Companion cavalry. Persian light cavalry took over scouting duties when they became available to the Macedonian army following Gaugamela. The prodromoi then assumed a purely battlefield role as shock cavalry. It is possible that the prodromoi , due to their skill in wielding long lances and their extensive battle experience, were considered more valuable in

12090-475: The army, and the many satrapies were specifically reserved for Iranians and to a major degree, Persian noblemen. The latter were in many cases additionally connected through marriage alliances with the royal Achaemenid family. This created a problem for Alexander as to whether he had to make use of the various segments and people that had given the empire its solidity and unity for a lengthy period of time. Pierre Briant explains that Alexander realized that it

12245-482: The army. During his campaign in Asia against the Persian Empire he formed a hipparchia (i.e. unit of a few hundred horsemen) of companion cavalry composed entirely of ethnic Persians . The introduction of Asiatic troops into the army was actively resented by many of the native Macedonians, especially when the cadre of young Persians from aristocratic families was trained in Macedonian fighting techniques and enrolled in

12400-450: The bulk of the Macedonian heavy cavalry. Central Macedonia was good horse-rearing country and cavalry was prominent in Macedonian armies from early times. However, it was the reforms in organisation, drill and tactics introduced by Philip II that transformed the Companion cavalry into a battle-winning force, especially the introduction of, or increased emphasis on, the use of a lance and shock tactics. Coinage indicates that from an early period

12555-598: The burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War by Xerxes; Plutarch and Diodorus allege that Alexander's companion, the hetaera Thaïs , instigated and started the fire. Even as he watched the city burn, Alexander immediately began to regret his decision. Plutarch claims that he ordered his men to put out the fires but the flames had already spread to most of the city. Curtius claims that Alexander did not regret his decision until

12710-626: The city: "I shall not enter your houses". From Babylon, Alexander went to Susa , one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its treasury. He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Persian Royal Road . Alexander himself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. He then stormed the pass of the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains ) which had been blocked by

12865-413: The closing stages of the Battle of Granicus. Their success may have been largely due to the poor morale of the hoplites, who had just witnessed the rest of their army broken and put to flight. The original 1,800 Companions who accompanied Alexander to Asia were augmented by 300 reinforcements arriving from Macedon after the first year of campaigning. They were usually arrayed on the right flank (this being

13020-509: The coast held no major ports and Alexander moved inland. At Termessos , Alexander humbled and did not storm the Pisidian city. At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium , Alexander "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot , a feat said to await the future "king of Asia ". According to the story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone, and hacked it apart with his sword. In spring 333 BC, Alexander crossed

13175-626: The companion cavalry ( hetairoi ) from the foot companions ( pezhetairoi ), augmented by various allied troops, foreign levied soldiers, and mercenaries. The foot companions existed perhaps since the reign of Alexander I of Macedon , while Macedonian troops are accounted for in the history of Herodotus as subjects of the Persian Empire fighting the Greeks at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. Macedonian cavalry, wearing muscled cuirasses , became renowned in Greece during and after their involvement in

13330-498: The companion cavalry. Alexander's reaction was to make plans to rule Asia with a locally recruited army, but his death intervened before he could carry out this plan. His successors reversed his aim of diversifying the army and recruited Greeks and Macedonians almost exclusively. Philip II's phalangite infantry were equipped with a 'proto-Telamon shield' that already diverged from the Argive style shield featured in sculpted artwork of

13485-458: The conclusion that they sometimes were armed with an uncommonly long xyston (believed to be 14 ft long), though certainly not an infantry pike. In the primary sources, Arrian mentions that Aretes commanded the prodromoi ; in the same context Curtius says that Aretes commanded the sarissophoroi . It would appear that the same unit of cavalry was known by both names. The prodromoi / sarissophoroi acted as scouts, reconnoitering in front of

13640-512: The contest. Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the request of the Amphictyonic League ), capturing the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it. As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near Chaeronea , Boeotia . During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea , Philip commanded

13795-441: The discrepancies among ancient historians about the size of Alexander the Great 's army, N.G.L. Hammond and F.W. Walbank choose Diodorus Siculus ' figure of 32,000 infantry as the most reliable, while disagreeing with his figure for cavalry at 4,500, asserting it was closer to 5,100 horsemen. The army led by Alexander the Great into the Persian Empire included Greek heavy infantry in the form of allied contingents provided by

13950-577: The earlier Thessalian way of fighting emphasised the use of javelins. The Thessalian cavalry was famed for its use of rhomboid formations , said to have been developed by the Thessalian Tagos (head of the Thessalian League) Jason of Pherae . This formation was very efficient for manoeuvring, as it allowed the squadron to change direction at speed while still retaining cohesion. The numbers given for Alexander's invasion of

14105-474: The eastern Persian Empire , it appears that they wore little more than a helmet and a cloak ( exomis ) so as to enhance their stamina and mobility. However, when engaging in heavy hand-to-hand fighting, for instance during a siege or pitched battle, they would have worn body armour of either linen or bronze. This variety of armaments made them an extremely versatile force. Their numbers were kept at full strength, despite casualties, by continual replenishment through

14260-402: The elite arm of the Macedonian army, and were the offensive force that made the decisive attack in most of the battles of Alexander the Great. They were unmatched in the pre- stirrup Ancient world in their ability to retain their seat and the control of their weapons through the impact of a charge. Along with Thessalian cavalry contingents, the Companions – raised from landed nobility – made up

14415-602: The enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated. After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into the Peloponnese, devastating much of Laconia and ejecting the Spartans from various parts of it. At Corinth , Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modelled on

14570-491: The enemy. It is possible that the lance was aimed at the upper body of an opposing cavalryman in the expectation that a blow which did not wound or kill might have sufficient leverage to unseat. If the lance broke, the Companion could reverse it and use the other end, or draw his sword. Cleitus , an officer of the Companions, saved Alexander the Great's life at the Granicus by cutting off an enemy horseman's arm with his sword. Companion cavalrymen would normally have worn armour and

14725-405: The example of the rhomboid formation adopted by Macedon's southern neighbours, the Thessalians, must also have had some effect. The primary weapon of the Macedonian cavalry was the xyston , a double ended cornel-wood lance, with a sword as a secondary weapon. From descriptions of combat, it would appear that once in melee the Companion cavalryman used his lance to thrust at the chests and faces of

14880-573: The famous oracle of Amun-Ra at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert, at which he was pronounced the son of the deity Amun . Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with horns , using the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity. The Greeks interpreted this message – one that the gods addressed to all pharaohs – as

15035-401: The father of Alexander the Great , he would be more widely known as a first-rate military innovator, tactician and strategist, and as a consummate politician. The conquests of Alexander would have been impossible without the army his father created. Considered semi-barbarous by some metropolitan Greeks, the Macedonians were a martial people; they drank deeply of unwatered wine (the very mark of

15190-572: The floor, at which Alexander reproachfully insulted him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another." In 337 BC, Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona , capital of the Molossians . He continued to Illyria where he sought refuge with one or more Illyrian kings, perhaps with Glaucias , and

15345-399: The grand army review Alexander assembled in 324 BC. Alexander was said to have been impressed by the drill of the 30,000 Persians who had been trained in the methods of the Macedonian phalanx. The army supposedly reached 120,000 front-line troops at one point. This did not include camp followers. There has been considerable debate as to when Alexander first used Orientals on active service with

15500-503: The hoplite spear and a sword. Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( Ancient Greek : Ἀλέξανδρος , romanized :  Alexandros ; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great , was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon . He succeeded his father Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting

15655-438: The horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him. Alexander named it Bucephalas , meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Alexander as far as India . When

15810-446: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macedonian_army&oldid=932974246 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ancient Macedonian army The latest innovations in weapons and tactics were adopted and refined by Philip, and he created

15965-495: The lands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Alexander replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions. Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria , and most of the coast of the Levant . In the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre , which he captured after a long and difficult siege . The men of military age were massacred and

16120-545: The latter, though professional, had little or no inherent loyalty to their employers. By the time of his death, Philip's army had pushed the Macedonian frontier into southern Illyria, conquered the Paeonians and Thracians, asserted a hegemony over Thessaly , destroyed the power of Phocis and defeated and humbled Athens and Thebes . All the states of Greece, with the exception of Sparta, Epirus and Crete, had become subservient allies of Macedon ( League of Corinth ) and Philip

16275-459: The march. In battle, they performed much the same function as the Prodromoi and Paeonians, except they guarded the flank of the Thessalian cavalry on the left wing of the army. The Thracians deployed in their ancestral wedge formations and were armed with javelins and swords. At Gaugamela, the Thracians fielded four ilai and were about 500 strong. In 329 BC, Alexander, while in Sogdiana , created

16430-640: The mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates , to withdraw by sea. Alexander left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada , who adopted Alexander. From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. From Pamphylia onwards,

16585-450: The more to make the attempt". After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword, and the women and children were sold into slavery. Egypt was only one of a large number of territories taken by Alexander from the Persians. After his trip to Siwa, Alexander was crowned in

16740-574: The most prominent being the city of Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture led to the overwhelming dominance of Hellenistic civilization and influence as far east as the Indian subcontinent . The Hellenistic period developed through the Roman Empire into modern Western culture ; the Greek language became the lingua franca of

16895-534: The negotiations and scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bride for him. Philip exiled four of Alexander's friends, Harpalus , Nearchus , Ptolemy and Erigyius , and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains. In the 24th day of the Macedonian month Dios, which probably corresponds to 25 October 336 BC, while at Aegae attending

17050-457: The next morning. Plutarch recounts an anecdote in which Alexander pauses and talks to a fallen statue of Xerxes as if it were a live person: Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expeditions you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects? Alexander then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia. The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and

17205-481: The niece of his general Attalus . The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. During the wedding banquet , a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir. At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired

17360-434: The north, which left Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent . During Philip's absence, the Thracian tribe of Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly and drove them from their territory. The territory was colonized, and a city, named Alexandropolis , was founded. Upon Philip's return, Alexander was dispatched with a small force to subdue the revolts in southern Thrace . Campaigning against

17515-556: The officers and elite cavalrymen of the army, the highland peasants became the footsoldiers. Philip took pains to keep them always under arms and either fighting or drilling. Manoeuvres and drills were made into competitive events, and the truculent Macedonians vied with each other to excel. As a political counterbalance to the native-born Macedonian nobility, Philip invited military families from throughout Greece to settle on lands he had conquered or confiscated from his enemies, these 'personal clients' then also served as army officers or in

17670-484: The old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars ), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth ), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire . When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice in 338 BC,

17825-420: The other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace. Alexander then set out on his Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent. After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) , Philip II began

17980-484: The phalangites also used the two-edged sword ( xiphos ) as well as the traditional Greek hoplite spear ( doru /δόρυ), which was much shorter than the sarissa . The sources also indicate that the phalangites were on occasion armed with javelins. The sarissa would have been useless in siege warfare and other combat situations requiring a less cumbersome weapon. Hypaspists and allied and mercenary Greek heavy infantry were equipped as classic hoplites and would have employed

18135-539: The phalangites wore the kotthybos , a form of defence of uncertain nature. Alexander did not use the phalanx as the decisive arm in his battles, but instead used it to pin and demoralize the enemy while his heavy cavalry would charge selected opponents or exposed enemy unit flanks, usually after driving the enemy horse from the field. Polybius (18.31.5), emphasises that the phalanx required flat open places for its effective deployment, as broken country would hinder and break up its formation. The phalanx carried with it

18290-549: The position of honour in Hellenic armies, where the best troops would be positioned), and typically carried out the decisive manoeuvre/assault of the battle under Alexander's direct leadership. Following the defeat of Lycophron of Pherae and Onomarchos of Phocis , Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of the Thessalian League ; his death induced the Thessalians to attempt to throw off Macedonian hegemony, but

18445-423: The primary weapons used by Macedonian cavalry were a pair of javelins. This remained true through to the reign of Archelaus I (413–399). Subsequently, despite the adoption of the lance, it is highly probable that the Companion cavalry continued to employ javelins when on scouting or skirmishing missions. The hetairoi were divided into squadrons called ilai (singular: ilē ), each 200 men strong, except for

18600-399: The rear: a herald (to act as a messenger), a trumpeter (to sound out commands), an ensign (to hold the unit's standard), an additional officer (called ouragos ), and a servant. This array of both audial and visual communication methods helped to make sure that even in the dust and din of battle orders could still be received and given. Six syntagmata formed a taxis of 1,500 men commanded by

18755-547: The region and was the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire until its collapse in the mid-15th century AD. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mould of Achilles , featuring prominently in the historical and mythical traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. His military achievements and unprecedented enduring successes in battle made him the measure against which many later military leaders would compare themselves, and his tactics remain

18910-438: The renowned general Epaminondas , whose reforms formed the basis of Philip's later tactics. The equipment of the Macedonian phalangite is believed to have been influenced by the 'peltast' developed by the Athenian general Iphicrates. The Iphicratean peltast was not a skirmisher but a form of light hoplite, characterised by using a longer spear and smaller shield. However, the introduction of the sarissa pike in conjunction with

19065-455: The right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Having damaged

19220-521: The role of shock cavalry, especially after the departure of the Thessalian cavalry. Four ilai , each 150 strong, of prodromoi operated with Alexander's army in Asia. At Gaugamela, the prodromoi under Aretes were responsible for finally routing the Persian left wing cavalry, winning the battle in this sector. These light cavalry were recruited from Paeonia , a tribal region to the north of Macedonia. The Paeones had been conquered and reduced to tributary status by Philip II. Led by their own chieftains,

19375-465: The sarissa) and a large round shield. As well as this, they would have carried a sword, either a xiphos or a kopis . This would have made them far better suited to engagements where formations and cohesion had broken down, making them well suited to siege assaults and special missions. Their armour appears to have varied depending on the type of mission they were conducting. When taking part in rapid forced marches or combat in broken terrain, so common in

19530-529: The satrapy of Sogdiana, betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy , one of Alexander's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed. However, at some point later when Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in

19685-474: The spear away from the point. The armament of the phalangites is described in the Military Decree of Amphipolis . It lists the fines imposed upon the soldiers who fail to maintain their armament or produce it upon demand. Offensive weapons were a pike ( sarissa ), and a short sword ( machaira ). The sarissa was over 6 m (20 ft) in length, with a counterweight and spiked end at the rear called

19840-435: The start of his campaign against Persia, probably organised into 5 ilai . These cavalrymen would have been equipped very similarly to the Thessalians and Companions, but they deployed in a square formation eight deep and sixteen abreast. The Greek cavalry was not considered as effective or versatile as the Thessalian and Macedonian cavalry. Light cavalry, such as the prodromoi (literal trans. "those who run ahead"), secured

19995-574: The suggestion as impious. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice . That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games . It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus , one of

20150-406: The taxation system on the Greek models and organized the military occupation of the country, but in early 331 BC he left for Asia in pursuit of the Persians. Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC where he was regarded as a liberator. To legitimize taking power and be recognized as the descendant of the long line of pharaohs, Alexander made sacrifices to the gods at Memphis and went to consult

20305-461: The temple of Ptah at Memphis. It appears that the Egyptian people did not find it disturbing that he was a foreigner – nor that he was absent for virtually his entire reign. Alexander restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian gods. In the temple of Luxor, near Karnak, he built a chapel for the sacred barge. During his brief months in Egypt, he reformed

20460-557: The theme of the king who protects the lands and the peasants". Alexander wrote a letter in 332 BC to Darius III, wherein he argued that he was worthier than Darius "to succeed to the Achaemenid throne". However, Alexander's eventual decision to burn the Achaemenid palace at Persepolis in conjunction with the major rejection and opposition of the "entire Persian people" made it impracticable for him to pose himself as Darius' legitimate successor. Against Bessus (Artaxerxes V) however, Briant adds, Alexander reasserted "his claim to legitimacy as

20615-473: The thorax at the time of Philip II, as this armour is not mentioned as forming part of the necessary equipment for sarissa-armed infantry. The thorax is, however, shown being worn by an infantryman on the Alexander Sarcophagus, however, this figure is equipped with an 'Argive' shield and may depict a hypaspist, rather than a phalangite. It is indicated in the Military Decree of Amphipolis that

20770-423: The throne. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV , executed. He also had two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed for having been involved in his father's assassination, but spared a third, Alexander Lyncestes . Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice, and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus, who

20925-663: The transfer of veteran soldiers chosen from the phalanx. A new term for hypaspistai emerged after the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC: the argyraspides ('silver shields'). The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin. However, in regards to both the argyraspides and chalkaspides ('bronze shields'), Malcolm Errington asserts that "these titles were probably not functional, perhaps not even official." Sekunda states that Alexander's pike-wielding infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elite hypaspistai and 9,000 of which were pezhetairoi . However, in discussing

21080-403: The use of Cretan archers from his father's reign, yet around this time a clear reference to the use of native Macedonian archers was made. After the Battle of Gaugamela, archers of West Asian backgrounds became commonplace and were organized into chiliarchies . According to Arrian, Alexander used Arachosian, Bactrian, Parapamisadaean, Sogdian, Indian, and Scythian troops. They were present at

21235-467: The wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, Alexander I of Epirus , Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards , Pausanias . As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus . Alexander was proclaimed king on the spot by the nobles and army at the age of 20. Alexander began his reign by eliminating potential rivals to

21390-535: The western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated near Magnesia by the Achaemenids under the command of the mercenary Memnon of Rhodes . Taking over the invasion project of Philip II, Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC with approximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry, and

21545-467: The wings of the army during battle and went on reconnaissance missions. There is some ambiguity concerning the use of the term prodromoi by the sources; it may have been used to describe any cavalry undertaking a scouting, skirmishing or screening mission, or it may have denoted a single unit, or indeed both. Apart from the prodromoi (in the sense of a single unit), other horsemen from subject or allied nations, filling various tactical roles and wielding

21700-406: The women and children sold into slavery . When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. However, Alexander was met with resistance at Gaza . The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all

21855-445: The work of establishing himself as hēgemṓn ( Greek : ἡγεμών ) of a league which according to Diodorus was to wage a campaign against the Persians for the sundry grievances Greece suffered in 480 and free the Greek cities of the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. In 336 he sent Parmenion , Amyntas , Andromenes, Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion. The Greek cities on

22010-421: Was also acquainted with Persian exiles at the Macedonian court, who received the protection of Philip II for several years as they opposed Artaxerxes III . Among them were Artabazos II and his daughter Barsine , possible future mistress of Alexander, who resided at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BC, as well as Amminapes , future satrap of Alexander, or a Persian nobleman named Sisines . This gave

22165-415: Was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising. Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders. In the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from Amphipolis , he travelled east into the country of the "Independent Thracians", and at Mount Haemus , the Macedonian army attacked and defeated

22320-515: Was born in Pella , the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon , on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion , which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC (although the exact date is uncertain). He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II , and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I , king of Epirus ). Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias

22475-431: Was dependent solely on the requirements of a particular tactical situation. Most troops would have carried a type of sword as a secondary weapon. The straight-bladed shortsword known as the xiphos (ξίφος) is depicted in works of art, and two types of single-edged cutting swords, the kopis and machaira , are shown in images and are mentioned in texts. An archaeological find of a well-preserved Macedonian xiphos revealed

22630-425: Was divided into three battalions (chiliarchies) of 1,000 men, which were then further sub-divided in a manner similar to the Foot Companions. Each battalion would be commanded by a chiliarch, with the regiment as a whole under the command of an archihypaspist. In terms of weaponry, they were probably equipped in the style of a traditional Greek hoplite with a thrusting spear or doru (shorter and less unwieldy than

22785-469: Was extremely vulnerable in the flanks and rear. The phalangite was equipped with a shield, often called the 'Telamon shield', which was smaller and less deeply convex than the Agive shield employed by Greek hoplites (and probably the hypaspists). The extent to which phalangites were armoured is unclear, and may have changed over time. They were equipped with helmets and greaves, but do not appear to have worn

22940-414: Was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander. Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood. According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch , on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to spread "far and wide" before dying away. Sometime after the wedding, Philip

23095-484: Was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra's uncle. Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to be left alive. Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as

23250-463: Was insufficient to merely exploit the internal contradictions within the imperial system as in Asia Minor, Babylonia or Egypt; he also had to (re)create a central government with or without the support of the Iranians. As early as 334 BC he demonstrated awareness of this, when he challenged incumbent King Darius III "by appropriating the main elements of the Achaemenid monarchy's ideology, particularly

23405-496: Was laying the foundations of an invasion of the Persian Empire, an invasion that his son would successfully undertake. One important military innovation of Philip II is often overlooked, he banned the use of wheeled transport and limited the number of camp servants to one to every ten infantrymen and one each for the cavalry. This reform made the baggage train of the army very small for its size and improved its speed of march. The Companion cavalry, or Hetairoi ( Ἑταῖροι ), were

23560-609: Was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander. Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae , taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea , only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes . The Athenians, led by Demosthenes , voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes's favour, but Athens won

23715-511: Was taken prisoner by Bessus , his Bactrian satrap and kinsman. As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius's successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Alexander. Alexander buried Darius's remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral. He claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to

23870-818: Was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son. Accordingly, Alexander returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus , who mediated between the two parties. In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria , Pixodarus , offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus . Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he stopped

24025-499: Was useless and heavy infantry found it difficult to maintain formation. Philip II was also able to field archers , including mercenary Cretan archers and perhaps some native Macedonians. In most Greek states, archery was not greatly esteemed, nor practised by native soldiery, and foreign archers were often employed, such as the Scythians prominent in Athenian employ. However, Crete was notable for its very effective archers, whose services as mercenaries were in great demand throughout

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