# Chronology of the Battle of Gaugamela

How Alexander's cavalry wedge broke Darius III's line at Gaugamela in 331 BC, from the levelled plain and scythed chariots to the chase toward Arbela\.

By PETE\!

Topic: History

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/3xPxsz8qbnQl)

## Transcript

### 1. A plain made for chariots

In late September 331 BC, Alexander of Macedon marched his army toward the Persian king Darius III\. Darius waited near the village of Gaugamela, in what is now northern Iraq, on a plain his men had levelled for chariots and cavalry\. Blue blocks are Macedonian units; red and gold blocks are Persian\.

The battle was fought on 1 October 331 BC\. Babylonian astronomical diaries fix the date, and also record a lunar eclipse about ten days earlier\.

### 2. The night before

Alexander's army camped within sight of the Persian line\. His senior general Parmenio urged a surprise attack in the dark, but Alexander refused, saying he would not steal his victory\. Fearing a night attack, the Persians stood in their ranks all night\.

Ancient writers claimed Darius had a million men\. Modern historians estimate far fewer, perhaps 50,000 to 250,000, against about 47,000 Macedonians\.

### 3. Battle lines at dawn

In the morning both armies stood ready\. Alexander led the Companion cavalry on the right; Parmenio held the left with the Thessalian horse\. The pikemen of the phalanx filled the centre, and a second line stood behind, ready to turn and meet any attack from the rear\.

Darius stood in the centre of a much longer line, with 15 elephants and scythed chariots in front\. Bessus commanded his left wing and Mazaeus his right\.

### 4. Edging to the right

Instead of charging straight ahead, Alexander led his line slantwise to the right, toward the edge of the levelled ground\. Darius's left wing shifted to keep pace, and Scythian and Bactrian horsemen rode out to stop him\. Alexander's mercenary cavalry and the Paeonians met them\.

Blue arrows show Macedonian moves; red arrows show Persian moves\.

### 5. The scythed chariots

Darius sent his scythed chariots charging\. Javelin throwers pulled down drivers and horses\. Where chariots reached the line, the soldiers stepped aside to open lanes, and the chariots were caught behind the ranks\.

Arrian writes of about 200 scythed chariots\. Most of them achieved very little\.

### 6. A gap in the Persian line

As Persian horsemen streamed out to the flank, a gap opened in Darius's line\. Alexander formed his Companions and the nearest infantry into a wedge, aimed straight at the gap and at Darius himself\.

Press the button to send the wedge into the gap\.

### 7. Darius flees

With the wedge driving toward him, Darius turned his chariot and fled\. The Persian centre and left wing broke apart and streamed after their king\.

Darius escaped this battle\. He was killed the next summer, in July 330 BC, by his own relative Bessus\.

### 8. Trouble on the left

Meanwhile Parmenio's wing was in danger\. Mazaeus's cavalry pressed the Thessalians hard, and Persian and Indian horsemen burst through a gap in the phalanx to raid the Macedonian camp\. The second line turned about and drove them off\.

Parmenio sent a rider to ask Alexander for help\. Whether the message reached him in time is still debated\.

### 9. Alexander turns back

Alexander gave up the chase and wheeled his Companions against the Persian right\. The fiercest cavalry fight of the day followed, and about sixty Companions fell\. Then the Persian right broke, and the Thessalians pushed forward\.

Arrian, our main source, wrote centuries later and tells the story in a way that favours Alexander\.

### 10. Pursuit to Arbela

The Persian army dissolved\. Alexander chased Darius across the river Lycus and on to the town of Arbela, capturing his baggage, but Darius escaped east\. Babylon soon opened its gates, and the heart of the Persian Empire lay open to Alexander\.

The battle is often called Arbela, after that town, modern Erbil\. Modern estimates put the dead at roughly 40,000 or more Persians and over a thousand Macedonians\.