Battle of Gaugamela

Battle of Gaugamela
Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great
Battle of Gaugamela, Flemish tapestry, first half of 18th century
Date October 1, 331 BC Location Probably Tel Gomel (Gaugamela) near Mosul, modern Iraq Result Decisive Greek victory, Persian military capabilities are crippled. Territorial changes Alexander wins Babylon, half of Persia and all parts of Mesopotamia not already under his control.
Belligerents
Macedon Hellenic League	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great Hephaestion Craterus Parmenion Ptolemy Perdiccas Antigonus Cleitus Nearchus Seleucus Ariston Simmias Coenus Ariston Glaucias Sopolis	Darius III Bessus Mazaeus Orontes II † Atropates
Strength
47,000 (See Size of Macedonian army)	100,000-250,000 (modern estimate) 250,000–1,000,000 (ancient sources) (See Size of Persian army)
Casualties and losses
100 infantry and 1,000 cavalry (according to Arrian); 300 infantry (according to Curtius Rufus); 500 infantry (according to Diodorus Siculus)	40,000 (according to Curtius Rufus) 47,000 (according to Welman) 90,000 (according to Diodorus Siculus) 300,000+ captured (according to Arrian)

Coordinates: 36°33′36″N 43°26′38″E / 36.56°N 43.444°E / 36.56; 43.444

47,000

100,000-250,000
(modern estimate)
250,000–1,000,000 (ancient sources)

The Battle of Gaugamela (/ˌɡɔːɡəˈmiːlə/; Greek: Γαυγάμηλα), also called the Battle of Arbela (Greek: Ἄρβηλα), was the decisive battle of Alexander the Great's invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. In 331 BC Alexander's army of the Hellenic League met the Persian army of Darius III near Gaugamela, close to the modern city of Dohuk (Iraqi Kurdistan). Even though heavily outnumbered, Alexander emerged victorious due to his army's superior tactics and his deft employment of light infantry. It was a decisive victory for the Hellenic League and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.

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