Battle of the Persian Gate
| Battle of the Persian Gate | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great | |||||||||
 The Persian Gate |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kingdom of MacedonOther members of the League of Corinth |
 Persian Empire
|
||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Alexander III Craterus Ptolemy
|
Ariobarzanes †
|
||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 17,000 More than 14,000 |
700-2,000 (Encyclopædia Iranica) 25,000 (Curtius and Diodorus) 40,000 (Arrian) |
||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Moderate | Heavy | ||||||||
The Battle of the Persian Gate was a military conflict between Achaemenid Persian army, commanded by the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes, and the invading Macedonian army, commanded by Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes led a last stand of the outnumbered Persian forces at the Persian Gates near Persepolis, holding the Macedonian army for a month. Alexander eventually found a path to the rear of the Persians from the captured prisoners of war or a local shepherd, eventualy capturing Persepolis.
The Persian Empire suffered a series of defeats against the Macedonian forces at Issus and Gaugamela, and by the end of 331 BC Alexander had advanced to Babylon and Susa. A Royal Road connected Susa (the first Iranian capital city in Elam) with the more eastern capitals of Persepolis and Pasargadae in Persis, and was the natural venue for Alexander's continued campaign. Meanwhile, King Darius III was building a new army at Ecbatana (western province of Hamadan in present-day Iran). Ariobarzanes was charged with preventing the Macedonian advance into Persis, and to this effect he relied heavily on the terrain Alexander needed to pass through. There were only a few possible routes through the Zagros Mountains, all of which were made more hazardous by winter's onset.
...
Wikipedia