The Battle Of Granicus

The battle of Granicus took place near the Hellespontine. The Iranian generals did not take the attack seriously and confronted the Macedonian invaders with 15000 cavalries, 14000 infantry units and 5000 Greek mercenaries. Alexander's army was superior in number. The use of 5 meter long spears and phalanx was another advantage for the Macedonian army. The Iranian generals also did not take an old advice from Dariush the great not to use foreigners in a defensive battle and thus lost the battle which marked the beginning of the end for the Achaemenid empire. In 480 BC the Persian Xerxes I had crossed the same strait to invade Greece and Alexander's official motive was to take revenge and liberate Greek cities. In this context relying on Greek mercenaries was a grave mistake. After this battle cities fell one by one; Parmenion captured Dascylium without struggle. The capture of Sardes enabled Alexander to pay his men. Alexander's first gold coins showed an eagle, the omen Alexander received during the siege of Miletus, which followed a month later. (Updated: Aug, 11, 2008)

• Dariush: داريوش(Darius)
• Greece: يونان
• Greek: يوناني
• Hellespontine: تنگه داردانل(Hellespontو Dardanelles)
• Macedonia: مقدونيه
• Parmenion: پارمنيون
• Persia: ايران
• Xerxes: خشايارشاه(Ahasverus)