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Alphabetical Order
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Alexander turned again to the Persian front in 331 B.C. Darius had collected an enormous army, including the famous heavy cavalry of the Iranian steppe, and many chariots with scythelike knives protruding from the wheels. The Persians smoothed and cleared a vast level plain near Arbela, east of the Tigris River. The Persian cavalry captured Alexander's camp. But, with a charge which he led himself, Alexander routed Darius, and the Persian army retreated. The Battle of Arbela is also known as the Battle of Gaugamela because it was fought near the village of Gaugamela. It is considered one of the most decisive battles of history.
The city of Babylon surrendered, and Alexander easily captured the Persian cities of Susa and Persepolis. These cities yielded him vast treasures of gold and silver. All the inhabitants of Persepolis were either killed or sold into slavery. Alexander burned Persepolis in revenge for the Persian burning of Athens in 480 B.C. The Greek interest in the war ended with this decisive victory over the Persians, and Alexander sent their troops home.
Alexander crossed the Zagros Mountains into Media in 330 B.C. Darius had fled there, and was soon afterwards killed by his own nobles. His death left Alexander king of Asia. He marched on, against only local opposition from tribespeople, and occupied the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Continuing to the east, he set up Iranian nobles as new local governors, but they revolted after he left.
Alexander swung south into Arachosia (southeast Persia) and then north into Afghanistan, founding cities to serve as garrisons and centres of administration. He entered Bactria and Sogdiana, behind the Hindu Kush mountain range, and marched as far as the Jaxartes River. It took two years to pacify the region. Alexander married Roxane, the daughter of a Sogdian baron.
In Sogdiana, Alexander lost his temper and killed a close friend, Clitus, in a drunken quarrel. This cost him the sympathy of his Macedonian troops. There were plots against his life, and he executed several prominent Greeks and Macedonians.
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