Battle of the Persian Gate

Battle of the Persian Gate
	Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great
	; Highway 78 through the Persian Gate in modern-day Iran, 2012
Date	330 BC
Location	Persian Gate, near Persepolis30°42′30″N 51°35′55″E / 30.70833°N 51.59861°E
Result	Macedonian victory; Destruction of Persepolis;
Territorial; changes	Consolidation of control by the Macedonian army over half of Persia proper
Belligerents
Macedonian Empire; Hellenic League	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great; Craterus; Ptolemy; Perdiccas	Ariobarzanes of Persis
Strength
17,000 picked fighters	40,000 infantry and 700 cavalry (Arrian); 700–2,000 (modern estimates);
Casualties and losses
Unknown, but moderate to heavy	Entire army
	Persian Gate class=notpageimage\| Location within Iran Persian Gate class=notpageimage\| Location within West Asia

Alexander the Great

900km
559miles

15

Babylon

14

Malavas

13

Hydaspes

12

Cophen

11

Cyropolis

10

Persian Gate

9

Uxians

8

Gaugamela

7

Alexandria

6

Gaza

5

Tyre

4

Issus

3

Miletus

2

Granicus

1

Pella

current battle

The Battle of the Persian Gate took place as part of the Wars of Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes of Persis led a last stand with his outnumbered Persian army at the Persian Gate, near Persepolis,^[5] and held back the Macedonian army for approximately a month. However, through captured prisoners of war or a local shepherd, Alexander found a path around to flank the Persian troops from the rear, allowing him to capture half of Persia proper in another decisive victory against the Achaemenid Empire.

^ ^a ^b Shahbazi, A. Sh. "ARIOBARZANES". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
^ D. W. Engels: Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1978, ISBN 0-520-04272-7, pp. 72f. (fn. 7)
^ Bill Yenne: "Alexander the Great: Lessons from History's Undefeated General", St. Martin's Press, New York, 2010, pp. 90
^ CAIS "The Battle of the Persian Gate and the Martyrdom of General Ariobarzan and his defending regiment"
^ Robinson, Cyril Edward (1929). A History of Greece. Methuen & Company Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

[iranica-1] Shahbazi, A. Sh. "ARIOBARZANES". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2022-02-11.

[2] D. W. Engels: Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1978, ISBN 0-520-04272-7, pp. 72f. (fn. 7)

[3] Bill Yenne: "Alexander the Great: Lessons from History's Undefeated General", St. Martin's Press, New York, 2010, pp. 90

[4] CAIS "The Battle of the Persian Gate and the Martyrdom of General Ariobarzan and his defending regiment"

[Robinson1929-5] Robinson, Cyril Edward (1929). A History of Greece. Methuen & Company Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

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