Siege of Pelium

Siege of Pelium
Part of Alexander's Balkan campaign
The Plain of Pelium
Date December 335 BC Location Pelium, Illyria, in modern-day Albania Result Macedonian victory[1]
Belligerents
Macedon	Illyrians
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great Hephaestion	Cleitus Glaukias
Strength
23,000 total 12,000 heavy infantry 8,000 light infantry 3,000 cavalry	7,000
Casualties and losses
2,000	5,000
Alexanders' first attempt to siege Pelion failed and the Macedonians were forced by Illyrians to retreat on the other side of the river, which thus far could have been interpreted as a sort of Illyrian victory. But after three days Alexander undertook a night attack defeating by surprise the defenseless Illyrians. Without support from the outside, Cleitus and his Illyrians burned the stronghold and fled to Glaukias' realm.[1]

The siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes in parts of what is modern-day Albania. It was critical for Alexander to take this pass as it provided easy access to Illyria and Macedonia, which was urgently needed in order to quell the unrest in Greece at this time in Athens and Thebes. This was an important point of demarcation in Alexander's early reign, as it established him among the Danubian tribes to the north as a serious monarch to be reckoned with, just as he would later establish this precedent for the Greek city states under his hegemony. Taking this place allowed Alexander to march his army to southern Greece quickly, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Thebes.