ORDER OF BATTLE // -334 BCE
Alexander's Balkan campaign
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 26,000 estimated
Macedonia
12,000
Medium-confidence figure
Thracians
14,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
Alexander's Balkan campaign in 335 BC was directed against a series of rebellious vassals of the Macedonian kingdom. By suppressing each in turn, Alexander secured Macedonia's northern and western frontiers and eliminated the threat of revolt in his rear. The successful pacification of these regions was a prerequisite for the invasion of Persia that Alexander had long planned, and its completion cleared the way for him to commit Macedonian forces to that eastern campaign without risk of destabilization at home. The campaign thus served as the essential consolidating act that made the Persian expedition strategically viable.
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