Battle of Gaugamela

Significance

The Battle of Gaugamela was the second and final engagement between Alexander the Great and Darius III, and is considered the decisive blow that ended the Achaemenid Empire. Where the first meeting between the two kings had failed to resolve the conflict, Gaugamela proved conclusive: the scale of the Achaemenid collapse that followed resulted in the complete conquest of the empire by Macedon. The disparity in casualties — Macedonian losses recorded at between 1,100 and 1,500 against Achaemenid losses estimated at between 40,000 and 90,000 — reflects the totality of the Macedonian victory over a Persian force that, at its upper estimate, outnumbered Alexander's army by more than five to one. The battle was fought with commanders on both sides of considerable standing: alongside Alexander, Hephaestion, Parmenion, Coenus, and others led Macedonian formations, while Darius was supported by Bessus and Mazaeus. The outcome ended organized Achaemenid resistance and brought to a close the central strategic objective of Alexander's eastern campaigns.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (10)