Battle of the Granicus

Significance

The Battle of the Granicus, fought in May 334 BC, was the first of three major engagements between Alexander the Great's Macedonian forces and the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Fought at the crossing of the Granicus river — now the Biga River in Turkey — along the road from Abydus to Dascylium in the Troad region, it pitted Alexander's army of some 18,100 against the field army of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor. The Achaemenid forces suffered between 5,000 and 6,000 casualties. The immediate consequence was the destruction of the satrapal field army defending Asia Minor, which removed Persian capacity for coordinated open resistance in the region and forced the remaining Persian-held cities onto the defensive. As the opening engagement of Alexander's campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, the Granicus established Macedonian battlefield superiority in Asia Minor and opened the interior of the peninsula to further advance.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (28)