ORDER OF BATTLE // -331 BCE
Siege of Gaza
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 60,000 estimated
Macedon
45,000
Medium-confidence figure
Achaemenid Empire
15,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Siege of Gaza, fought in October 332 BC, was a Macedonian victory that carried immediate strategic consequences for Alexander's campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire. By securing Gaza, Macedon eliminated the last significant point of Persian-aligned resistance on the southern Levantine route into Egypt. The victory directly ended the 31st Dynasty of Egypt, which had functioned as a satrapy under Achaemenid authority, opening Egypt to Macedonian control and severing a major Persian administrative and logistical holding. The engagement thus marked a pivotal transition in the Wars of Alexander the Great, removing Achaemenid influence from the northeastern African theater and extending Macedonian reach from the eastern Mediterranean littoral into Egypt.
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