The Battle of Issus

During this time, the Persians were considered a great military machine, but Alexander was not pleased with this and thus, he successfully tried to strip the Persians of this title that they held. While Alexander and his Greek forces were in southern Turkey in the autumn of 333 B.C., King Darius of the Persians met up with them. Alexander and the Greeks were already in a critical position because they were still in the mountains and needed to find a safe way out to the sea with Darius and the Persians making this even more complicated when they got in their way. However, Alexander and his shrewd fighters were able to get past Darius and the Persians by fighting their way through them fiercely. After this, approximately 30,000 Greeks fought against 100,000 Persians in a battle that took place across a tiny river called the Pinarus, which was near the town of Issus. The location of the battle served as a setback for the Greeks due to them having to get across the river and then approach their Persian opponents so they could fight them. Despite this, Alexander was still able to cut his way through the Persians and when he did this, he made his way to Darius, causing the Persian king to panic and run away. After Darius left the battlefield in a hurry, the Persian army fell apart quickly. Alexander’s victory at the Battle of Issus led to the fast decline of the enormous power that the Persians held in the Mediterranean, making way for Alexander and the Macedonians to slowly occupy this position. More importantly, as a result of his victory at the Battle of Issus, Alexander knew he could defeat Darius and slowly began to be the King of Kings, a title held previously only by Darius. Last, but not least, Alexander and his outnumbered fighters were able to demonstrate their capability on the battlefield and pose a threat to other territories.