C Shaffer cleitus was the one Alexander killed right? Because cleitus was jealous that his young boyfriend liked another older general if I remember right
@@shanek6582 No, Cleitus was angry that Alexander was turning into a Persian, requiring people to treat him as divine, and replacing his older Macedonians. Cleitus was going to be sent away and he felt Alexander had forgotten the ones who had made him king.
Asha Logos just put out a video on Alexander the Great and it's really good. It doesn't go over individual battles like this, but it does give a nice general overview.
@Kevin Lindsey the reason why Historia civilis stopped doing the Alexander series is because he got his friend Baz Battles to pick up the series on his own channel, they are doing kind of like a deal where one of them works on one part of the story while the other works on another part, so they can do double the work at half the time.
@@BigAl2-u7e I wouldn't call him a terrible commander but he is overrated. Both of his 2 biggest battles(Issus and Gaugamela) he won thanks to his bravery and professional soldiers, not thanks to his "genius" thinking. Not to mention that the Persians fought on flat terrain against him, excellent terrain for a phalanx, imho Alexander never was truly challenged in a battle where he was put in an unfavorable position. This is in stark contrast to other great military minds like Hannibal and Caesar, who not only won many battles thanks to their own actions, but were often caught in awful situations and still came out on top(Cannae and Pharsalus for instance).
@@ghostrider.49 you do realise that the persians deliberately wanted to fight on flat terrain so their cavalary and numerical advantage would win the battle, right? Ceasar? Yeah he was good, but not better, creating sieges and prolonging battles where non was nessecary is not that smart either, alexander was more decisive and a quick thinker, thats what makes a general great, not making trenches all over the battlefield so you can win the battle in a month or so.
While the financial situation of the Macedonians was dire, I think it's important to point out the crazy politics and behind-the-scenes dealings of this era that led to good reasons why an invasion was likely to succeed. Alexander's father had already made plans for invading the mostly prosperous and expansive Achaemenid Empire. In fact, Philip II had been hoping to succeed in an invasion himself before he was killed. The vizier of the Persians/Achaemenids, Bagoas (Note: not Bagoas the Elder who was a courtier), had been blamed by Alexander for orchestrating Philip's assassination in a letter. Historia Civilis did a video on Philip and his death, but Bagoas was left out of the conversation. It's unknown if Bagoas had anything to do with it, and it is sort of implied history that he didn't and this could have just been Alexander blaming Bagoas to get the heat off of him. This Bagoas character was known as somewhat of a king-maker, poisoning or orchestrating the downfall of people in his way (sort of like a Lord Varys/Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones). He was also very close friends with Mentor who was the brother of Memnon of Rhodes (the only general that came close to stopping Alexander, frankly) after cleaning up a rebellion in Egypt. These were the people most able to know how to thwart any Macedonian threat. Mentor died while commander of the west and that left his brother Memnon to take over. Bagoas seemingly had support of most of the satraps (governors in the Achaemenid Empire) and was effectively the power behind the throne and possibly the reason the Empire was in the state it was. Bagoas was believed to have poisoned the previous ruler, Artaxerxes III (Darius's uncle), and possibly even was involved in the assassination of Darius's grandfather, Artaxerxes II. While Artaxerxes II had mostly quashed all of the rebellions in Achaemenid Empire, the satraps were given wide autonomy, and many of the people hated them for it. Worse, it seemed like anytime someone seemingly had a firm grasp on power in Persia, they were assassinated/poisoned. In fact, Bagoas's downfall would be the fact he was trying to poison Darius about two years before Alexander invaded, when he was caught and forced to drink his own poison resulting in his death. So, a new ruler in Alexander has united everyone in the West seemingly against the Persians, the satraps of Persia just lost their best ally and the real architect of the empire has been killed. No one wants to listen to this "old guard" that were Bogoas's friends (Memnon) and two of the three that knew the real threat the Macedonians posed were dead. Part of Alexander's success lay in the groundwork Phillip had already laid down for "liberation" of the Persians, but some of it was just blind political in-fighting and dumb luck. Additionally, the well-built roads the Achaemenid's had built to help them trade easier and travel quickly to suppress all these satrap rebellions only made a possible Macedonian invasion even easier.
@@lordulberthellblaze6509 No shortage of material for it. And Alexandars feats in battle are quite legendary honestly. As this guy mentions a lot of groundwork was laid ahead of Alexandar to take advantage of, but even so. You can build the best sports car in the world but if you don't have a very good driver for it it's not going to win races alone. And Alexandar was a brilliant man to drive the Macedonian army. It very much was a perfect set of circumstances that would enable him to achieve unbeliveable successes in future in a variety of ways. Which of course went to his head as it would to anyone who would eventually control a massive area of land in such a short space of time through military conquest.
@@momon969 Nah, not unless he makes a critical mistake like getting malaria in a foetid jungle or pissing off his subordinates so they poison him, or somehow both. I mean, what are the odds for that? Also, Momon-sama? Anatana no?
15:22 On the contrary, enslaving Greek mercenaries was a good P.R., as they were seen as traitors to the Hellenic League. That's what Arrian wrote about Alexander's thinking on this issue... and SPOILER ALERT: As we'll see in the future, it is a standard practice of Alexander to punish Greek mercenaries working with the Persians, as traitors
@Somali Kid Greeks mercenaries in Iberia and Egypt didn't fight against Greeks. Greeks in Persian service, were fighting against the army of the Hellenic League, so, according to Alexander himself, they were traitors: "And so far as Greek will meet Greek, we shall not be fighting for like causes; those with Darius will risk their lives for pay, and poor pay too; our troops will fight as volunteers for Greece" Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, Book II, chapter 7, 4-8
@@VladTevez Well you need to be a bit specific in some terms, most of them don't even know that Hellenic means Greek(in latin)the term that we use to to call Greece in the ancient and modern times is Hellas or they think that the term Nation was formed after the french revolution ...
@@VladTevez i completely agree with you on that matter, sadly in this day and age they won't spare a second before posting something foolish, even if you pointed the book and the chapter i'm pretty sure that they don't even know if there is a book to begin with...
Macedonians served in the Persian Army and had been part of the Persian Empire. Scholars credit Macedonia's rise from a backwater to a power player is thanks to good Persian governance.
Błażej Seremak not true, only the Persian empire did that, the Mongol empire , Ottoman Empire, Chinese empire, they all fought without mercenaries most of the time
For some reason, I imagined the second line being said by Cletus Spuckler, dressed up in black plate armor. Which is, of course, ridiculous; Cletus the Black would have worn linothorax instead.
"Alexander/Macedon almost died" counter: 6 -Persian scorched earth plan -Stick vs sword -Hit with a sword in the head -Third charge and Cleitus -Fell unconscious in the enemy side of the river (Not certain) -Almost killed during charge Will continue in the next videos
@@federicoeiriz42 Could you give a timestamp? [Not for the unconscious thing, I did not include it because i thought it wasnt a threat (which it was).]
You realize how badass Alexander the Great was when you find out that almost all Roman emperors and generals were his fanboys. Julius Ceasar, Augustus, Vespasian, Hadrian, even maniacs like Caracalla and Caligula, and generals like Pompey, Germanicus, Mark Antony- they all idolized and were obsessed with Alexander the Great. When reading Alexander’s life Julius Caesar wept. On his visit to Egyp after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Augustus made a special trip to Alexander’s tomb in Alexandria where he reverentially laid flowers and a golden crown across the Macedonian king’s body. When asked whether he’d like to see the tombs of the Ptolemies, he sneered, replying: “I’ve come to see a king, not a row of corpses.” Caracalla, a great admirer of Alexander, wore a blond wig to emulate his idol and started a war against the Parthians. Caligula looted the tomb of Alexander the Great in order to snatch his breastplate from his corpse. He was wearing this breastplate full of pride.
And it wasn't just Romans: "When Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion, was the greatest general, Hannibal named Alexander, the king of the Macedonians because with a small force he has routed armies innumerable and because he has traversed the most distant regions, even to see which transcended human hopes. To the next request, as to whom he would rank second, Hannibal selected Pyrrhus, saying that he had been the first to teach the art of castrametation, besides no one had chosen his ground or placed his troops more discriminatingly; he possessed also the art of winning men over to him, so that the Italian people preferred the lordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, so long the master in that land. When he continued, asking whom Hannibal considered third, he named himself without hesitation. Then Scipio broke into a laugh and said, 'What would you say if you had defeated me?' 'Then, beyond doubt,' he replied,' I should place myself both before Alexander and before Pyrrhus and before all other generals.'" - Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 35 Chapter 14
Of course! Even the Sassanidan dynasty who did not like the Seleukids and Parthians accepted him as a Persian king. In India he are still remembered much more than in Europe. But I think: he, Hannibal, Caesar, Napoleon and a plenty similar "generals" were good to win battles but were bad to reserve their results. They were destructive persons who were not able to stabilize their success(even Caesar and Napoleon made a plenty of reform but they failed for different reasons). Augustus, Diocletian, Constanine and anothers built up systems to keep the conquered territories.
@@backalleycqc4790 yeah, but really I forgot about ceaser's death while watching the series. It was may be one episode before it hit me that I know what is coming next.
Well, good-bye, Caesar. Hello again, Alexander the Great--it's been years, hasn't it? Don't worry, Sulla, Historia Civilis may one day circle back to cover your underrated civil wars with Marius and Cinna. One day.
@@HolyKhaaaaan Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm a subscriber of HC's content so I'm well aware of that. I imagine HC may circle back to Sulla's Civil Wars after finishing Octavian's civil wars. Hey, a history buff can hope.
I think he could roast them more :D Things like the detailed account of Alexander's fights with the Persian cavalrymen and the account of Macedonian losses is history and myth entangled in my opinion. Well, make due with what we've got, and enjoy the show!
Alexander was reckless, but I think there is something to be said about a king fighting so far in the front away from his men, I imagine that river crossing was conducted at 3x speed the moment they saw their unmistakable leader charge the middle way ahead of them. Risky plays, but I can only imagine the moral boost of Alexanders center, and the sheer dedication and ruthlessness the companion calvary utilized to keep the king safe despite his heroics.
There's also the fact that Alexander also was probably grabbing the entire enemy army attention, so that they couldn't really focus on attacking Alexanders army allowing them to clime the muddy slopes and get back into formation.
First is the moral boost of seing your king charging first! Alexander was trained by Aristotle him self for sure he was no fool! Second he bought time for his infantry to cross the river.
"reasonable people disagree" That is such a wonderfully self-aware and objectively-minded disclaimer. That's why I love your content. Transparent sources, reasonable assumptions and clarity over facts and opinions.
Alexander, the man considered by many throughout history to be the best general who ever lived and by some to be a god motivates his troop with a passionate charismatic speech Historia Civilis: he said a bunch of nonsense
His dad was the real genius and it was often his generals from his dad's reign who were the real brains. He could fight and was lucky though, well for a while anyway.
@@VRichardsn do you watch overly sarcastic? In their episodes of him they call him Alexander the..... Basically everything but great. From Alexander the lucky, the pretty and the average.
You have to look at the reinforcements he got later on. He probably had around 37 000 when he crossed over. Arrian said not many more than 30 000 infantry and more than 5000 cavalry. The breakdown goes like this. When we add in the reinforcements we get what he had at Gaugamela, in other words, 47 000. Heavy cavalry 300 Greek Mercenaries (2 * 150 = 300) (Reinforcements: 150 Eleans under Alcias + 400 under Menidas = 850) 600 Greek allies (4 * 150 = 600) 600 Prodromoi (4 * 150 = 600) 150 Paeonian (Reinforcements: 350 under Ptolemy = 500) 150 Thracian/Odrysian (Reinforcements: 500 under Asclepiodorus = 650) 1800 Thessalians (300 + 215*7) = 1805) (Reinforcements: 200 under Coenus = 2005) 1805 Companions (300 + (215 *7) = 1805) 5410 Total cavalry Heavy infantry 9216 Phalangites (Reinforcements: Recruits: 1000 under Meleager (1/3 of the 3000)) 3072 Hypaspistai 1000 Old hoplite mercenaries 5000 Allied hoplites 5000 Mercenary hoplites enlisted at the Hellespont (Reinforcements: 300 + 4000) 23 288 Total heavy infantry Light infantry, 2250 archers, 6250 peltasts 500 Cretan archers (Reinforcements: 500) 500 Agrianian elite peltasts (Reinforcements: 500) 7500, Thracian 3000, Illyrina 3000, Tribalian 1000 and 500 others (Macedonian?) as peltasts and archers with probably a 75%/25% split) (Additional reinforcements at Gaugamela: 2000 Macedonian peltasts/archers (assuming a 66%/33% split) 8500 Total light infantry. 31 788 Total infantry. 37 198 Total army. Reinforcements before the battle of Gaugamela was as follows: Gordium: 350 Macedonian cavalry (Paeonian), 3000 Macedonian levy infantry, 200 Thessalian Cavalry and 150 Eleans. (Arrian I:29; Curtius III:1) Ancyra: troops arrive from Macedonia (probably including 500 Cretan archers and 500 Agrianian peltasts). (Curtius III:1) Miletus: 300 Greek mercenaries (hoplites) (Arrian I:19) Miletus: Alexander took the Greek mercenaries into his service. (Curtius II) Tendos: 3000 Greek mercenaries and oarsmen captured there were used to reinforce the Macedonian fleet. (Curtius IV:5) Sidon: Cleander arrived with 4000 Geek mercenaries (hoplites). (Arrian II:20) Tyre: Cleander arrives with soldiers recently transported to Asia. (Curtius V:13) Egypt, Memphis: Menidas arrived with 400 Greek mercenaries (cavalry) and Asclepiodorus with 500 Thracian cavalry (Arrian III:5) Now the army was 47 000 strong. The Thessalian cavalry took some heavy loses so they were probably 1800 at Gaugamela. We don't know how many men he got at Ancyra apart from the Cretan archers and Agrianian peltasts.
TLDR at least not to delve into the details -but... Alexander probably received a trickle of reinforcements to replenish his companies along most of the way.. It presumably was not only in bulk reinforcements. A bunch of locals was probably also recruited along the way too.
I’m liking the graphical upgrade in your videos! You’re one of the only channels I always watch the videos of, you’ve single handedly got me interested in ancient history and I’m loving it!
You honestly have no idea how excited I generally get when I get the notification that you uploaded a video. I just absolutely love ur channel and have been following it for a long time now.
One of the most thrilling historical novels that follows the life of Alexander the Great during his legendary campaign to avenge the Persian invasions in Greece, is “The Virtues of War” by Steven Pressfield. Truly epic.
Imagine being that Persian commander that threw the Javelin at Alexander, not only do you not kill him, but he yanks the javelin from his shield and charges back at you like hes out for blood. Must've been one hell of an "Oh shit..." moment.
The very image of Parmenion; very cautious. Not sure I agree with my equally-sized, or larger, army sitting on it's hands while giving the other side time to reinforce or retire and join up with another army before the next battle, though. I'm sure commanders knew the strategic concept of "Defeat In Detail" back then, too, and Parmenion's plan wasn't it. Best to attack them before their numbers grow, as they inevitably would. Especially when intel on enemy forces' locations were much more unreliable in that period.
Your videos are excellent. I love how you present ALL the facts and explain when the history is gray. I love the way you explain the practicalities of the events you cover. The music you use is just perfect, especially since many don’t understand the profound effect that music has on the feel of vids. I freakin ADORE the squares. Don’t know how you made me care about polygons so much, but you did. This particular video is that extremely good, but your definitive video is “The assassination of Julius Ceaser”. That particular vid is among the very best TH-cam videos that I have ever seen. Hell, now that I’m considering it, I think it may actually be THE best ever. The script... the music... the details... the SQUARES... just absolutely perfect. Thank you for making these vids and having this channel. You make the world a better place. I can’t think of a better compliment. If anyone has the means to support this channel on Patreon, please do so. We have to make sure quality like this survives, so that TH-cam isn’t just a bunch of vids of people ghost riding their cars while walking beside them lip sinking some BS pop song. Thanks to anyone who read this whole ramble, and special thanks to anyone who can actually contribute to this man/channel.
Historia your endings are always amazing. I’ve read the Anabasis in its entirety but for some reason your videos always bring a new life to these events. Thanks for all you do and I’ll be waiting for more.
Okay so I’ve seen this particular battle covered nearly a dozen times but your particular attempt to humanize historical figures like Alexander is one of the most incredible things about this channel. Keep it up!
So what you're trying to tell me is that Alexander took a small loan of 47,000 men from his dad and turned it into an empire through many ruthless financial 'investments'?
@@RexGalilae No, he isn't. The man never lost a battle. You don't have to use complicated strategies to win. It is more impressive to use a simple solution to win a battle or to solve a problem than trying to use a difficult solution to the same problem. In this instance for example, every single tactician would say that to attack is foolhardy. Well, Alexander decided that he could do so. Why? simple. Because he knew his army. He knew that his companions were some of the deadliest warriors of his time and knew that the Persians wouldn't even think that he would attack this day. So he gambled that they would be slow in responding, giving him the chance to strike at the center and scatter the missile troops. After that, he gambled again that his troops would hold well enough for his infantry to come and help and that Parmenion would manage to defeat the enemy right flank and attack from the flanks. The strategy is simple and ingenious at the same time. It's not flashy, but it takes into consideration the key elements that would bring about the victory. The quality of the troops, the element of surprise because he was doing what any other would consider insane, and the sheer charisma of this young commander and warrior that all his troops admired. Alexander didn't need a simple victory here. He needed a decisive defeat in order to prove to his people and himself that what they were attempting was feasible. And he got it.
@@kpetalis Yet he was so close to losing a battle he had every tactical advantage in. He knew his army well enough that he could fuck up in whichever way he'd want and the army his father spent his entire life making would come through in the end. There were a million more efficient ways of winning this battle and he chose the worst. Being unbeaten against a dying empire isn't a great feat. Most great generals followed simple strategies and used simple tactics and creativity to lethal effect. Look at all his battles. All it came down to was an all out charge by his cavalry and hope it worked. Give a 14 year old a Bugatti and he'll beat a 50 year old driving a Beetle. It's like the manager of Spain Vicente del Bosque who won 3 consecutive trophies for Spain in 5 years not because he was a genius but because he had perhaps the single most prolific roster in football history
A well done battle: precise, honest and clever. Alexander was good too. Aside from the jokes, your description is a Caesar's-like one: straight and easy to understeand, and very much enjoiable! Great work, keep it coming, man!
I’m so glad to see a return to to the makedonian story! I commented on the latest Julius Caesar video hoping for this very outcome. Thanks for the great stuff!
@@Richard_Nickerson I think he was just pointing out that it's pretty obvious what Shiny Phanpy meant. There was literally a part in this video that explained the size of both armies...
I wouldn't say that Macedonian losses were light in spite of Alexander's recklessness but rather because of it. By committing the smaller but more elite part of his army in the center to act as a lightning rod, the larger part of his army could cross the river unmolested by enemy archers or cavalry, and could then fight in tight formation, where casualties would be light. It was a bold gamble, since he was effectively risking his life to protect his army, but it paid off.
@@tincano-beans2114 if it was just reckless he would have charged the opposing calvary. this was reckless with a plan. he knew the Persians would focus on him, so he played to their target fixation.
I'm sad we departed Rome before getting in the second triumvirate, but boy am I glad we're still in antiquity ! You're doing an amazing job man, keep it up ! One of the few great quality content here on TH-cam ^^
he got speared by Alexander when they got into a drunken quarrel six years after this battle, Alexander regretted his action but the damage was done, rip Black Cleitus son of Dropidas
@@annatarlordofgifts2442 I think it's about Black Cleitus comparing Alexander to his Father (Philip II) and his accomplishments and that without his father, Alexander wouldn't be who he is that time.
@@juliuschamberlain7050 probably both. But i disagree with that strongly. Alexander reconquered his fathers territory with lightning speed that took phillip his whole life. The only thing that is remotely true about that is the army was already reformed and set up for him by Phillip. Phillip was nowhere near the commander that Alexander was.
A nice change of pace on the channel, going back to Alexander. I am looking forward to the developments of the series or “campaign” so to speak. Good work as ever! It is hard to find reliable, entertaining historical videos on TH-cam.
The Battle of Granicus was the first impactful defeat that King Alexander offered the Persians, after establishing the “Hellenic League” and launching a unified Greek counteroffensive against the Persian Empire. He remained respectful and treated the dead from both parties with great military honors after the battle. He also ordered to be sent back to Athens 300 suits of full Persian armour (ref. honouring the monumental last stand in Thermopylae 150 years prior), according to Arrian, as an offering to Goddess Athena and be hung on the Acropolis with the Greek inscription: “Alexander, son of Philip, and all Greeks, present this offering from the spoils taken from the foreigners inhabiting Asia.” It was the spring of 334 B.C. and this noteworthy victory that led Alexander the Great into Asia Minor and Persia, to fulfill his legendary campaign.
Dude. Very sad of not seeing the next chapter with Octavio. But very happy of seeing the next chapter of Alexander. Make whatever episodes you love the most, because that passion is what we love about your channel. You can go back to bears in the tunnels or parrots bought by extraordinary prices. We will enjoy for sure your unique way of talestorying....
He took a sword to the head and lived. If he had any religious doubt about being invincible, that definitely vanished when he was still kickin'.
bruh
Bruh
bruh
bruh
μπρουχ
In 10 years*
My son: dad do you like history?
me: Yes I do, Cleitus the Black, yes I do.
You are very sure about those 10 years
@@Iason29
Well, when you want to name your kid Cleitus the black Schaffer, you better believe you need to be confident!
C Shaffer cleitus was the one Alexander killed right? Because cleitus was jealous that his young boyfriend liked another older general if I remember right
Well, dad, then why did you name me after a guy Alexander murdered in a fit of drunken rage?
@@shanek6582 No, Cleitus was angry that Alexander was turning into a Persian, requiring people to treat him as divine, and replacing his older Macedonians. Cleitus was going to be sent away and he felt Alexander had forgotten the ones who had made him king.
Dude you need to continue Alexander the greats story. I can’t believe this is the last video you posted of his life I need more !
Yes please keep with Alexander!
I agree
I was gonna start looking for it in his channel....we need more now.
Asha Logos just put out a video on Alexander the Great and it's really good. It doesn't go over individual battles like this, but it does give a nice general overview.
@Kevin Lindsey the reason why Historia civilis stopped doing the Alexander series is because he got his friend Baz Battles to pick up the series on his own channel, they are doing kind of like a deal where one of them works on one part of the story while the other works on another part, so they can do double the work at half the time.
These are some of the most violent squares you've ever animated.
Even still that roman soldier getting torn apart awhile back still takes the grand prize for most violent square death.
Merritt Animation I considered flagging that video...
Merritt Animation
Which video?
These violent squares have violent ends.
The most violent scene remain square Ceaser getting surrounded and stabbed
I hope things go better for this Macedonian than that Roman guy
No
It’d be real embarrassing to conquer Persia only to die at 28 or something like that
@@happifty2534 it will be more embarrassing if he dies on his way home because of heat stroke than dying in the battlefield.
@@happifty2534 A month before his 33rd bday i think
If he died of the big sad cuz his boyfriend died
Alexander: "Can't lose troops if i do all the fighting myself"
Great warrior, terrible commander.
@John Doe Not only was he a bad commander, he was also a terrible emperor.
@@abstractfacts
Ah yes, he truly was a terrible commander. He only won every single battle he was ever involved in.
@@BigAl2-u7e I wouldn't call him a terrible commander but he is overrated. Both of his 2 biggest battles(Issus and Gaugamela) he won thanks to his bravery and professional soldiers, not thanks to his "genius" thinking. Not to mention that the Persians fought on flat terrain against him, excellent terrain for a phalanx, imho Alexander never was truly challenged in a battle where he was put in an unfavorable position. This is in stark contrast to other great military minds like Hannibal and Caesar, who not only won many battles thanks to their own actions, but were often caught in awful situations and still came out on top(Cannae and Pharsalus for instance).
@@ghostrider.49 you do realise that the persians deliberately wanted to fight on flat terrain so their cavalary and numerical advantage would win the battle, right? Ceasar? Yeah he was good, but not better, creating sieges and prolonging battles where non was nessecary is not that smart either, alexander was more decisive and a quick thinker, thats what makes a general great, not making trenches all over the battlefield so you can win the battle in a month or so.
While the financial situation of the Macedonians was dire, I think it's important to point out the crazy politics and behind-the-scenes dealings of this era that led to good reasons why an invasion was likely to succeed.
Alexander's father had already made plans for invading the mostly prosperous and expansive Achaemenid Empire. In fact, Philip II had been hoping to succeed in an invasion himself before he was killed.
The vizier of the Persians/Achaemenids, Bagoas (Note: not Bagoas the Elder who was a courtier), had been blamed by Alexander for orchestrating Philip's assassination in a letter. Historia Civilis did a video on Philip and his death, but Bagoas was left out of the conversation. It's unknown if Bagoas had anything to do with it, and it is sort of implied history that he didn't and this could have just been Alexander blaming Bagoas to get the heat off of him. This Bagoas character was known as somewhat of a king-maker, poisoning or orchestrating the downfall of people in his way (sort of like a Lord Varys/Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones). He was also very close friends with Mentor who was the brother of Memnon of Rhodes (the only general that came close to stopping Alexander, frankly) after cleaning up a rebellion in Egypt. These were the people most able to know how to thwart any Macedonian threat. Mentor died while commander of the west and that left his brother Memnon to take over.
Bagoas seemingly had support of most of the satraps (governors in the Achaemenid Empire) and was effectively the power behind the throne and possibly the reason the Empire was in the state it was. Bagoas was believed to have poisoned the previous ruler, Artaxerxes III (Darius's uncle), and possibly even was involved in the assassination of Darius's grandfather, Artaxerxes II. While Artaxerxes II had mostly quashed all of the rebellions in Achaemenid Empire, the satraps were given wide autonomy, and many of the people hated them for it. Worse, it seemed like anytime someone seemingly had a firm grasp on power in Persia, they were assassinated/poisoned. In fact, Bagoas's downfall would be the fact he was trying to poison Darius about two years before Alexander invaded, when he was caught and forced to drink his own poison resulting in his death.
So, a new ruler in Alexander has united everyone in the West seemingly against the Persians, the satraps of Persia just lost their best ally and the real architect of the empire has been killed. No one wants to listen to this "old guard" that were Bogoas's friends (Memnon) and two of the three that knew the real threat the Macedonians posed were dead. Part of Alexander's success lay in the groundwork Phillip had already laid down for "liberation" of the Persians, but some of it was just blind political in-fighting and dumb luck. Additionally, the well-built roads the Achaemenid's had built to help them trade easier and travel quickly to suppress all these satrap rebellions only made a possible Macedonian invasion even easier.
**like**
A bit all over the place, but still interesting!
Now thats material for an HBO adaptation
@@lordulberthellblaze6509 No shortage of material for it. And Alexandars feats in battle are quite legendary honestly. As this guy mentions a lot of groundwork was laid ahead of Alexandar to take advantage of, but even so. You can build the best sports car in the world but if you don't have a very good driver for it it's not going to win races alone. And Alexandar was a brilliant man to drive the Macedonian army.
It very much was a perfect set of circumstances that would enable him to achieve unbeliveable successes in future in a variety of ways.
Which of course went to his head as it would to anyone who would eventually control a massive area of land in such a short space of time through military conquest.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Alexander was really out there fighting like he was playing Mount & Blade Warband.
Ok, A sad goodbye to Rome and a warm welcome to Greece. Here we go.
I'm sure we'll see Rome again too.
(laughs in 2000 years of Roman military and political history)
@@HistoriaCivilis I hope it's really soon
@@HistoriaCivilis i wish you can continue to octavius (augustus) after the assasination.
Is Caesar still dead?
Hey Historia Civillis, finish the Alexander the Great storyline
We want more
Dude, been waiting since the day it came out 😭
Historia Civilis made a deal with his friend BazBattles which continued the Alexander videos
@@GreatWhite00000 wait what
This Alexander sure sounds like an interesting fellow. I hope he lives long.
I give him at least 50 years, unless he anti-climatically dies of a fever or something.
They wouldn't just kill off the main character in the middle of the season, would they?
@@momon969 Nah, not unless he makes a critical mistake like getting malaria in a foetid jungle or pissing off his subordinates so they poison him, or somehow both. I mean, what are the odds for that?
Also, Momon-sama? Anatana no?
@Col. George S. Patton, Sr. Spoliers much?
@Col. George S. Patton, Sr. Ah, a man of culture, I see. Carry on.
“I’m here to liberate you!”
“Please don’t!”
Alexander the Great was the George W Bush of the 300s BC
@@tai-yomaruno3680 Only much, much more successful
Congratulations, you are being rescued. Please do not resist.
tai-yo Maruno Operation Hellenic Freedom
they're doing a "Special Military Operation", and they'll paint the letter Omega all over their chariots
15:22 On the contrary, enslaving Greek mercenaries was a good P.R., as they were seen as traitors to the Hellenic League. That's what Arrian wrote about Alexander's thinking on this issue... and SPOILER ALERT: As we'll see in the future, it is a standard practice of Alexander to punish Greek mercenaries working with the Persians, as traitors
@Somali Kid Greeks mercenaries in Iberia and Egypt didn't fight against Greeks. Greeks in Persian service, were fighting against the army of the Hellenic League, so, according to Alexander himself, they were traitors: "And so far as Greek will meet Greek, we shall not be fighting for like causes; those with Darius will risk their lives for pay, and poor pay too; our troops will fight as volunteers for Greece" Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, Book II, chapter 7, 4-8
@@VladTevez Well you need to be a bit specific in some terms, most of them don't even know that Hellenic means Greek(in latin)the term that we use to to call Greece in the ancient and modern times is Hellas or they think that the term Nation was formed after the french revolution ...
@@demetres6113 Then, instead of commenting on TH-cam on subjects they are not fully aware of, they can open some books and learn... 😉
@@VladTevez i completely agree with you on that matter, sadly in this day and age they won't spare a second before posting something foolish, even if you pointed the book and the chapter i'm pretty sure that they don't even know if there is a book to begin with...
Macedonians served in the Persian Army and had been part of the Persian Empire. Scholars credit Macedonia's rise from a backwater to a power player is thanks to good Persian governance.
10:06 imagine throwing a javelin at someone and they catch it with their shield, pull it out, and start charging you. I’d crap my pants
literally too angry to die
That's some mordhau shit
“Oh, that went well.”
There we go. Persians fighting to the last Greek Mercenary.
Like most eastern empires in history.
same tactics as used the British in 1939-1940. Fighting to the last French soldier :/
@@jasicjan and send in the Canadians for cleanup
Błażej Seremak not true, only the Persian empire did that, the Mongol empire , Ottoman Empire, Chinese empire, they all fought without mercenaries most of the time
@@jasicjan Well what can you do when 9/10 of the allied force fighting in their home land offers as much resistance as a tissue paper.
Persian Cavalry-men: *About to kill the enemy king and save his country
Cleitus the Black: “I’m about to end the man’s whole career.”
Some make good career choices, others less so...
Mads Hagen underrated comment 😂
... And his life
For some reason, I imagined the second line being said by Cletus Spuckler, dressed up in black plate armor. Which is, of course, ridiculous; Cletus the Black would have worn linothorax instead.
Yhea really missed a chance for a "and then Cletus the black saved him by cutting the Persians arm off, totally disarming him.!"...🤔 😉 😅
"Alexander/Macedon almost died" counter: 6
-Persian scorched earth plan
-Stick vs sword
-Hit with a sword in the head
-Third charge and Cleitus
-Fell unconscious in the enemy side of the river (Not certain)
-Almost killed during charge
Will continue in the next videos
His horse was killed and he fell
Also many arrows his way during the initial clash
@@federicoeiriz42 I only counted the ones in the video.
@@reinatr4848 the video mentions all these
Also he 'probably' fell unconscious
@@federicoeiriz42 Could you give a timestamp? [Not for the unconscious thing, I did not include it because i thought it wasnt a threat (which it was).]
You realize how badass Alexander the Great was when you find out that almost all Roman emperors and generals were his fanboys. Julius Ceasar, Augustus, Vespasian, Hadrian, even maniacs like Caracalla and Caligula, and generals like Pompey, Germanicus, Mark Antony- they all idolized and were obsessed with Alexander the Great. When reading Alexander’s life Julius Caesar wept. On his visit to Egyp after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Augustus made a special trip to Alexander’s tomb in Alexandria where he reverentially laid flowers and a golden crown across the Macedonian king’s body. When asked whether he’d like to see the tombs of the Ptolemies, he sneered, replying: “I’ve come to see a king, not a row of corpses.” Caracalla, a great admirer of Alexander, wore a blond wig to emulate his idol and started a war against the Parthians. Caligula looted the tomb of Alexander the Great in order to snatch his breastplate from his corpse. He was wearing this breastplate full of pride.
And it wasn't just Romans:
"When Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion, was the greatest general, Hannibal named Alexander, the king of the Macedonians because with a small force he has routed armies innumerable and because he has traversed the most distant regions, even to see which transcended human hopes. To the next request, as to whom he would rank second, Hannibal selected Pyrrhus, saying that he had been the first to teach the art of castrametation, besides no one had chosen his ground or placed his troops more discriminatingly; he possessed also the art of winning men over to him, so that the Italian people preferred the lordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, so long the master in that land. When he continued, asking whom Hannibal considered third, he named himself without hesitation. Then Scipio broke into a laugh and said, 'What would you say if you had defeated me?' 'Then, beyond doubt,' he replied,' I should place myself both before Alexander and before Pyrrhus and before all other generals.'"
- Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 35 Chapter 14
@@Gorboduc Hannibal was a legend
@@Gorboduc hannibal. A true barbarian CHAD
Even Napoleon was his fanboy
Of course! Even the Sassanidan dynasty who did not like the Seleukids and Parthians accepted him as a Persian king. In India he are still remembered much more than in Europe. But I think: he, Hannibal, Caesar, Napoleon and a plenty similar "generals" were good to win battles but were bad to reserve their results. They were destructive persons who were not able to stabilize their success(even Caesar and Napoleon made a plenty of reform but they failed for different reasons). Augustus, Diocletian, Constanine and anothers built up systems to keep the conquered territories.
Attack Alexander’s Back
Lose an Arm to Cletus the Black
*Cleitus
He protecc
He attacc
But most importantly
The enemy's arm he hacc
He Cleitus the Black
Most folks won't ever lose an arm, but then again some folks'll, like Cleitus, the black companion
@Peter Newhouse nice
"Don't you want to be under Greek rule?"
"No, we're fine being part of a massive empire"
"Sure but... why not both?"
Caesar is Dead, and his series has ended. Long Live Alexander, may he be with us for many years of episodes!
[spoiler alert]
[you know how this ends]
I'll drink to that!
@@backalleycqc4790 yeah, but really I forgot about ceaser's death while watching the series. It was may be one episode before it hit me that I know what is coming next.
The king is dead. Long live the king.
@@backalleycqc4790 sad Bucephalus noises
Well, good-bye, Caesar. Hello again, Alexander the Great--it's been years, hasn't it? Don't worry, Sulla, Historia Civilis may one day circle back to cover your underrated civil wars with Marius and Cinna. One day.
I hope he just goes chronologically now till he gets to Rome again
@@Mantispriezt Quite a lot of material to cover between 334 BC to 88 BC, especially with the videos coming out usually on a monthly basis.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but he's on Marcus and Octavian now.
Maybe at the end of this cycle he'll come back to Alexander.
@@HolyKhaaaaan Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm a subscriber of HC's content so I'm well aware of that. I imagine HC may circle back to Sulla's Civil Wars after finishing Octavian's civil wars. Hey, a history buff can hope.
I love how you're roasting 1700 years old historians.
2300
This is 334 BC so actually 2300 year old historians
@@mike-gn1wi The battle is 334 BC, not the historian.
Hey Arrian was a damn good historian and don't let those pesky revisionists tell you otherwise.
I think he could roast them more :D
Things like the detailed account of Alexander's fights with the Persian cavalrymen and the account of Macedonian losses is history and myth entangled in my opinion. Well, make due with what we've got, and enjoy the show!
Parmenion: This is stupid please stop.
Alexander: Ok boomer
I’m Alexander and this is Jackass.
*pulls sword out of his own head and charges the enemy
CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE
This is hilarious
Please continue the Alexander series, it is so well done and informative. I have re-watched these more times than I can count.
Who would have thought, after all these years, Historia Civilis would upgrade his Graphics Card
i like the simple and classic textures he used in the roman series
Somehow the new graphics makes me thing he got an animator now
Hey the units are still the old style, don't worry.
Yes, perhaps the animator of hill climb racing
Honestly, his simple graphic makes history chilling and interesting.
The added effort you put in to explain source accuracy is so meaningful.
Care about you, and the content you make
This sounds like one of those fire emblem maps where you just let your general of lvl 20 do all the fighting
looks to me like he got maxed out luck with miracle.
Just trow the high level fighter in the middle and... Enjoy, while all your enemies suicide themselves crashing into the fighter
Just like in Mount and Blade.
Alexander was reckless, but I think there is something to be said about a king fighting so far in the front away from his men, I imagine that river crossing was conducted at 3x speed the moment they saw their unmistakable leader charge the middle way ahead of them.
Risky plays, but I can only imagine the moral boost of Alexanders center, and the sheer dedication and ruthlessness the companion calvary utilized to keep the king safe despite his heroics.
There's also the fact that Alexander also was probably grabbing the entire enemy army attention, so that they couldn't really focus on attacking Alexanders army allowing them to clime the muddy slopes and get back into formation.
First is the moral boost of seing your king charging first! Alexander was trained by Aristotle him self for sure he was no fool! Second he bought time for his infantry to cross the river.
Well, soldiers always go all in when the king fights with them. Always.
Let’s just have a moment of silence for caesar
V1 Vigi F
F for our favorite red square
F
F
Φ
Please continue this series. How else will I know how Alexanders story ends!!
BazBattles continued it
Alexander: "Do not resist, you are being liberated."
City of Lampsacus: "...No?"
mrc
Merritt Animation “You are being rescued. Please do not resist.”
"Congratulations, [Lamsacus]! You've regained your liberty!"
OssoMysteriOsso [but you can call me Osso] exactly what I thought of.
Sounds a bit like what we've been doing in the middle East.
"reasonable people disagree"
That is such a wonderfully self-aware and objectively-minded disclaimer. That's why I love your content. Transparent sources, reasonable assumptions and clarity over facts and opinions.
Those horse drawings at 10:05 may be the most beautiful works of art I have ever seen.
The equine majesty is so perfectly understated.
One of the best channels on TH-cam
Alexander, the man considered by many throughout history to be the best general who ever lived and by some to be a god motivates his troop with a passionate charismatic speech
Historia Civilis: he said a bunch of nonsense
I think he is a bit overrated. I like to call him "Alexander the OK".
His dad was the real genius and it was often his generals from his dad's reign who were the real brains. He could fight and was lucky though, well for a while anyway.
@@VRichardsn do you watch overly sarcastic? In their episodes of him they call him Alexander the..... Basically everything but great. From Alexander the lucky, the pretty and the average.
@@itarry4 I don't, but I think I will now! Do you have a specific one to recommend me?
@@VRichardsn no just watch there history and myths playlists. All great entertainment and interesting.
You have to look at the reinforcements he got later on. He probably had around 37 000 when he crossed over. Arrian said not many more than 30 000 infantry and more than 5000 cavalry.
The breakdown goes like this. When we add in the reinforcements we get what he had at Gaugamela, in other words, 47 000.
Heavy cavalry
300 Greek Mercenaries (2 * 150 = 300) (Reinforcements: 150 Eleans under Alcias + 400 under Menidas = 850)
600 Greek allies (4 * 150 = 600)
600 Prodromoi (4 * 150 = 600)
150 Paeonian (Reinforcements: 350 under Ptolemy = 500)
150 Thracian/Odrysian (Reinforcements: 500 under Asclepiodorus = 650)
1800 Thessalians (300 + 215*7) = 1805) (Reinforcements: 200 under Coenus = 2005)
1805 Companions (300 + (215 *7) = 1805)
5410 Total cavalry
Heavy infantry
9216 Phalangites (Reinforcements: Recruits: 1000 under Meleager (1/3 of the 3000))
3072 Hypaspistai
1000 Old hoplite mercenaries
5000 Allied hoplites
5000 Mercenary hoplites enlisted at the Hellespont (Reinforcements: 300 + 4000)
23 288 Total heavy infantry
Light infantry, 2250 archers, 6250 peltasts
500 Cretan archers (Reinforcements: 500)
500 Agrianian elite peltasts (Reinforcements: 500)
7500, Thracian 3000, Illyrina 3000, Tribalian 1000 and 500 others (Macedonian?) as peltasts and archers with probably a 75%/25% split)
(Additional reinforcements at Gaugamela: 2000 Macedonian peltasts/archers (assuming a 66%/33% split)
8500 Total light infantry.
31 788 Total infantry.
37 198 Total army.
Reinforcements before the battle of Gaugamela was as follows:
Gordium: 350 Macedonian cavalry (Paeonian), 3000 Macedonian levy infantry, 200 Thessalian Cavalry and 150 Eleans. (Arrian I:29; Curtius III:1)
Ancyra: troops arrive from Macedonia (probably including 500 Cretan archers and 500 Agrianian peltasts). (Curtius III:1)
Miletus: 300 Greek mercenaries (hoplites) (Arrian I:19)
Miletus: Alexander took the Greek mercenaries into his service. (Curtius II)
Tendos: 3000 Greek mercenaries and oarsmen captured there were used to reinforce the Macedonian fleet. (Curtius IV:5)
Sidon: Cleander arrived with 4000 Geek mercenaries (hoplites). (Arrian II:20)
Tyre: Cleander arrives with soldiers recently transported to Asia. (Curtius V:13)
Egypt, Memphis: Menidas arrived with 400 Greek mercenaries (cavalry) and Asclepiodorus with 500 Thracian cavalry (Arrian III:5)
Now the army was 47 000 strong. The Thessalian cavalry took some heavy loses so they were probably 1800 at Gaugamela. We don't know how many men he got at Ancyra apart from the Cretan archers and Agrianian peltasts.
TLDR
TLDR at least not to delve into the details -but... Alexander probably received a trickle of reinforcements to replenish his companies along most of the way.. It presumably was not only in bulk reinforcements. A bunch of locals was probably also recruited along the way too.
Stellar breakdown. "TL;DR" needs to die except when preceding helpful summaries.
The arrian stuff is a gold mine. I’m sure they could make Alexander’s life into a lit tv series
"Alexander and the Macedonians" sounds like a band.
So does 'Memnon of Rhodes'
Argentine band called Cyrus and the Persians: "Well, this is awkward".
Jason and the argonauts.
Didn't they support Dumpys Rusty Nuts in 1985?
Caesar and The Legionnaires
I can’t decide what I like more; your actual content or the song you put at the end of your videos
will you do a full Alexander series because if you do im really excited :D
honestly interested to see what they don’t like about it
He already did a bunch
I like to see the first videos he did as season 1 alexander in Greece and his persian campaign as season 2
Go to Bazbattles and Epic history tv..They covered a lot of Alexander's campaign.
@@kysike666 i know and i have watched them too but i like the way Historia civilis does his videos
Sad to see Rome is gone but I'm so excited to learn more about ancient Greece!
4 Step Plan for Alexander's Campaign to Make Money!
Step 1: Invade Persia
Step 2: Don't go bankrupt
Step 3 ...
Step 4: Profit!
Underpants gnomes!
Step 3: Don't die!!!
I mean... it worked...
I’m liking the graphical upgrade in your videos! You’re one of the only channels I always watch the videos of, you’ve single handedly got me interested in ancient history and I’m loving it!
Wow, a new upload?
You have me on a knot.
*A GORDIAN KNOT*
Ahhh.... I see what you did there! 😛
ok calm down friend
Chop chop
Your channel is so much more informative than overproduced nonsense on History channel or documentaries on Netflix, thx for the uploads mate.
Alexander the great when seeing the Gordian knot:
Time to get *knot*ty.
You just could knot resist, huh?
lol cringe
@@friendlybanana4960 Oh come on, don't rope me in to these puns. Its not punny at all.
Chris Persen you could KNOT resist could you? Well it was a GREAT pun.
@@Chris_seh Don't "rope" me in.....
Amazing timing just finished listening to Dan Carlin’s “King of Kings”. Highly recommended for anyone that loves this content.
Welcome back Historia Civilis, I missed you
You honestly have no idea how excited I generally get when I get the notification that you uploaded a video. I just absolutely love ur channel and have been following it for a long time now.
I really hope he continues this particular series sometime.
One of the most thrilling historical novels that follows the life of Alexander the Great during his legendary campaign to avenge the Persian invasions in Greece, is “The Virtues of War” by Steven Pressfield.
Truly epic.
Imagine being that Persian commander that threw the Javelin at Alexander, not only do you not kill him, but he yanks the javelin from his shield and charges back at you like hes out for blood. Must've been one hell of an "Oh shit..." moment.
I was honestly expecting him to throw the javelin back.
For the love of everything that is good and holy, its been almost two years from the last Alexander video. Pleeeaaase I need more!!!
"Conservatively fighting on the left"
The very image of Parmenion; very cautious.
Not sure I agree with my equally-sized, or larger, army sitting on it's hands while giving the other side time to reinforce or retire and join up with another army before the next battle, though. I'm sure commanders knew the strategic concept of "Defeat In Detail" back then, too, and Parmenion's plan wasn't it. Best to attack them before their numbers grow, as they inevitably would. Especially when intel on enemy forces' locations were much more unreliable in that period.
@@NefariousKoel iz a political joke
Conservatives
On the left
Interesting play of words. Considering that Historia Civilis is strong leftist
@ger du where
@@Blade57331 I've never felt a political lean in his vids
Your videos are excellent. I love how you present ALL the facts and explain when the history is gray. I love the way you explain the practicalities of the events you cover. The music you use is just perfect, especially since many don’t understand the profound effect that music has on the feel of vids. I freakin ADORE the squares. Don’t know how you made me care about polygons so much, but you did. This particular video is that extremely good, but your definitive video is “The assassination of Julius Ceaser”. That particular vid is among the very best TH-cam videos that I have ever seen. Hell, now that I’m considering it, I think it may actually be THE best ever. The script... the music... the details... the SQUARES... just absolutely perfect. Thank you for making these vids and having this channel. You make the world a better place. I can’t think of a better compliment. If anyone has the means to support this channel on Patreon, please do so. We have to make sure quality like this survives, so that TH-cam isn’t just a bunch of vids of people ghost riding their cars while walking beside them lip sinking some BS pop song. Thanks to anyone who read this whole ramble, and special thanks to anyone who can actually contribute to this man/channel.
Historia your endings are always amazing. I’ve read the Anabasis in its entirety but for some reason your videos always bring a new life to these events. Thanks for all you do and I’ll be waiting for more.
Yeah, we kinda need to take a break form Rome after what happened last episode
Persian cavalry commander: *throws javelin at Alexander*
Alexander: You done messed up, boi.
fantastic, also never change that outro please (edit: been watching for years)
Finally after all this waiting! A new Alexander video!!! Christmas came early this year
I can't wait to learn about Alexander's expansions and the stable and long lasting empire he created and ruled for many years!
Okay so I’ve seen this particular battle covered nearly a dozen times but your particular attempt to humanize historical figures like Alexander is one of the most incredible things about this channel. Keep it up!
So what you're trying to tell me is that Alexander took a small loan of 47,000 men from his dad and turned it into an empire through many ruthless financial 'investments'?
A true capitalist icon.
I hope you continue Alexander's story soon Civilis. This series is so great and you do Amazing work
Memnon and Parmenion: that feeling when you tell your team to pick a tank and a support but they just go 5 carries.
Historia Civilis, please continue the Alexander series!!
Parmenion: Sir you can’t just charge like that.
Alexander: Says who?
Parmenion: Do you want to die?
Alexander: I want to die.
Parmenion: ...
"I'm invincible!"
"Well you're a looney"
i am the son of zeeuuus!
Alexander is overrated by people who don't understand tactics. The real geniuses were Napoleon, Caesar, Hannibal and Khalid bin Waleed
@@RexGalilae No, he isn't. The man never lost a battle. You don't have to use complicated strategies to win. It is more impressive to use a simple solution to win a battle or to solve a problem than trying to use a difficult solution to the same problem.
In this instance for example, every single tactician would say that to attack is foolhardy. Well, Alexander decided that he could do so. Why? simple. Because he knew his army. He knew that his companions were some of the deadliest warriors of his time and knew that the Persians wouldn't even think that he would attack this day. So he gambled that they would be slow in responding, giving him the chance to strike at the center and scatter the missile troops. After that, he gambled again that his troops would hold well enough for his infantry to come and help and that Parmenion would manage to defeat the enemy right flank and attack from the flanks.
The strategy is simple and ingenious at the same time. It's not flashy, but it takes into consideration the key elements that would bring about the victory. The quality of the troops, the element of surprise because he was doing what any other would consider insane, and the sheer charisma of this young commander and warrior that all his troops admired.
Alexander didn't need a simple victory here. He needed a decisive defeat in order to prove to his people and himself that what they were attempting was feasible. And he got it.
@@kpetalis
Yet he was so close to losing a battle he had every tactical advantage in. He knew his army well enough that he could fuck up in whichever way he'd want and the army his father spent his entire life making would come through in the end.
There were a million more efficient ways of winning this battle and he chose the worst.
Being unbeaten against a dying empire isn't a great feat. Most great generals followed simple strategies and used simple tactics and creativity to lethal effect.
Look at all his battles. All it came down to was an all out charge by his cavalry and hope it worked.
Give a 14 year old a Bugatti and he'll beat a 50 year old driving a Beetle.
It's like the manager of Spain Vicente del Bosque who won 3 consecutive trophies for Spain in 5 years not because he was a genius but because he had perhaps the single most prolific roster in football history
A well done battle: precise, honest and clever. Alexander was good too.
Aside from the jokes, your description is a Caesar's-like one: straight and easy to understeand, and very much enjoiable! Great work, keep it coming, man!
*when historia civils makes a Greek video*
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Please continue with Alexander. Fascinating story and life.
LEEEEROYYYYYYY JENKINNNNNNNNNSSSSS medal awarded to Alexander right out the gates!
Oh my god he just ran in!
I’m so glad to see a return to to the makedonian story! I commented on the latest Julius Caesar video hoping for this very outcome. Thanks for the great stuff!
As much as i love the roman series, we really need an update on Alexander!
So happy you're doing Alexander's campaign. Can't wait for more.
10:20 Those "horses" look like a mix between a pig and a cow lmao :D Great video tho as always!
The tail is what makes it swine, for sure.
I'm commander Shepherd and this is my favorite channel on the citadel
Seeing the reveal of just how outnumbered Alexander really was was awesome.
You mean at the end when Darius raises a new army? Because Alexander wasn't outnumbered here at all.
Alexander wasn´t really outnumbered though...
@@Richard_Nickerson I think he is talking about how in the end the map zooms out to show the true size of the Persian Empire
@@titanschannel585
Which is what the first sentence of my comment is referring to.
@@Richard_Nickerson I think he was just pointing out that it's pretty obvious what Shiny Phanpy meant. There was literally a part in this video that explained the size of both armies...
More Alexander PLEASE!
Historica Civilis: *uploads a new video*
Everyone: *E R E C T U S*
My Favorite history Channel. (im from Poland)
Lampsacus literally has “Sac-Us” in the name. Yikes
Seems like their fate is already predetermined
Really hung a lampshade on that.
I’m really glad you’re finally finishing the Alexander campaign, but I was really looking forward for Octavian.
Yeah unexpected historia civilis video. This is the highlight of my roughly five week period.
Very excited about your videos on Alexander the Great and Greece!
I wouldn't say that Macedonian losses were light in spite of Alexander's recklessness but rather because of it. By committing the smaller but more elite part of his army in the center to act as a lightning rod, the larger part of his army could cross the river unmolested by enemy archers or cavalry, and could then fight in tight formation, where casualties would be light. It was a bold gamble, since he was effectively risking his life to protect his army, but it paid off.
Absolutely love your videos!!
So basically, Alexander risk himself just to protect his infantry and given then more chance to strike
And that's why his soldiers worshipped him
More like he was a reckless, glory hound that didn't believe he could die...
@@tincano-beans2114 if it was just reckless he would have charged the opposing calvary. this was reckless with a plan. he knew the Persians would focus on him, so he played to their target fixation.
I'm sad we departed Rome before getting in the second triumvirate, but boy am I glad we're still in antiquity !
You're doing an amazing job man, keep it up !
One of the few great quality content here on TH-cam ^^
Ok why does this topic not continue on this channel? It was just getting exciting
Never stop uploading thank you. You create my favorite videos and I subscrube to all the streaming services.
i want to know more about Cleitus The Black
Alexander killed him in a drunken rage and he was one of phillips men. Thats about it.
he got speared by Alexander when they got into a drunken quarrel six years after this battle, Alexander regretted his action but the damage was done,
rip Black Cleitus son of Dropidas
@@juliuschamberlain7050 I'd like to think he was rubbing saving his life in his face after they disagreed on something.
@@annatarlordofgifts2442 I think it's about Black Cleitus comparing Alexander to his Father (Philip II) and his accomplishments and that without his father, Alexander wouldn't be who he is that time.
@@juliuschamberlain7050 probably both. But i disagree with that strongly. Alexander reconquered his fathers territory with lightning speed that took phillip his whole life. The only thing that is remotely true about that is the army was already reformed and set up for him by Phillip. Phillip was nowhere near the commander that Alexander was.
A nice change of pace on the channel, going back to Alexander. I am looking forward to the developments of the series or “campaign” so to speak. Good work as ever! It is hard to find reliable, entertaining historical videos on TH-cam.
I think one of the saddest aspects of this battle was the fact that most casualties were Greek. It was an unintended civil battle.
The Battle of Granicus was the first impactful defeat that King Alexander offered the Persians, after establishing the “Hellenic League” and launching a unified Greek counteroffensive against the Persian Empire. He remained respectful and treated the dead from both parties with great military honors after the battle.
He also ordered to be sent back to Athens 300 suits of full Persian armour (ref. honouring the monumental last stand in Thermopylae 150 years prior), according to Arrian, as an offering to Goddess Athena and be hung on the Acropolis with the Greek inscription: “Alexander, son of Philip, and all Greeks, present this offering from the spoils taken from the foreigners inhabiting Asia.”
It was the spring of 334 B.C. and this noteworthy victory that led Alexander the Great into Asia Minor and Persia, to fulfill his legendary campaign.
Alexander to Lampsacus:
You are being liberated.
Please do not resist.
Always happy to see a new video of yours pop up.
Hey... so can we get some more of these Alexander videos?
Dude. Very sad of not seeing the next chapter with Octavio. But very happy of seeing the next chapter of Alexander. Make whatever episodes you love the most, because that passion is what we love about your channel. You can go back to bears in the tunnels or parrots bought by extraordinary prices. We will enjoy for sure your unique way of talestorying....
I’m gonna miss my favourite red square :(
But I’m also exited to see the conquest of the new dark green square