20th September - Eleven days to go until the 2,348th anniversary of the Battle of Guagamela. But wait; I am publishing this on the 21st. Why so? Read on. Yesterday’s question was, ‘What was the size of the Macedonian and Persian army?’
Here is what the sources say:
Arrian
Macedonian army (A.III.12.5)
- Cavalry 7,000
- Infantry c.40,000
Persian army (A.III.8.6)
- Cavalry 40,000
- Infantry 1,000,000
in addition (Ibid)
Scythed chariots 200
Elephants c.15
Curtius
Macedonian army
- Cavalry not given
- Infantry not given
Persian army (IV.12.13)
- Cavalry 45,000
- Infantry 200,000
Diodorus
Macedonian army
- Cavalry not given
- Infantry not given
Persian army (D. XVII.53)
- Cavalry 200,000
- Infantry 800,000
in addition (Ibid)
Scythed chariots 200
Justin
Macedonian army
- Cavalry not given
- Infantry not given
Persian army (J.XI.12)
- Cavalry 100,000
- Infantry 400,000
Plutarch
Macedonian army
- Cavalry not given
- Infantry not given
Persian army (Life 31)
- Cavalry not given
- Infantry 1,000,000
Yesterday, when I compiled these figures, one thing about them struck me, and it became the reason why I am publishing this post a day late. Namely, only Arrian gives the number of Macedonian cavalry and infantry.
A confession: To find the figures, I opened my copy of Arrian et al and skim read the relevant section until I found them.
After I had finished, I was so surprised that none of the others gave the size of the Macedonian army that I feared that actually, they had done so, and in my haste I had passed them by.
Today, I had to take a day off work to go to the dentist, so I used some of the spare time to properly read each source’s account of Alexander’s journey from Egypt to Babylon just to make sure that I didn’t miss their account of his army’s size given perhaps early, perhaps later than the battle itself in the text.
In case you are wondering which sections of the books I covered:-
- [Arrian III.6.1-16.4]
- Curtius IV.9.1-V.1.23
- Diodorus XVII.53-64
- Justin XI.12-14
- Plutarch Life of Alexander 31-35
The outcome of this exercise was that I discovered that, no, I had not missed anything out; it is indeed only Arrian who tells us the size of the Macedonian army. I am at a loss to say why.
Given that nearly all the sources - Curtius, of all people, being an honourable exception? - over inflate the size of Darius’ army, I wonder if the writers somehow wanted us to focus on the Persians as a horde, as the ineluctable wave, the seemingly invincible force that Alexander somehow managed to overcome in order to achieve glory.
Perhaps. But I have to admit, it’s not a feeling I get from the texts.
That aside, one thing can be said with certainty - or as much as history ever allows: the Macedonian army was greatly outnumbered at the Battle of Gaugamela. Despite this, it managed to achieve a stunning victory. The question of how this happened will be the focus of an upcoming post.
The Second Achilles 