The Balkan campaign of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

took place in 335 BC, against a number of rebellious

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

of the Macedonian kingdom. Alexander successfully pacified each in turn, leaving him free to begin the long-planned invasion of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 336 BC, while attending the wedding of his daughter by

Olympias Olympias (; c. 375–316 BC) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek princess of the Molossians, the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip of Macedon, Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

and Olympias' brother, Alexander I of Epirus at Aegae, Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias. Philip's son, and previously designated heir,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army.McCarty, ''Alexander the Great'', p. 30-31.
* Plutarch, ''The Age of Alexander'', p. 262-263
* Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 61-62
* Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 72 News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly and the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolt reached Alexander he responded quickly. Though his advisors advised him to use

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south. Finding the Thessalian army occupying the pass between

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

and Mount Ossa, he had the men ride through Mount Ossa and position themselves at the rear of the enemy encampment. Upon discovering this maneuver, the Thessalians surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force as he rode down towards the Peloponnese.McCarty, ''Alexander the Great'', p. 31.
* Plutarch, ''The Age of Alexander'', p. 263
* Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 72
* Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 104
* Bose, ''Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy'', p. 95 Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognised as the leader of the Sacred League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander received the envoy and pardoned anyone involved with the uprising. At Corinth, he was given the title '

Hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...

' of the Greek forces against the Persians. While at Corinth, he heard the news of the Thracian rising to the north.Bose, ''Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy'', p. 96.
* Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 72

Thrace

Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders and, in the spring of 335 BC, he advanced into Thrace to deal with the revolt, which was led by the Illyrians and Triballi. He was reinforced along the way by the Agriani, a Thracian/Paeonian tribe under the command of Alexander's friend, Langarus. The Macedonian army marched up to Mount Haemus, where they met a Thracian garrison manning the heights. The Thracians had constructed a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

of carts, which they intended to throw upon the approaching Macedonians. Alexander ordered his

heavy infantry Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who were relatively mobile and ...

to march in loose formation and, when the carts were thrown, either to open the ranks or lie flat on the ground with their shields over them. When they came into range the Macedonian archers fired at the Thracians, disrupting their battle line, all the while the Macedonian heavy infantry marched on. When they reached the top of the ridge they dislodged and routed the Thracians.Arrian, ''The Campaigns of Alexander'', p. 44.
* Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 73 The Macedonian phalanx counter-attacks during the battle of the carts

The Macedonian phalanx counter-attacks during the battle of the carts

Descending on the lands of the Triballians Alexander found out that their king, Syrmus, had gathered his population near the River Lyginus. Hearing of the size of the Macedonian army Syrmus retreated to Peuce Island, an island in the middle of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. When the Macedonian army marched on Syrmus a second Triballian force advanced upon their rear. Alexander turned his army around and advanced on the second Triballian force. The Triballians retreated to a gorge, where they were drawn out by Alexander's

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

. On the open ground, they were crushed by Alexander's infantry and cavalry, leaving behind 3,000 dead. Alexander brought ships up the Danube from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

to use in an assault on the island. The attempts failed due to the swift current of the river, steep banks, and fierce defense. Eventually the Macedonians abandoned their attacks on Peuce and instead crossed into the territory of the

Getae The Getae or Getai ( or , also Getans) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of informa ...

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

1.3 The Macedonians marched to the

where they encountered the

tribe on the opposite shore. As Alexander's ships failed to enter the river, Alexander's army made rafts out of their leather tents. A force of 4,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry crossed the river, to the amazement of the Getae army of 14,000 men. The Getae army retreated after the first cavalry

skirmish Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to Screening (tactical), screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They may be deployed in a sk ...

, leaving their town to the Macedonian army.Arrian, ''The Campaigns of Alexander'', p. 45-48.
* Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 73-74

Illyria

The Siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes of what is modern day Albania.Hammond-Walbank, ''A History of Macedonia''
pp. 39-48
/ref>Ashley, ''The Macedonian Empire''
pp. 171-175
/ref> It was critical for Alexander to take this pass as it provided easy access to Illyria and Macedonia, which was urgently needed in order to quell the unrest in Greece at this time in Athens and Thebes. This was an important point of demarcation in Alexander's early reign, as it established him among the Danubian tribes to the north as a serious monarch to be reckoned with, just as he would later establish this precedent for the Greek city states under his hegemony. Taking this place allowed Alexander to march his army to southern Greece quickly, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Thebes.

Thebes

The Battle of Thebes took place between Alexander III of Macedon and the Greek city state of Thebes in 335 BC immediately outside of and in the city proper. After having been made Hegemon of the League of Corinth, Alexander had marched to the north to deal with revolts in Illyria and Thrace. The garrison in Macedonia was weakened and Thebes declared its independence. The Thebans refused to submit on merciful terms, and he assaulted the city, razed it to the ground, and sold all the survivors into slavery. With the destruction of Thebes, mainland Greece again acquiesced in Alexander's rule. Alexander was now finally free to undertake the Persian campaign which had been planned for so long by his father.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Illyrians Wars involving ancient Greece Wars involving Illyria

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

330s BC conflicts Military campaigns 335 BC

Thrace

Illyria

Thebes

See also

References

Bibliography