Battle of the Granicus

Battle of the Granicus
	Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great
	; The Battle of the Granicus (1665) by Charles Le Brun depicts Alexander the Great at the center of the cavalry battle.
Date	May 334 BC
Location	At the Granicus in the Troad region; (modern-day Biga River, Balıkesir, Turkey)40°19′00″N 27°16′52″E / 40.3167082°N 27.2811127°E
Result	Macedonian victory
Territorial; changes	Alexander the Great attains half of Asia Minor
Belligerents
Macedonian Empire; Hellenic League	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great; Parmenion; Philotas; Amyntas (son of Arrhabaeus); Socrates; Nicanor; Perdiccas; Coenus; Craterus; Amyntas (son of Andromenes); Philip (son of Amyntas); Meleager; Agathon; Philip (son of Menelaus); Calas;	Arsites; Memnon of Rhodes; Arsames; Spithridates †; Rheomithres; Niphates †; Petenes †; Mithrobuzanes †; Arbupales †; Mithridates †; Pharnaces †; Omares †;
Strength
18,100 total; 4,200 heavy cavalry; 1,800 Companion cavalry; 1,800 Thessalian cavalry; 600 Greek allied cavalry; 900 light cavalry; prodromoi; Paeonians; Thracians; 12,000 heavy infantry; 9,000 Foot Companions; 3,000 hypaspists; 1,000 light infantry; archers; Agrianians;	14,000–40,000 total; 10,000–20,000 cavalry; 4,000–20,000 infantry; 4,000–5,000 Greek mercenaries; 0–16,000 other infantry;
Casualties and losses
115 total; 85 cavalry killed; 30 infantry killed;	5,000–6,000 total; 1,000 cavalry killed; 2,000–3,000 Greek mercenaries killed; 2,000 Greek mercenaries taken prisoner;
	Location within West and Central Asia Battle of the Granicus (Turkey)

Alexander the Great

900km
559miles

15

Babylon

14

Malavas

13

Hydaspes

12

Cophen

11

Cyropolis

10

Persian Gate

9

Uxians

8

Gaugamela

7

Alexandria

6

Gaza

5

Tyre

4

Issus

3

Miletus

2

Granicus

1

Pella

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current battle

The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Granicus in the Troad region, which is now called the Biga River in Turkey. In the battle Alexander defeated the field army of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, which defended the river crossing. After this battle, the Persians were forced on the defensive in the cities that remained under their control in the region.