NATIONAL

DEFENSE
UNIVERSITY OF
MALAYSIA

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1ZP58B DUS3012 MILITARY HISTORY

GROUP 5

GROUP MEMBERS :

23. 2200659 AHMAD FAHMI SANI BIN PUAAT

24. 2200660 MUHAMMAD SYARAFUDDIN BIN NORAZMI
25. 2200661 MUHAMMAD MUSTAQIM BINN MUHAMAD MUZAFFAR
26. 2200663 ARIEF HAIKAL BIN MAT ARRIFIN
27. 2200664 ASRAF AFIZOL BIN ANUAR
28. 2200667 MUHAMMAD YASIN BIN MOHD NASIR

1
 BATTLE
OF ISSUS
IN 333BC

2
 SCOPE

CONTENT PAGES
INTRODUCTION 4
OBJECTIVE 4
OFFENSIVE 4
STRATEGY 6
- The Macedonian Phalanx
- Alexander's cavalry
- The Armies
- The Battle
ANALYSIS 12-
ANALYSIS 7-9

CONCLUSION 9
FINDING 11

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 INTRODUCTION

The Battle of Issus, on 5 November 333 BCE, was Alexander the Great's second battle
against the Persian army and the first direct engagement with King Darius III between the
Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III,
near the village of Issus in southern modern-day Turkey. It was a major victory for
Alexander, defeating the Achaemenid Empire and causing Darius III to flee the battlefield.His
army in confusion, Darius escaped, but his family was captured. Arrian, Alexander’s
biographer (2nd century CE), claimed the Macedonians lost only 450 men, with Alexander
himself being wounded. Most of the Persians retreated to safety while the Macedonians
sacked Darius’s camp.

OBJECTIVE : The first principle is the objective which is an important point in a warfare.
Objectives are a must-have in a battle so that it becomes more organized and does not rush
to do something.For example in the year 333 BC Alexander the Great and King Darius III
challenged unexpectedly. The official war goal of Macedonia was vengeance. Vengeance on
the Persians for the ruinous mission against Greece, which had occurred 150 years already.

OFFENSIVE : Second, principle of war that important in warfare is offensive. Offensive

means a military activity that looks for through a forceful projection of military to involve an
area, increase a goal or accomplish some bigger vital, operational, or strategic objective. the
Macedonian phalanx started to progress towards the adversary Center, Alexander's
mounted force crossed the waterway and assaulted on the persian left, tha couldn't
withstand the effect. The charge, be that as it may, drove excessively far the Hetairoi who
lost contact with their own Center. In the entry made by this activity, wedged the Greek
hired fighters, employed by the Persians, however the Phalanx had the option to adjust and
the Macedonian Center, which got the Persian effect, had the option to contain the assault.

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 STRATEGY
The Macedonian Phalanx
The Macedonian phalanx had, first of all, a a lightening of various weapon kits, smaller and
lighter shied, lighter and more longer pike then previous model. Introduce by Alexander the
great himself based on experience of century passed from the the Peloponnesian War to the
one against his kingdom. The deployment of the infantry in battle order continue to be in
rigid phalanx system that was used since reform introduced by Phillip II on the basis of study
and experiences of Epaminondas
The Macedonian phalanx was characterized by several new factors : The depth of the
deployment that had reached the lines 16 lines (the first line man who commanded entire
row retained rank decadarca suggesting the original line up was on depth of 10 and 16
lines). The greater the flexibility of the phalanx that determined by the lines of light
infantrymen, archers and infantry divisions of phalangitic mass in units equivalent to
regiments, the taxeis, 1500 men each.

With the new system, it has remedied some serious problems that prevented the ancient
hoplite use in wide vast open field. However, the serious drawback remained. Even though
the phalanx are very successful for frontal attack, during every conversion it is prove to be
problematic as the men armed be difficult to move. Since on the sides and on the back they
could not deploy chosen warriors as the pezetairoi (infantry with too heavy armour). On the

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other hand, to ensure a greater possibility of manoeuvre, taxeis were kept separate among
them, but, in this way, between one and other units were left corridors, useful for the
maneuver, but also served by the enemy to infiltrate and stop holding the alignment.

The typical attack line of the Macedonian phalanx is first the Psiloi (1), lightly armed in the
forefront; just behind them the Phalanx (2), as shown above, with the Hoplites, armed with
the long sarissa, arranged in 16 lines (the first lines have the spear in the down position for
the attack); Peltast rear (3) with a short spear; flanking Cavalry (4). During this period was
also inaugurated a new kind of heavy infantry put in regular use by Macedonians compose
by the Hypaspistai or Ipaspisti. They had a shield similar to the Peltast one; the small round
or pelta form of zither, and their armament, the helmet, breastplate, and famous sarisa did
not differ substantially from that of the pezetairoi, the phalangitic Hoplites, but it was a
chosen body with particular prowess, intended to strengthen and drag the normal infantry
line of the Phalanx. In some battles of Alexander the great, heavy infantry, under his
leadership, had important parts, as happened at Issus in 333; generally, however, these
were cases in which he was almost defeated for the extreme difficulty to control his heavy
troops as they were only useful in a very tight formation.

Alexander's cavalry
The Evolution of Greek War Art IV century has saw the value of cavalry and light-weight
infantry that had already developed at the end of the previous century, continued to
develop, while heavy infantry shifted to a kind of support position. In these recent advances
in the art of battle, both in command and in the ranks, men were required not only to be
armed with muscles, bravery and rectitude, but also to be warriors with certain tactics,
mistresses in the use of their arms, as could only be learned from skilled soldiers.

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The victory of the mercenaries was also also a consequence of the modern military tactics,
the highest sum since it was a consequence of the substitution of the economic and social
direction under which it was completely difficult to "distract people from their business and
send them to battle, although it was far more desirable to rent someone who fought rather
than the same citizens and with greater technique and effectiveness.

With Alexander, and after him, cavalry and light infantry agreed to fight war; however
during the 3rd century, almost every army had outstanding cavalry that neutralised each
other, allowing the phalangitic infantry to be brutalised as in the ancient period. Larger
horses were required and obtained by crossing nice Nisei horses, of Asian origin, with Libyan
horses, achieving remarkable specimens with muscle strength and broad proportions,
without falling into range, only suited for heavy work.

The Armies
The army brought to Asia by Alexander was the culmination of a long evolution of Hellenic
military art and dates back largely to the military reforms of Philip, his father. The heart of
the army consisted of the infantry of Pezetairoi, mainly Macedonians, who composed the
Phalanx with a Pike up to six meters long, the famous sarissa. They had established a strong
component of heavy cavalry, especially elite un elite, unlike the Greek, Macedonians were
known as horse breeders from immemorial times.
On the ground, split into three major sections, the Macedonian army was deployed: heavy
cavalry was on the right wing, like Hetairoi, light cavalry on the left wing, consisting mostly
of Macedonians, Thessalians or Greek mercenaries; the Phalanx was in the middle. Typically,
"Hypaspistoi ton hetairon" units surrounded the Phalanx, which had the task of protecting
its weak flanks. Major formations were followed by medium infantry containing light
infantry in the early stages of the uprising.
A determined assault by Hetairoi heavy cavalry against the left flank of the enemy opened
the battle, while the light cavalry took a defensive role by stretching the front to avoid
potential circumvention. The Phalanx then advanced towards the enemy, declining and
moving to the right.
The heavy cavalry operated a conversion to the left as the strain of the Phalanx rose, being
the hammer that smashed the enemy on the anvil depicted by the phalangitic line, full of
pikes.

7
 Sarcophagus frieze depicting the battle
A true international army which brought together various mercenaries of Greek descent was
the Persian army. The Hellenic phalanx employed by the Persians was generally flanked in
the middle of the grid by the multitudes of the Eastern force of light infantry. The heavy
Persian knight was covered by a mesh armor or iron plate over which he wore a large,
brightly-colored woven or embroidered tunic. Two javelins, or a spear (xiston) and a javelin,
were the offensive armament.

The Battle
As Alexander marched along the narrow coastal strip of southern Beilan Cilicia, "the door of
Syria" near Sochi, the army of Darius III encamped. The Persian army made a countermarch
on its left flank, pouncing on the seaside area. Alexander was not frightened or niether by
the number of enemies for the danger of being cut off from the shore . Alexander
commanded the Macedonian Hetairoi on the right, the Greeks on the left, and the
Tessalians with General Parmenion. At the last moment, a line of infantry, supported by two
groups of cavalry, was sent to the mountain to protect the right flank of the line and to try
to encircle the Persian left.

8
 The battle of Issus – Deployment

A defensive role had been taken by the Persian army, secured by the steep banks of the
Pinaro River and by the work of fortified embankments and Palisades. The 25,000 Hoplite
mercenaries were joined by 100,000 Oriental infantrymen on each side.

The battle of Issus - Left Attack

Macedonian phalanx crossed the river and charged on the Persian left. Charge drove the
Hetairoi, who lost contact with their own center, too far. Greek mercenaries hired by the
Persians were wedged in the passage produced by this action.

The battle of Issus - Persian Counterattack

Alexander, his cavalry reorganized, lashed out at the flank of Greek mercenaries compelled
to leave the area along the river. The open land on the sea side, meanwhile, favoured the
Persian cavalry, who launched the assault against the Tessalians and the Greeks.

9
 The battle of Issus - The fight on the seaside

In the centre, a war was decided. The Greek mercenaries employed by Darius ceded under
repeated attacks by the Cavalry of Alexander. Tens of thousands of Persian soldiers, who
had not yet fought, retreated.

The battle of Issus - Persian infantry routed

The battle of Issus - Persian infantry routed one of them is Darius, the great King, found
refuge in the escape. Seeing the army routed the Persian Cavalry, which on the seaside was
beating the Macedonian left wing, quickly left the camp and escaped disaster.
The battle was virtually over, but the massacre had just begun. The Macedonian cavalry
threw itself in pursuit of the Persians, among them is the imperial family that Darius had
left.

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 ANALYSIS

A significant feature of The Battle of Alexander at Issus is anachronism. Altdorfer draws

deliberate comparisons between the Macedonian campaign and the current European-
Ottoman rivalry by dressing Alexander's men in 16th-century steel armor and Darius' men in
Turkish battle dress. In 1529, the year of the commissioning of the painting, the Ottoman
forces laid siege to the Austrian city of Vienna under Suleiman the Magnificent, then also
the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the Sultans called 'the golden apple.' The
Austrian, German, Czech and Spanish troops marshalled to protect Vienna, although much
inferior in size, were able to drive the enemy into withdrawal and slow the Ottoman assault
on Central Europe.The Austrian, German, Czech and Spanish soldiers marshalled to protect
Vienna, although much inferior in size, were able to push the enemy into a retreat and delay
the Ottoman attack on central Europe. "Reinhart Koselleck says the Persians resemble the
Turks of the 16th century "from their feet to their turbans.The historian Reinhart Koselleck
addresses the portrayal of time by Altdorfer in a more metaphysical light in his Futures Past:
On the Semantics of Historical Time. "Kathleen Davis argues with reference to Koselleck:
"For [Altdorfer], Persians of the 4th century look like Turks of the 16th century not because
the distinction is not understood, but because the difference does not matter. In other
words, the Alexanderschlacht exemplifies a pre-modern, untemporalized sense of time and
a lack of historical awareness.The historical overlays of Altdorfer reveal an eschatological
view of history, proof that the 16th century (and even the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries by degrees) remained trapped in a stagnant, perpetual temporality that saturates
the future proleptically, as often a continuation of the same. There will be no case as such in

11
such a system: expectation and arrival are sucked together into the dark pit of holy history,
which is not temporalized since its period is simply discharged.

Information of women on the field of war.

A true loss of historicity is featured amid the anachronism in The Battle of Alexander at
Issus. In spite of the pains he took to study the war, Altdorfer displays limited hesitance in
neglecting the historical integrity of the artwork for the sake of its heroic theme. The artist
was true to the historical reality only when it matched him, when historical evidence were
consistent with the demands of his composition, according to the art critic Rose-Marie
Hagen. Hagen also mentions the positioning of women on the battlefield, attributing it to
the "passion for invention" of Altdorfer, as Darius' wife, his mother and his daughters were
waiting for Darius back in the camp, not in the midst of war. True to shape, though,
Altdorfer made the aristocratic ladies in their feathered toques "look like German courtly
ladies, dressed for a hunting party"

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 CONCLUSION
Based on this battle, the concluded that can we get are the Battle of Issus changed into a
decisive Hellenic victory and it marked the beginning of the give up of Persian strength. It
was the first time the Persian military were defeated with the King (Darius III at the time)
present. After the struggle, the Hellenes captured Darius' spouse, Stateira I, his daughters,
Stateira II and Drypetis, and his mother, Sisygambis, all of whom had observed Darius on his
marketing campaign. Alexander, who later married Stateira II, dealt with the captured ladies
with fantastic admire.
Later, the Spartan king Agis III recruited the Greek mercenary survivors of the Battle of Issus
who had served in the Persian army, a force of 8,000 veterans, and used them in his combat
against the Macedonians. In the summer of 331 BC, Agis defeated Coragus, the Macedonian
wellknown answerable for the Peloponnese and the garrison of Corinth, but become in the
end defeated at the Battle of Megalopolis.

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 FINDINGS

References

1] Warry (1998) estimates Alexander's army to be 31,000 in total.[page needed]

[2] Moerbeek (1997).[page needed]

[3] "pothos.org - Major Battles". Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 19 August
2016.

Welman.

[4] Clark, Jessica H.; Turner, Brian (2017). Brill’s Companion to Military Defeat in Ancient
Mediterranean Society. BRILL. p. 78. ISBN 9789004355774. Retrieved 30 August 2019.

[5] Barry Potter (September 30, 2018). "Battle of Gaugamela: Alexander Versus Darius". HistoryNet.
Retrieved August 18, 2019.

[6] Siculus, Diodorus. Bibliotheca Historica. p. 17.33–34.

[7] Heckel, W (1993). The Marshalls of Alexander's Empire. London. p. 109.

[8] "Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia". Archived from the original on 2013-03-11.
Retrieved 19 August 2016.

[9] Battle of Issus View the 275 cm × 120 cm (9 feet by 4 feet) painting Archived January 16, 2008, at
the Wayback Mac

[10]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Issus

[11]https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Issus-Persian-history#:~:text=Battle%20of%20Issus
%2C%20(333%20bce,Alexander%20conquered%20the%20Achaemenian%20Empire

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