What is Battle of Gaugamela?
[[File:Scene of the Battle of Arbela.jpg|alt=Scene of Arbela|thumb|335x335px|Scene of the Battle of Gaugamela. Engraving from 1913.]] [[File:The charge of the Persian scythed chariots at the battle of Gaugamela by Andre Castaigne (1898-1899).jpg|thumb|300px|''The charge of the Persian scythed chariots at the Battle of Gaugamela'', by [[Andre Castaigne]] (1898-1899).]] The '''Battle of Gaugamela''' (also called '''The Battle of Arbela''') was a battle fought between [[Alexander the Great]] and the first [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] empire. The battle was fought in [[331 BC]]. It was in Gaugamela, a village on the banks of the river [[Bumodus]], north of Arbela (modern-day [[Arbil, Iraq|Erbil]], in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]). It led to the fall of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] and of [[Darius III]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marciak |first1=M. |last2=Szypuła |first2=B. |last3=Sobiech |first3=M. |last4=Pirowski |first4=T. |title=The Battle of Gaugamela and the Question of Visibility on the Battlefield |journal=Iraq |date=2021 |volume=83 |pages=87–103 |doi=10.1017/irq.2021.11|s2cid=240824299 }}</ref> Before this Darius had lost the [[Battle of Issus]] where his wife, his mother and his two daughters were captured. Alexander's small army, about 47,000, had marched through [[Mesopotamia]]. The Persian army was certainly bigger, though there is no agreement about how big it was. They had 15 Indian elephants and some [[scythed chariots]] '''-''' war chariots with [[scythe]] blades mounted on each side. These didn't make much difference. After the battle Darius was murdered by Bessus, the [[Satrap]] of [[Bactria]]. ==References== {{reflist}} {{history-stub}} [[Category:Battles of ancient Greece]] [[Category:331 BC]] [[Category:Achaemenid Empire]] [[Category:History of Iran]] [[Category:History of Iraq]]