The Balkan campaign ofAlexander the Great took place in 335 BC, against a number of rebellious vassals of the Macedonian kingdom. Alexander successfully pacified each in turn, leaving him free to begin the long-planned invasion of Persia.
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, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south. When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had the men ride through Mount Ossa and, when the Thessalians awoke, they found Alexander at their rear. The Thessalians surrendered and added their cavalry to Alexander's force as he rode down towards the Peloponnese.[2]
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' of the Greek forces against the Persians. While at Corinth, he heard the news of the Thracian rising to the north.[3]
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 of carts, which they intended to throw upon the approaching Macedonians. Alexander ordered his heavy infantry 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.[4]
The Macedonian phalanx at the "Battle of the Carts" against the Thracians in 335 BC
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. 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. 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 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.[5]
The Macedonians marched to the Danube where they encountered the Getae 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, leaving their town to the Macedonian army.[6]
The Siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes of what is modern day Albania.[7][8] 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.
The Battle of Thebes was a battle that 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.
^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
^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
^Bose, Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy, p. 96. * Renault, The Nature of Alexander the Great, p. 72
^Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, p. 44. * Renault, The Nature of Alexander the Great, p. 73
Ashley, James R. (1998). The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359-323 B.C. Jefferson, North Carolina, London: McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN0-7864-1918-0.
Bose, Partha (2003). Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy. Allen & Unwin. ISBN1-74114-113-3.
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The Balkan campaign of Alexander the Great took place in 335 BC against a number of rebellious vassals of the Macedonian kingdom Alexander successfully pacified each in turn leaving him free to begin the long planned invasion of Persia Alexander s Balkan campaignPart of the Wars of Alexander the GreatThe Kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BCDate335 BCLocationAncient Greece Illyria Thrace DaciaResultMacedonia restores control of the BalkansBelligerentsMacedoniansThraciansIllyriansGetaeAncient Thebes Boeotia Commanders and leadersAlexander the GreatLangarusCleitusGlauciasSyrmusStrength12 000 heavy infantry8 000 light infantry3 000 cavalry Versus the Getae 4 000 infantry 1 500 cavalry14 000 men Getae In 336 BC while attending the wedding of his daughter by Olympias Cleopatra 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 was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army 1 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 Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3 000 men and rode south towards Thessaly Macedon s immediate neighbor to the south When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa he had the men ride through Mount Ossa and when the Thessalians awoke they found Alexander at their rear The Thessalians surrendered and added their cavalry to Alexander s force as he rode down towards the Peloponnese 2 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 of the Greek forces against the Persians While at Corinth he heard the news of the Thracian rising to the north 3 Contents 1 Thrace 2 Illyria 3 Thebes 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographyThrace Edit Thracian tribes 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 of carts which they intended to throw upon the approaching Macedonians Alexander ordered his heavy infantry 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 4 The Macedonian phalanx at the Battle of the Carts against the Thracians in 335 BC 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 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 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 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 5 The Macedonians marched to the Danube where they encountered the Getae 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 leaving their town to the Macedonian army 6 Illyria EditMain article Siege of Pelium The Siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes of what is modern day Albania 7 8 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 EditMain article Battle of Thebes The Battle of Thebes was a battle that 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 See also EditAncient Macedonian armyReferences Edit 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 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 Bose Alexander the Great s Art of Strategy p 96 Renault The Nature of Alexander the Great p 72 Arrian The Campaigns of Alexander p 44 Renault The Nature of Alexander the Great p 73 Arrian 1 3 Arrian The Campaigns of Alexander p 45 48 Renault The Nature of Alexander the Great p 73 74 Hammond Walbank A History of Macedonia pp 39 48 Ashley The Macedonian Empire pp 171 175Bibliography EditArrian 1976 The Campaigns of Alexander Translated by de Selincourt Aubrey Penguin Books ISBN 0 14 044253 7 Ashley James R 1998 The Macedonian Empire The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great 359 323 B C Jefferson North Carolina London McFarland and Company Inc ISBN 0 7864 1918 0 Bose Partha 2003 Alexander the Great s Art of Strategy Allen amp Unwin ISBN 1 74114 113 3 Hammond N G L Walbank Frank William 2001 A History of Macedonia 336 167 B C Vol III Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 0 19 814815 1 Lane Fox Robin 1973 Alexander the Great Allen Lane ISBN 0 86007 707 1 Lane Fox Robin 1980 The Search for Alexander Boston Little Brown amp Co ISBN 0 316 29108 0 Plutarch 1988 The Age of Alexander Translated by Scott Kilvert Ian Penguin Classics ISBN 0 14 044286 3 Renault Mary 2001 The Nature of Alexander the Great ISBN 0 14 139076 X Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexander 27s Balkan campaign amp oldid 1096446217 Illyria, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
