Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 331 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Iraq | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Wars of Alexander the Great | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Achaemenid Empire, League of Corinth, Macedonia | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.3600, 43.2500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Gaugamela ( GAW-gə-MEE-lə; Ancient Greek: Γαυγάμηλα, romanized: Gaugámēla, lit. 'the Camel's House'), also called the Battle of Arbela (Ἄρβηλα, Árbēla), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Persian Army under King Darius III. It was the second and final battle between the two kings, and is considered to be the final blow to the Achaemenid Empire, resulting in its complete conquest by Alexander.
The fighting took place in Gaugamela, a village on the banks of the river Bumodus, north of Arbela (modern-day Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan). Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Army of Macedon emerged victorious due to the employment of superior tactics and the clever usage of light infantry forces. It was a decisive victory for the League of Corinth, and it led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire and of Darius III.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Gaugamela (revision 1373255873), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great
- Siege of Halicarnassus 334 BC
- Siege of Miletus 334 BC
- Battle of Issus 333 BC
- Siege of Gaza (332 BC) 332 BC
- Siege of Tyre (332 BC) 332 BC
- Battle of the Uxian Defile 331 BC
- Battle of the Persian Gate 330 BC
- Battle of Jaxartes 329 BC
- Siege of Cyropolis 329 BC
- Siege of the Sogdian Rock 327 BC
All 12 battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great →
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