Siege of Cyropolis 329 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 329 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Afghanistan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Wars of Alexander the Great | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 36.7731, 66.8736 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Cyropolis was the largest of seven towns in the region that Alexander the Great targeted for conquest in 329 BC. His goal was the conquest of Sogdiana. Alexander first sent Craterus to Cyropolis, the largest of the Sogdian towns holding out against Alexander's forces. Craterus' instructions were to "take up a position close to the town, surround it with a ditch and stockade, and then assemble such siege engines as might suit his purpose". The idea was to keep the inhabitants focused on their own defences and to prevent them from sending assistance out to the other towns.
Starting from Gazza, Alexander went on to conquer the other surrounding towns. Five of the seven towns were taken in two days. Many of the inhabitants were killed. Alexander then arrived at Cyropolis, which was the best fortified of the towns and had the largest population. It also had reputedly the best fighters of the region. Alexander battered Cyropolis' defences with the siege engines. While the bombardment went on, Alexander ordered certain of his troops to sneak through a dried-up water course that went under the town's wall. Alexander also joined this mission and once inside his troops opened the town's gate to admit his attacking force.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Cyropolis (revision 1370740524), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great
- Siege of Gaza (332 BC) 332 BC
- Siege of Tyre (332 BC) 332 BC
- Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC
- Battle of the Uxian Defile 331 BC
- Battle of the Persian Gate 330 BC
- Battle of Jaxartes 329 BC
- Siege of the Sogdian Rock 327 BC
All 12 battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great →
Browse more: battles in Afghanistan · Asia · Ancient battles