The Battle of Kelainai was a major battle fought in 333 BC between the armies of Achaemenid Persia and Macedon in Phrygia, central Anatolia during Alexander the Great's campaign to conquer the Persian Empire. Shahanshah Darius III's trusted general Ariarathes attempted to recapture southern Anatolia from the Macedonians, retaking Mazaka by storm before finding that Alexander's generals Crios and Ptolemy had positioned their armies to defend the city of Kelainai. While the odds were in Persia's favor at the start of the battle, the Macedonians employed clever flanking techniques to smash the Persian army, albeit at great cost. Ariarathes lost nearly 80% of his army, while the Macedonians lost almost 52% of their strength; however, the Macedonians would pursue the remnants of the defeated Persian army and clear southern Anatolia of Persians once more.
Background[]
In the winter of 334-333 BC, the Persian "King of Kings" Darius III and his generals Ariarathes and Vaumisa arrived in Anatolia with three massive armies drawn from across the vast and diverse Achaemenid Empire. Darius and Ariarathes wintered at Gordion in Phrygia, while Vaumisa based himself at Mazaka; Darius planned for his and Ariarathes' armies to join forces and crush Alexander the Great's invading Macedonian army to the west of Gordion, while Vaumisa was to march along the southern coast and drive back Crios' army. However, these plans were foiled as Balakros' Macedonian army advanced along the northern coast and defeated the Satrapy of Armenia's army at the Battle of Kale and Crios defeated a Persian counterattack at the Battle of Mazaka in the early spring of 333 BC. This change of events forced Darius to alter his plans; he sent his trusted general Ariarathes to finish off Crios' depleted army following his costly victory at Mazaka, and Crios - anticipating Darius' next move - withdrew towards Kelainai, where he could join forces with Ptolemy's newly-raised army. Ariarathes was thus able to easily overwhelm Hippokrates' small garrison in Mazaka, but this siege action bought Crios time as he withdrew to Kelainai. By the time that Ariarathes' 4,150-strong army arrived at Kelainai, he faced Crios and Ptolemy's armies and Damiskos' garrison. The odds were in Persia's favor, as Ariarathes was one of Darius' top commanders and his army, unlike those of the Macedonians, was not divided into thirds. However, the Macedonian armies boasted two top generals of Alexander, and Crios' troops were highly experienced in battle, while Ariarathes' troops were all new to battle.
Battle[]
The start of the battle
Crios' army was the first Macedonian army to take the field against the Persians, and he moved his battle line back in order to allow for Ptolemy and his men to form a solid right flank in time for the Persian assault. As Damiskos' garrison was due to take to the field from behind the Persian ranks, Crios did not anticipate Damiskos arriving in time to form a left flank, so he instead planned for Damiskos to attack the rear of the Persian army once the battle was in full swing. By the time that the Persians arrived, the sky had darkened, setting a grim mood as battle approached.
Persians fleeing the Kelainai battlefield
The Persians attacked Crios' main body at the start of the battle, but Crios' veteran soldiers were able to hold them off as Ptolemy's wing surrounded and decimated several bodies of Persian spearmen. With the threat to their right flank gone, the Macedonians executed a westward sweep, with Ptolemy's cavalry attacking the Persian army from its flank and rear. The Macedonians suffered heavy losses during their counterattack, especially when Ptolemy's cavalry came up against Persian spearmen, but they were able to destroy a large portion of the Persian army while driving them from the field. The Macedonians vigorously pursued the Persians, killing 2,672 Persians and taking 633 captives.
Aftermath[]
Macedonian cavalry charging the Persian archers
The Persian army was gutted by its defeat, and Ariarathes' deputy Cisantaxma took command of the army as it withdrew. The Macedonian armies proceeded to fan out to eliminate the other Persian threats around Kelainai, with the 1,849 Macedonian troops attacking Tukulti-apal-esharra's 1,775-strong Cappadocian army and inflicting 1,211 losses with 491 losses of their own; Ptolemy pursued this force further and eliminated it. Ptolemy then returned south to join forces with Crios to attack Mardonius' 788-strong army, annihilating all of the army but Mardonius' bodyguards, who escorted him to safety. While the Persian armies in southern Anatolia were either destroyed or chased out, the Battle of Kelainai and its follow-up actions reduced the strength of the Macedonian armies in southern Anatolia to just 1,355 troops. Meanwhile, Darius and Vaumisa continued to command full-sized armies, and Barzapharnes and Phranipates arrived with additional armies to aid Darius' reconquest efforts.