The Battle of Philippopolis was the decisive battle of Alexander the Great's Thracian campaign of 335 BC, fought between Alexander's Macedonian army and King Cotys II of Thrace's army near the large city of Philippopolis (present-day Plovdiv, Bulgaria). The battle occurred early into Cotys' Thracian rebellion against the recently-crowned Alexander, and Alexander destroyed Cotys' army in a pitched battle which enabled Alexander to conquer the weakened Thracian capital of Philippopolis in the ensuing weeks. The Battle of Philippopolis was the only pitched battle of the Thracian rebellion, which resulted in the Macedonian subjugation of the Odrysian Kingdom.
Background[]
After Philip II of Macedon's murder, many of his vassals rebelled against the new king, Alexander the Great. While others eventually capitulated, the Thracian tribes held out against Alexander. Alexander responded by marching north from his capital of Pella with a sizable army which included Macedonian phalangists, Greek hoplites and slingers, Cretan archers, Thessalian cavalry, Agrianian peltasts, and Macedonian Companion Cavalry. His army encamped near present-day Pazardzhik, 15 miles west of the Thracian capital of Philippopolis (Plovdiv), where King Cotys II had amassed an army of 4,460 troops. Alexander correctly predicted that the arrogant Cotys would march out of Philippopolis with his army and meet Alexander 15 miles from the city, beyond the reaches of the city garrison. This ensured that Alexander and Cotys' armies would fight on even terrain, and Alexander would have a significant chance of being able to destroy the Thracian army and then overwhelm the weakened garrison of Philippopolis.
Battle[]
The Thracians attacking the Macedonians at Philippopolis
Alexander deployed his Greek archers and slingers at the front of his army, followed by his spear-wielding hoplites, who were followed, in turn, by his Agrianian axemen and other axe and sword-wielding soldiers. On the flanks of his army were his cavalry, both the Thessalians and his own Companion Cavalry. Alexander waited for the Thracians to close in for battle to gauge the weak points of the Thracian army, and an opportunity quickly presented itself when a troop of Thracian cavalry charged Alexander's bodyguards from the Thracian right flank. Alexander and his left-flank cavalry charged and overwhelmed the isolated Thracian cavalry unit, while his right-flank cavalry countercharged the advancing Thracian left-flank cavalry. As the Thracian infantry closed in for battle, Alexander's archers and slingers fell back to a safe distance as the Macedonian and Greek hoplites and the axemen and swordsmen charged the Thracians. In the ensuing battle, the superior Macedonian and allied troops held off the numerically-superior Thracian forces as the Macedonian cavalry on both flanks drove off the Thracian cavalry and closed in for the kill from behind. By the time that some of Alexander's frontline troops began to waver, the young king and his cavalry charged the Thracians from behind and helped to turn the tide. Cotys narrowly escaped with his life, fleeing towards Philippopolis with the remnants of his shattered army. The Macedonian cavalry ruthlessly pursued the fleeing Thracians, capturing 679 of them. In total, 4,068 of the 4,460 Thracian troops were lost in the battle, compared to 942 Macedonians.
Aftermath[]
The bloody aftermath of the Battle of Philippopolis
Following his decisive victory, Alexander decided to have his 679 Thracian captives sold into slavery, after which he marched to attack the weakened city of Philippopolis. His 3,002-strong army stormed the city, overwhelming Amadocus' 2,412-strong garrison and Cotys' 129 remaining troops; both Amadocus and Cotys were slain in battle, and Cotys' son Maisades II inherited the throne. However, Maisades had trouble raising an army to meet Alexander in the field, and, by autumn of 335 BC, Alexander and his general Crios had conquered the whole of Thrace and begun the process of Hellenizing the region.
Gallery[]
