Ancient Worlds - BBC TwoEpisode 4 “Return of the King”Scenes from the Battle of Gaugamel

Ancient Worlds - BBC Two

Episode 4 “Return of the King”

Scenes from the Battle of Gaugamela, ivory relief (anonymous artist).

TheBattle of Gaugamela(alsoBattle of Arbela) took place in 331 BC between the forces of Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persiansled by Darius III. It was a decisive victory for the Hellenic League that decided the fate of the Persian Empire. The battle took place near Gaugamela, close to the modern city ofMosul,Iraq.

The Hellenic League was heavily outnumbered but it emerged victorious due Alexander’s superior tactics and army. Many Persian soldiers lost their lives, so many that the enemy ensured that Darius would never again raise an imperial army. Some classical sources proclaim that one of the determinant factors in the Persian’s defeat against the Macedonians was king Darius: he realised that victory was hopeless, panicked and fled the battle before any victor had been decided. Another source accounts that Darius was abandoned by his men and not -as Macedonian propaganda would say- that he let his men down (picture n. 1, detail: Darius’ flight)

The relief was sculpted in the 18th century and it was inspired by a Charles Le Brun’s painting on the same subject.

National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid, Spain