How many soldiers does Alexander the Great invade the Persian Empire with?
Whether motivated by Greek pride or the spoils of imperial conquest, Alexander picked up where his father left off and marched into Persia in 334 BC, where his army of 50,000 would be tested against the largest and best-trained fighting force in the known world.
How many soldiers were in Alexander army?
Alexander’s army numbered fewer than 40,000 men, mostly Macedonian and fiercely loyal. The versatile force included cavalry and heavily armed foot soldiers, who wielded spears and formed a phalanx, advancing relentlessly behind raised shields.
How many Greeks were sent to fight the mighty Persian army?
In the late summer of 480 B.C., Leonidas led an army of 6,000 to 7,000 Greeks from many city-states, including 300 Spartans, in an attempt to prevent the Persians from passing through Thermopylae.
How big was the Persian Empire army?
*The combined totals for Greek armies is 6,300, although most modern estimates are around the 7,000 mark….Army sizes and compositions during the Battle of Thermopylae 480BCE.
| Characteristic | Greeks* | Persians |
|---|---|---|
| Immortals** | – | 10,000 |
| Total Persian Army (lower estimate) | – | 70,000 |
How many battles did Alexander the Great and his army win against the Persian?
three
Alexander the Great had three major battles against the Persian Empire, those three battles were the battle of Granicus, the battle of Issus, and lastly the battle of Gaugamela. These decisive victories forced the Persian troops to retreat and given more time for Alexander to advance further into Persian territory.
How many troops did Alexander the Great command?
| Ancient Macedonian army | |
|---|---|
| Size | 32,000+ – the field army for Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Achaemenid Empire – according to Diodorus Siculus. This figure fluctuated, for example at Gaugamela, Alexander commanded at least 47,000 soldiers. |
| Part of | Kingdom of Macedon |
| Allies | League of Corinth. |
What did Leonidas order the other non Spartan Greeks to do when he found out that they were surrounded on the third day?
Leonidas ordered the other Greeks to set the defense. They were successful. The next day, Xerses sent his elite force, the Immortals, who were again successfully repelled by the Spartans.
How big was the army of Xerxes?
A total force of some 7000 Greek and Spartan allies was able to hold off an invading force of perhaps millions. (Xerxes’ Persian army consisted of a little over 5 million, but not all were present at Thermopylae. Estimates range anywhere from 300,000-800,000 actually took part in this battle.)
What happened to the army of Alexander the Great and Philip?
Following the fragmentation of the empire of Alexander, Macedon became an independent kingdom once again. The military forces of this successor state, the Antigonid Macedonian army, retained many features of the armies of Philip and Alexander.
How did the Macedonians reduce the size of their army?
To further lighten his baggage train, the Macedonian king drastically reduced the number of non-combatants accompanying the army. Women were forbidden while the number of servants was drastically reduced. Each cavalryman would have one servant, while for the infantry there would be one servant for every ten Macedonians.
How did Alexander the Great defeat the Greeks?
Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior generals as the Macedonian army invaded Greece. At the Battle of Chaeronea the Greeks were defeated and Alexander displayed his bravery by destroying the elite Greek force, the Theban Secret Band.
What if Philip II of Macedon had not been Alexander’s father?
If Philip II of Macedon had not been the father of Alexander the Great, he would be more widely known as a first-rate military innovator, tactician and strategist, and as a consummate politician. The conquests of Alexander would have been impossible without the army his father created.