After crushing the Theban revolt in late 335 B.C., Alexander returned to Macedonia to gather his forces and prepare for his invasion of the Persian Empire in Asia Minor. One year prior, in autumn of 336 B.C., all the Greek states – minus Sparta – appointed Alexander the supreme commander of the Greek “war of revenge” against the Persians. In the spring of 334 B.C., Alexander’s campaign was finally in order. He set out for the Hellespont with over 30,000 infantry and over 5,000 cavalry. One of Macedonia’s most respected generals, Parmenion, was in charge of ferrying Alexander’s army across the Hellespont, which took 160 triremes and many more freighters.
Alexander would be the first Macedonian to disembark, doing so in full battle array, casting his spear upon the banks of Asia Minor, claiming it as his own. Once disembarked, Alexander and a few of the Companions, most notably …show more content…
Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary commander, suggested adopting a scorched earth policy, a policy in which the defenders burn all land containing any type of resource that the invaders might use, depriving them of needed local provisions. The other Persian commanders, suspicious of Memnon’s motives and unwilling to burn their own land, refused. They instead decided to meet Alexander on the battlefield and crush this invasion before it gained any momentum. The Persians decided to take up a position along the steep eastern banks of the Granicus River. Their left wing was protected by a junction between the Granicus and its tributary, the right flank was partially protected by a small stream. According to Arrian – whose numbers seem the most reliable in this case – the Persian force consisted of approximately 20,000 Persian cavalry and 20,000 Greek mercenary infantry. They set up their force with their cavalry in the front and the infantry in the