home   :    index    :    picture archive    :     Battlefields    :     Turkey     :    photos by Jona Lendering ©

Granicus (Biga Çayi)
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
The Granicus. Photo Marco Prins. The river Granicus (in fact not a river but a brook) is the place where the Macedonian king Alexander the Great defeated the Persian general Memnon of Rhodes for the first time, in the spring of 334. There are two accounts of the battle. Usually, it is said that Alexander attacked directly across the river. The pictures show that this is impossible, because the banks are too steep to climb by cavalry. The other, more plausible story is told by the historian Diodorus of Sicily, who says that the Macedonians crossed the Granicus during the night, and attacked the Persians on the plain beyond the river.
Ancient-Warfare.com, the online home of Ancient Warfare magazine
The Granicus. Photo Jona Lendering. The Granicus.
A frog contemplating the deeds of Alexander. Photo Jona Lendering. A frog contemplating the deeds of Alexander.
The plain east of the Granicus, site of the battle. Photo Jona Lendering. The plain east of the Granicus, where the battle was fought. A satellite photo can be see here.
Map of the battle at the river Granicus. Map design Jona Lendering. A possible reconstruction of the battle.
 home   :    index    :     Battlefields    :    Turkey