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Battle site near Issus (Payas)
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.
Alexander's Issus campaign. Design Jona Lendering.
 General view of the Issus campaign. In the autumn of 333 BCE, the army of Alexander the Great had entered Cilicia through the Cilician gate. The Macedonian forces were divided. Alexander campaigned west of Tarsus, his general Parmenion reached Myriandrus, near modern Iskenderun. Meanwhile, Darius III Codomannus reached Sochi in northwestern Syria.
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The Belen pass. Photo Jona Lendering. The Belen pass or "Assyrian gate", which was guarded by Alexander's general Parmenion. From this place, he could see the Persian camp in the plain of Sochi.
The plain of Sochi, seen from the Belen pass. Photo Jona Lendering. The plain of Sochi, seen from the Belen pass. When the Persians had unexpectedly left their camp, Parmenion warned Alexander that the Macedonians no longer controled the situation. Alexander hurried to join his second-in-command at Belen. Their army counted about 41,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry.
The Pillar of Jonah. Photo Jona Lendering. The Pillar of Jonah, where, according to an old legend, the big fish put ashore the prophet Yunus/Jonah. When Alexander and Parmenion had joined forces at this point, they noticed that the Persians, almost 100,000 in number, were in their back. As our sources indicate that there was moonlight after the battle, the date must have been 5 or 6 November.
The Bahçe pass. Photo Jona Lendering. The Macedonians discovered that the army of Darius had crossed the Bahçe pass or "Amanian gate" - picture. The armies clashed on the uneven coastal plain, which favored the smaller Macedonian army. Darius and the Greek mercenaries stood in the center, the wings were occupied by the Cardaces, a Persian phalanx. They occupied the northern bank of a river named Pinarus.
The river Payas. Photo Jona Lendering. The Pinarus, modern Payas. The Macedonians attacked and crossed this river. They were routed on their left (on the beach), hardly kept their position in the center, but were victorious on their right, where Alexander's cavalry charged. Darius fought from his chariot until his guard had been annihilated. He was now forced to retire from the battlefield (text).
The Alexander mosaic, National archaeological museum Naples (Italy). The Alexander mosaic, showing the moment of Darius' flight. His brother Oxyathres sacrifices himself to rescue the great king. The Greek authors have called Darius' escape cowardice, but it was not. If the empire were to survive, civil war ought to be prevented at all costs. and the king had to survive.
The 'Alexander mosaic' was
discovered in Pompeii, and
can now be seen in Napels in
the Museo archeologico
nazionale (©!!!)
View to the north from the Pillar of Jonah. Photo Jona Lendering.
 View to the north from the Pillar of Jonah. Here, the battle took place. Alexander was victorious, but Darius had managed to escape. He retired to Issus, leaving his demoralized men as a prey to the Macedonians and vultures. The Macedonian losses were heavy. Our sources mention 450 dead and 4,000 wounded, 10% of the soldiers.
The battle of Issus. Design Jona Lendering. There are no reliable statistics of the Persian casualties, but they may have been between 10,000 and 20,000. Since most of the fighting had taken place near the Pinarus and sword wounds are extremely bloody, there is no reason to doubt that the river had really turned red.

A satellite photo can be found here.
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