Lamian War (Alexandros)

Alexander's Campaign in Asia (334)
With Greece and Balkans secured under the rule of Alexander, in 334 BCE he set out on an expedition into Asia Minor, the culmination of years of planning, first begun by his father Philip II. Alexander crossed the Hellespont into Asia, with the army of Macedon being transported by over one hundred triremes. This movement was initially ignored by the Persians, who were hesitant to act. For the first three months of Alexander's invasion he was not taken seriously by the Persians, and Darius refused to mount a serious offensive against him. Scorched earth tactics were proposed by Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary aligned with the Persians, advocating for the destruction of Persian lands in front of Alexander, so that his army would starve and he would be forced to retreat back to Greece. Alexander continued to advance into Persian territory, and eventually Darius appointed Memnon the head of an army to meet Alexander on the battlefield, hoping that a confrontation would lead to his defeat.

In May 334 BCE Alexander's forces met Memnon on the battlefield, at the Battle of the Granicus River in northwestern Asia Minor, near the site of ancient Troy. Alexander had advanced up the road to the capital of the Satrapy of Phrygia, causing the various satraps of the Persian empire to gather their forces for battle near the town of Zelea, which would allow them to use the banks of the Granicus River as cover against Alexander's attack. Instead Alexander sought to use the river banks to minimize the effectiveness of the Persian numbers, and to limit the ability of their deadly chariots, which were far less effective in cramped, muddy river banks.

At the beginning of the battle the Persians positioned their cavalry in front of their infantry, assembling on the east bank of the river. The Macedonian line consisted of heavy phalanxes in their center, with cavalry on either side. Expecting the main Macedonian attack to originate from Alexander's position, the Persians moved a large amount of their forces from their center to their flank facing Alexander, to defend against his inevitable attack.

Despite advice to cross the river upstream and attack the Persians at dawn the next day, Alexander attacked the Persians immediately, catching the Persians off guard. The Macedonians began the attack with an assault of cavalry and light infantry from the Macedonian left, causing the Persians to respond by heavily fortifying that section of their lines. With the Persian forces now concentrated to one side, Alexander led a charge of the horse companions in a classic wedge-shape, and smashed into the center of the Persian line. Initially this attack was successful, and Alexander and his bodyguards were able to cut down a large number of Persian officers and soldiers, but ultimately their charge would leave them cut off from the rest of the Macedonian army.

In this moment of isolation from the main line, Alexander was struck by a Persian nobleman named Spithridates, leaving him temporarily disoriented and susceptible to attack. On Spithridates' second swing he would successfully kill Alexander, causing his cavalry to rout with heavy casualties. The Persian cavalry charged into battle, attacking many of the fleeing Macedonians, ultimately causing the entire Macedonian army to rout. The battle would prove a decisive Persian victory, with the remaining Macedonian forces fleeing back to Greece.

Succession of Alexander III of Macedon
Following the death of Alexander III of Macedon at the Battle of the Granicus, the Kingdom of Macedon was left without any direct heir, as Alexander had no children, having died at a very young age. Alexander's body was carried back to Macedon, where he was to be buried in a modest tomb with his father Philip II, in Pella. Numerous generals quarreled for control of Alexander's army, with the majority of his forces recognizing Alexander's friend and general Hephaestion as leader. Under Hephaestion's leadership the army of Macedon retreated back into Greece.

When news of the Macedonian defeat at the Granicus reached Greece, almost immediately various city states raised their forces in open rebellion. In southern Greece the states of Thebes, Athens, and Thessaly all began mobilizing forces for war against Macedon, hoping to establish their independence from Macedonian hegemony, and control over southern Greece. Similarly, in the north the Thracians, Illyrians, and Getae, who had previously been subjugated or subdued by Alexander in 335 BCE, also began preparing for war against the returning Macedonians, hoping to cut off Hephaestion before he could reach Greece.

Hephaestion's advance was stalled by infighting among many of Alexander's former generals. Various sides within Alexander's former army soon formed, with the main factions either supporting Hephaestion or Alexander's older brother Arrhidaeus, believed to be mentally disabled. Many of the generals in favor of Alexander's brother perhaps hoped to seize control themselves, utilizing Arrhidaeus as a puppet king, or a temporary figure head. One of these generals, Meleager, a commander of the phalanx at the Granicus, argued that Hephaestion had no right to command the Macedonian forces, and attempted to combat Hephaestion with a portion of the Macedonian infantry. Other generals, such as Perdiccas, supported Hephaestion, arguing that the Macedonian forces had to remain strong in order to reestablish control in Greece and elsewhere.

After attempts to subdue Meleager and other rebellious leaders failed, Hephaestion was forced to march the main Macedonian army into battle against sections of the Macedonian infantry, who were joined by a select few number of Greek mercenaries; the Greek contingents in Alexander's former army largely having fled west. In the ensuing battle Hephaestion established himself as a strong general, independent of his friend Alexander, defeating Meleager and accepting the surrender of his army, to be absorbed back into his. With Meleager and several other generals now dead on the field of battle, Hephaestion's leadership went largely unchallenged. Soon after a number of other generals would be executed by Hephaestion on accusations of treason, including Philotas and Parmenion. The weakened by unified Macedonian army crossed over into Europe, and began the campaign back into Macedon.

Greek Rebellion
When Alexander III of Macedon had departed for Asia Minor, the general Antipater had been appointed strategos of Europe, holding a large number of forces in Greece to maintain Macedonian dominance in the region. During this time, Antipater was largely occupied combating the combined Persian fleets under the command of Memnon of Rhodes and Pharnabazus, who brought war to the Aegean sea and threatened Europe itself. While keeping up with the Persians, rebellion from the Greeks soon followed, which was only intensified upon the news of Alexander III's death in Asia Minor.

In the north Memnon of Thrace, the Macedonian governor of the region, had begun an open rebellion against Macedonian forces. At the same time Agis III, king of Sparta, had also invaded Macedon. Sparta was not a member of the League of Corinth, and stood resilient to Macedonian dominance across virtually all of the remaining states of Greece. With the main Macedonian army now engaged in Asia Minor, Agis III sought to take advantage of Macedon's weakness and reestablish Spartan dominance over the Peolponnese.

Sparta's army was heavily funded by Persia, who sought to aid any Greek resistance to their mutual enemy of Macedon. With Persian support, the Spartans were able to raise an army of 20,000 men alone. At the same time the Spartans also established control over Crete, as part of a resistance front to Macedonian rule. Initially Sparta was also joined by its allies the Achaeans, the Arcadians, and Elis, although with the notable exception of Megalopolis, which remained anti Spartan above all else. In response to this Agis III surrounded Megalopolis and began a long siege, in the mean time allowing the other Greek city states time to prepare.

In Athens the decision to declare war on Macedon was greatly debated in the ecclesia, with notable and determined opposition from individuals such as Demades and Phocion, before resulting in a declaration of war. With monetary support from the Persians, the Athenians sent the commander Lesothenes to Taenarum to contract a large army of mercenaries to supplement Athenian forces. In total about 25,000 soldiers were raised as part of the Athenian army, including about 10,000 Athenians, 12,000 Aetolians, and various contingents of mercenary forces.

While Hephaestion marched into Greece from Asia Minor in the north, Antipater continued his war against the allied Greek city states, to little success. In 323 BCE the Greeks under the command of Leosthenes met the Macedonian army, numbering about 13,000 men, at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Macedonians soon discovered that the Thessalians had joined the Greek states in rebellion, who soon occupied the pass, greatly outnumbering the Macedonian forces under the command of Antipater. The Macedonians would be defeated, and Antipater was forced to retreat, pursued by an army of Greeks.

With the support of the Thessalians, the initial Greek force in the region outnumbered Antipater, and was able to defeat him in a number of early engagements. Facing heavy resistance, Antipater was forced to flee to the fortified city of Lamia, which was promptly besieged by an allied army of Thessalians, Athenians, and other Greek forces. At the Siege of Lamia, despite their early success, the Greek army was pinned down, suffering high casualties in their attempts to take the well defended city. Its high walls were deemed impenetrable by the Athenians, whose commander Leosthenes was mortally wounded following a sallying forth from the city's defenses by the Macedonians, who had begun heavily harassing the dug-in besiegers. The Greek army was placed in the command of Antiphilus, who called off the siege at Lamia, and retreated south in preparation to combat Macedonian reinforcements from Asia Minor.

Thracian Campaign
Concurrent to Antipater's campaign in Greece,in the north the main Macedonian army, under the command of Hephaestion, was able to cross into Europe, with the Greek navies arriving too late at the Hellespont to stop their cross over. Immediately Hephaestion's forces were targeted by Memnon of Thrace, who had rebelled earlier against Antipater. During the time before the main Macedonian army's cross over, Memnon had been able to assemble a large army, ready to defend his land from Macedonian retaliation. In addition to his army, Memnon was also joined by the Getae, a tribe north of the Danube which had previously been routed by Alexander III, comprised of about 14,000 soldiers. He was also joined by Cleitus of Illyria and Glaucias of Taulanti, who each provided considerable forces to the efforts against the Kingdom of Macedon.

When Hephaestion entered Thrace his army consisted of only about 10,000 soldiers, as the majority of his forces had been killed in Asia Minor, or had defected or deserted. Memnon's army and his allies quickly marched from the Thracian campital at Bizye to surround the Macedonian army before it could reach the city, combating the Macedonians north of Selymbria. In the ensuing battle the outnumbered Macedonians under the command of Hephaestion arranged itself into a defensive position, while a section of the Macedonian army on each flank marched quickly to stale the enemy advance. The Thracians were caught off guard by the sudden attack, and were baited into combat with the main Macedonian army soon after. Cavalry under the command of Ptolemy, son of Philip, lead a feint on the Macedonian left flank, which successfully entangled the main Thracian army. The Macedonians were able to flank the Thracians, engaging their lesser quality forces in the rear.

In the Thracian center Memnon himself rallied his forces, before being killed by Macedonian cavalry. This led to a general retreat among the Thracian army, allowing for an unexpected Macedonian victory. The victory proved Hephaestion's ability as a general, as well as a leader and strategist, and allowed the Macedonians to advance further into Thrace. In total about 3,500 Thracian soldiers were left dead, while the Macedonians suffered about 1,000 causalities. The remaining Thracian force, numbering about 5,000 soldiers, retreated to Bizye, before finally signing a peace treaty with the Macedonians.

With the defeat of the Thracians, the Getae retreated north over the Danube, where they would be able to fortify in their own territory. Any remaining Illyrians still in the region were largely routed, although Hephaestion would be unable to pursue either group, while occupied with his campaign in Greece. Eventually the Macedonians would establish peace with both the Illyrians and the Getae, who remained independent of Macedonian rule.

Battle of Crannon
After the unsuccessful attempt by the allied Greek city states to take the city of Lamia from Macedonian forces, the Greek army reorganized under the command of Antiphilus who prepared to march against Antipater before the reinforcing Macedonian army could arrive in Greece. Together the Macedonian army numbered only about 25,000 soldiers, including a number of reinforcements from Macedonia proper, and a large number of mercenaries. The Athenians under the command of Antiphilus, in combination with an army from Thessaly and its allies, almost doubled the Macedonians, giving the Greeks a high numerical advantage. The Greek army also consisted of a greater number of cavalry, giving Antiphilus a larger range of mobility in combat against Macedon.

Antiphilus and the Greek forces marched head on into Hephaestion's advance, forcing the two into combat. At the same time the army of Antipater was forced to abandon Lamia and quickly pursue Antiphilus from the rear. Initially Antiphilus sought to win the battle with cavalry, and ordered his cavalry to charge against the Macedonians, which began a engagement between each sides' mounted units. With the Macedonian cavalry now occupied, Antiphilus ordered his infantry to advance against the Macedonians. Heavily outnumbered, Hephaestion was forced to retreat, returning his forces to higher ground, where a Greek assault would be difficult.

At the same time as Hephaestion's fortification of the higher ground above the field of battle, where the initial skirmish had broken out, Antipater arrived from the south, drawing a portion of Antiphilus' forces away from the main battlefield against Hephaestion. Antipater was able to catch the enemy off guard, routing the initial skirmishers that targeted him. Eventually half of the Greek force had split off, similarly outnumbering Antipater and staling his advance.

Eventually both Macedonian armies ordered a retreat, leaving the battle a Greek victory, although a costly one for Antiphilus, who lost a large portion of his light infantry and cavalry combating both Macedonian generals. Hephaestion returned to the north, entering into Thessaly, while Antipater retreated to his fortified position at Lamia. This move forced the allied Greek army to split up, in order to protect against attack from either force. The Thessalian army departed for its homeland to protect against the eventual assault by Hephaestion, while the main army, including the continent from Athens, stayed in the vicinity of Lamia.

Spartan Conflict
After seizing the city of Megalopolis, capital of Arcadia, earlier that year, the Spartans under the command of Agis III began a military campaign to unite the rest of the Peloponnese under Spartan influence, officially expelling Macedon's allies. With Megalopolis now seized, many of Sparta's Arcadian allies defected, allying with the city of Messene and Argos, who opposed Spartan hegemony throughout the Peloponnese. From Megalopolis, the Spartan army under Agis III, met by an army from Elis, marched against Messene.

The Messenians were easily outnumbered by the Spartans and their allies, and were defeated in their attempts to stale the Spartans on the field of battle. Instead the defending army retreated to the city of Messene, where they awaited relief from their allies Argos and other cities. Argos in turn appealed to Athens and the allied Greek army. Although Sparta had originally fought as a co belligerent to the allied Greek city states, as both parties sought to challenge Macedonian hegemony in Greece, Sparta now combated the allied Greek cities directly, undermining their own efforts for Sparta's own gain on the Peloponnese. Athens responded by ordering the majority of its army south to aid Argos, where the combined force was being assembled to combat Sparta.

Approximately 15,000 Athenians and Aetolians met at Argos to aid in the war against Sparta, who under the command of Agis III had now secured the central Peloponnese; Arcadia, in addition to Messenia, after a failed attempt to defend the city of Messene. With the majority of the Peloponnese now united or occupied under Sparta, its army marched to the northeast, where the Athenians had begun their invasion, entering northern Arcadia. When the Spartans engaged against the allied Greeks, they withdrew into Argolis, where they were forced into combat at the Battle of Alea. Both sides were of similar size, although the Spartans were able to obtain a superior tactical advantage, decisively defeating the combined army, and forcing them to retreat to Argos.

Thessalian Campaign
After his defeat at Crannon by the combined Greek army, Hephaestion retreated north into Thessaly, which ultimately had the effect of diverting much of the Greek army, and allowing Hephaestion to escape from Antiphilus. In Thessaly Hephaestion began ravaging much of the countryside, capturing a number of towns and convincing some to join him against the main Thessalian army, which had since been absent from the region from some time. The Thessalians immediately diverged from the army in the south to respond to this threat in their territory. The Thessalians were harassed by Hephaestion's forces, unable to draw his army into direct combat for some time. Requests by the Thessalians for reinforcements from the south were also denied, as the Athenians remained in position to oppose Antipater, and later broke off to fight against Sparta in the south.

Finally Hephaestion was able to gather enough support to meet the Thessalians on the field of battle, marching an equally sized force into combat near the Thessalian capital of Larissa. At the ensuing Battle of Elone, Hephaestion was able to draw forth the exhausted and angered Thessalian forces to assault his infantry, before surrounding the Thessalians from a position of higher ground, surrounding the enemy force and chasing after the remainder of the Thessalian army with cavalry. The battle would prove a decisive Macedonian victory, practically eliminating Thessaly from the conflict, and causing Athens to prepare for an eventual attack from the north.

Peace of Corinth
In late 332 BCE, surrounded by the forces of Hephaestion and Antipater, the city of Athens and its remaining allies sued for peace with Macedon. Delegations from Macedon and the Greek city states met in Corinth, where the former League of Corinth was essentially renewed, ending the state of hostility between Athens and Macedon, signifying Athens' acceptance of Macedonian hegemony, in exchange for Macedonian support against the alliance of Sparta. Hephaestion and Antipater's forces both agreed to the treaty, and in 332 BCE the forces of Macedon declared war against Sparta, to aid Athens and its allies, as part of the peace between the two states.

Hegemon of the renewed League of Corinth remained unclear, and would not be resolved until years later. During this time Hephaestion essentially operated under the authority of king of Macedon, having been widely accepted by the Macedonian army and many nobles. Additional claimants to the throne however made Hephaestion's claim to the throne of king of Macedon unclear. At the same time Antipater continued to rule as strategos of Europe, as appointed by Alexander III, and in his capacity attempted to operate the office of hegemon. Throughout the war with Sparta no clear leader emerged, and instead the Athenians and other Greek allies acted independently, in conjunction to both Hephaestion and Antipater.

Macedonian-Spartan War
The League of Corinth was now renewed under Macedon, largely as a military alliance between Macedon and other Greek states against Sparta and Spartan hegemony and aggression across the Peloponnese. At the time of this agreement, the Spartans were on the gates of Argos, having conquered the many cities of Messenia and Arcadia, including Megalopolis and Messene, and securing the alliances of Elis and Achaea, among others. From the city of Corinth, an army of about 20,000 Macedonians, under the command of both Hephaestion and Antipater, in combination with an additional 10,000 Athenians and other Greeks marched to Argos, to relieve the allied force defending in the city.

At the Siege of Argos the combined Macedonian and Greek army greatly outnumbered the besieging Spartans, and a large battle broke out on the outskirts of the city, supported by sullying forces from within Argos. The Spartans were largely surrounded, where Agis himself was forced into combat. Ultimately Agis III would be killed in combat among his best soldiers, and the remaining Spartan forces retreated from the city.

Rather than march after the fleeing Spartans, Hephaestion chose to return north, hoping to secure his rule as king of Macedon. Antipater remained in the Peloponnese with a small force, earning the trust of the Greek city states against Sparta. Eventually this force too would be recalled in 331 BCE, as invasion came from Epirus. That year peace was agreed upon between the League of Corinth and Sparta, with the League retaining Argolis and parts of Arcadia, with Sparta and its allies retaining the rest of the Peloponnese. Sparta would also be forced to pay a large sum of money, which helped to pay for the Macedonian army's past years at war. Although less desperately in need of funds, the lack of payment to Athens and other city states in turn deteriorated relations slightly, although the League of Corinth remained unified for the time being in its distrust for Sparta.