Siege of Gaza
The siege of Gaza, as part of the Wars of Alexander the Great, took place in October of 332 BCE. Resulting in a victory for Macedon, it ended the 31st Dynasty of Egypt, which functioned as a satrapy under the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
| Siege of Gaza | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Macedon Hellenic League |
Achaemenid Empire Arab mercenaries | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Alexander the Great (WIA) Hephaestion | Batis | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 45,000 | 15,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown, but fewer | 11,000 | ||||||||
Gaza City Location of the siege in Western Asia | |||||||||
Alexander succeeded in reaching the walls of Gaza by utilizing the engines that he had employed earlier that year, during the siege of Tyre. Following three unsuccessful assaults, the Macedonian army was able to storm and take the Gazan stronghold.
Batis, the military commander of Gaza's fortress, expected to hold the city as well as the rest of Egypt in complete subjection until the raising of another army by Persian king Darius III; confronting Alexander at Gaza was crucial to denying the Macedonians a route into the Egyptian mainland. The fortress was located on an eminence, on the edge of a desert from which the surrounding area could be easily controlled, including the main road from Assyria to Egypt. The city, over 18 metres (60 ft) high, was traditionally employed to control the surrounding area, which, even then, was a hotbed of dissent. Batis was aware that Alexander was leading his army southward after successfully conquering Tyre, and therefore provisioned Gaza for a long siege by the Macedonian army. It is also likely that he was aware of Alexander's intention to secure absolute control over the Mediterranean coast before mounting an invasion of the Persian mainland.