| |
The Battle of Jaxartes was a battle fought in 329 by Alexander the
Great and his Macedonian army against the Saka at the River Jaxartes, now known
as the Syr Darya River. The site of the battle straddles the modern borders of
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, just south-west of the
ancient city of Tashkent (the modern capital of Uzbekistan) and north-east of
Khujand (a city in Tajikistan).
Opponents:
Macedonia + Hellenic League versus Saka
Commanders and leaders:
Macedon - Alexander the Great
Saka - Satraces
Strength:
Macedon - 6,000
Saka - 15,000-20,000
Casualties and losses:
Macedon - 160 killed 1,000 wounded
Saka - 1,200
Background:
Crossing the Hellespont in 334 Alexander was determined to become the new
monarch of the Achaemenid Empire. First at the Battle of the Granicus, and then
at the Battle of Issus and then finally at the Battle of Gaugamela he struck a
series of blows from which the Achaemenid royal house could not recover. During
the latter two battles Alexander had been determined to capture Darius.
However, Darius had been able to escape in each of these battles. Had Alexander
been able to capture Darius, it would have been extremely useful in securing
the submission of the majority of the empire. Many of the Achaemenid provinces
beyond Mesopotamia were prosperous and well populated.
After Gaugamela, the Macedonians were obliged to leave the battlefield where
they had been victorious almost immediately. The pestilence that the corpses
would have wrought on his army could have destroyed it. Alexander marched on
Babylon to secure his communications. His intention was to make this the
administrative capital of his empire.
Disposition of the armies:
The Macedonians crossing the Jaxartes. The Saka had occupied the northern bank
of the Jaxartes, confident that they could beat Alexander's men as they
disembarked, but the Saka underestimated the collaborative abilities of the
Macedonian artillery, fleet, cavalry, and infantry. Firstly Alexander ordered
that the crossing would take place all at once, so that the mounted enemy
archers would be faced with more targets than they could strike at; and he
ordered his artillery to cover the soldiers in the ships. (Catapults have a
longer range than bows.) This is the first recorded incident of the use of such
an approach.
The battle:
The Saka were forced from the banks by the powerful catapults and siege bows.
For the Macedonians, it was now easy to cross the Jaxartes. In all likelihood
the Saka would normally have withdrawn at this point. However Alexander wanted
to neutralise the threat to his borders from the nomad armies once and for all
and was not about to let the enemy get away so easily. Therefore, as a second
part of his strategy he ordered a battalion of mounted spear-men to advance and
provoke an attack from the horse-lords. The nomads did not recognize this
sacrifice for what it was. In their society, in which blood feuds were common,
no commander would have sacrificed troops to obtain a better position for the
main force. The families of those who had been killed would immediately start a
vendetta. Alexander, on the other hand, could send his mounted spear-men on
this dangerous mission because his men were well trained and understood that
they were not really left alone.
Alexander's vanguard was immediately surrounded and attacked by the Saka
mounted archers. Once they were engaged, their position was fixed and they were
vulnerable to an approach by the Macedonian infantry and Alexander's cohorts of
Cretan archers. The nomads found themselves caught between the Macedonian
mounted spear-men and the rest of Alexander's army. The Saka tried to escape to
the wings of the Macedonian lines, but there they were met by Alexander's
infantry.
Phase 2 Phase 3
Aftermath and consequences:
1200 Saka were surrounded and killed, including their commander, Satraces. Over
150 prisoners were taken and 1800 horses were captured. As far as the
Macedonians and Greeks knew, no commander had ever been able to pin down and
destroy a nomad army besides Alexander's father, Philip II. Philip had defeated
the Scythian king Atheas in 340. This was a boost for morale, and a
psychological blow for the nomads north of the Jaxartes. Alexander's main aim,
however, had never been to subdue the nomads; he wanted to go to the south,
where a far more serious crisis demanded his attention. He could do so now
without loss of face; and in order to make the outcome acceptable to the Saka,
he released the prisoners of war without ransom. This policy was successful:
the northern frontier of Alexander's empire no longer faced an immediate threat
from the Eurasian nomads.
|
|
