Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / The Persian Gates: Achaemenid Last Stand
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Alexander's big battles — Gaugamela, Issus, Granicus. But this time, I want to look at a smaller, scrappier fight that almost changed everything. It's the stand at the Persian Gates, in the winter of 330 BC. Luna: The Persian Gates? That name rings a bell, but I don't think I've ever heard the full story. Lucas: It's one of those what-if moments. Alexander is chasing Darius III after Gaugamela. Darius has fled east, and Alexander wants to get to Persepolis, the ceremonial heart of the empire. But there's a mountain range in the way — the Zagros. And the only direct road into Persepolis goes through a narrow pass, the Persian Gates. Lucas: And holding that pass is a Persian general named Ariobarzanes. He's not one of the big names we usually hear about, but he's about to give Alexander his closest call in the entire campaign. Luna: Wait, a Persian general who actually fought back? After Gaugamela, I thought it was all just running and surrendering. Lucas: That's the thing. Ariobarzanes doesn't run. He gathers up maybe a few thousand men — some of them survivors from Gaugamela, some local levies, perhaps a few stragglers from the imperial army. And he sets up a wall across the pass. Literally a wall, which we'll get to. Lucas: Before we go too deep — quick thing. You know how people often ask how we keep this show going without ads? It's because of listeners who, every now and then, throw a couple of dollars our way. If today's episode is worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it genuinely helps. And it's such a small thing that keeps this whole thing rolling. Lucas: Right. So, back to the pass. Alexander splits his army. He takes the main force through a wider, longer route, but sends a flying column with his best troops — the phalanx, the elite shield-bearers, and some cavalry — straight through the Persian Gates. He's expecting a quick march. Luna: He didn't know Ariobarzanes was waiting for him? Lucas: Exactly. The Persians had built a wall across the pass, and they'd positioned themselves on the slopes above. When Alexander's column enters the defile — it's narrow, maybe wide enough for four men abreast — the Persians start rolling boulders and shooting arrows down on them. The Macedonians are trapped in a kill zone. Lucas: Our main source, Curtius Rufus, says the Macedonians took heavy losses. They couldn't advance, they couldn't even see the enemy clearly. Alexander himself was nearly killed — his shield was pierced by a javelin, and he lost several of his companions. The first assault is a total failure. Luna: Wow. So the Persians actually had a real chance to stop him there. Lucas: Oh, absolutely. If they hold that pass for a few more days, Alexander's army is stuck on the wrong side of the mountains. He'd have to either turn back, take the long route, or starve. And meanwhile, Darius is getting further east, and winter is setting in. This is a genuine crisis for Alexander. Lucas: But here's where the story gets a little murky, and I love this part. According to Arrian and Curtius, Alexander manages to find a local guide — a shepherd, or maybe a prisoner of war — who shows him a secret path around the pass, through the mountains. Alexander then leaves a small holding force to pin down the Persians, and leads his main force on a night march over the heights. Luna: So he outflanked them, just like at Gaugamela. Lucas: Kind of, yeah. At dawn, the Macedonians attack the Persians from both sides — from the pass and from the rear. Ariobarzanes and his men are caught in a pincer. The Persians fight desperately, but they're surrounded and outnumbered. According to Curtius, Ariobarzanes dies fighting — some say he was killed in the melee, others say he escaped with a few survivors, only to find Persepolis had already surrendered. Lucas: That's one of the interesting contradictions. Arrian says Ariobarzanes fell in battle. Curtius says he rode to Persepolis, but the city gates were shut on him, and he was turned away, and then he died fighting or was killed by his own men. So we have two traditions. Luna: And which one do historians think is more likely? Lucas: Hard to say. Modern scholarship tends to favor the idea that the Persian force was largely wiped out, but there's no archaeological evidence either way. The pass today is a major road, so the original terrain is mostly gone. Lucas: What's certain is that the stand at the Persian Gates delayed Alexander for maybe three days, and it cost him more men than he'd lost in any other battle of the campaign. That's the thing — this isn't just a heroic last stand. It was a tactical victory for the Persians in a way, even though they ultimately lost the pass. Luna: Did this change Alexander's plans at all? Lucas: Well, after the Persian Gates, Alexander marches straight to Persepolis. And we know what happened there — the city surrenders, and later, it's burned. Some say it was in a drunken revel, others say it was deliberate reprisal for the burning of Athens by Xerxes. But it's hard to imagine that the stubborn resistance at the Gates didn't harden his attitude. Lucas: So, this small stand — a few thousand Persians against the might of the Macedonian army — it doesn't change the end result, but it shows that the Achaemenid Empire wasn't simply rolling over. There were still people willing to fight, even when the cause was lost. Luna: That's such a different story from the usual 'Alexander the Great, unbeatable' narrative. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why I wanted to bring it up. Together with the later resistance in Bactria and Sogdia, the Persian Gates shows that the empire's end was a messy, contested thing, not a clean transition. Lucas: One more detail that sticks with me: the wall that Ariobarzanes built across the pass. That wasn't just a battlefield improvisation. It was a permanent fortification, probably built years earlier to guard the approach to Persepolis. So this was a prepared defense, not a desperate last-minute barricade. Luna: That makes it even more impressive, honestly. Lucas: It does. And it's a reminder that the Achaemenids were still thinking strategically, even in their final months. They had a plan, they executed it, and they came closer to derailing Alexander than almost anyone else. Lucas: So, next time you hear someone say Alexander swept through Persia like it was nothing, you can think of Ariobarzanes and his men in that cold mountain pass, and wonder what would have happened if that shepherd hadn't shown the way. Luna: I'll never think of the Persian Gates the same way again.