Battle of the Jaxartes

[Jona Lendering]

Here's my modest piece on the battle of the Jaxartes in 329 BC, my favorite "battle of Alexander": [url:2woj3sls]http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jaxartes/battle.html[/url]. If someone knows the origin of the Von Moltke quote, I'd be happy.

[Anonymous]

Very interesting, Jona, thanks.

[Robert Vermaat]

Here's my modest piece on the battle of the Jaxartes in 329 BC, my favorite "battle of Alexander": [url:5w4cw1ct]http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jaxartes/battle.html[/url]. If someone knows the origin of the Von Moltke quote, I'd be happy.

Great article. I just have difficulty picturing how the 'sacrificed' cavalry could be surrounded by the Saka and still get caught between this small force and Alexander's main force. Did they not pay attention to what their enemy was doing? Were they completely enveloped by Alexander's main force? Could they not have ridden off when the enveloping started?

About Moltke, give me the German original and I'll try to look it up for you.

[Jona Lendering]

That's the problem - I don't have the German original...

I'll add a picture to illustrate the manoeuver.

[Johnny Shumate]

Also, the slingers on the rafts gave the Scythians a hard time.

"What saved them was the slings,..." -Curtius

I agree that this was a VERY significant battle. Horse archers are very difficult to defeat. What a shame Crassus didn't learn from Alexanders tactics..!

Johnny

[Jona Lendering]

Perhaps Crassus did, and his opponent as well...

[Anonymous]

Also, the slingers on the rafts gave the Scythians a hard time.

"What saved them was the slings,..." -Curtius

I agree that this was a VERY significant battle. Horse archers are very difficult to defeat. What a shame Crassus didn't learn from Alexanders tactics..!

Johnny

Well, a shame for Crassus, perhaps, but no great loss to the world. I re-enact a Roman but I'm by no means convinced that it would have been a good thing for them to have conquered everyone - and some Romans agree with me.

[Robert Vermaat]

Well, a shame for Crassus, perhaps, but no great loss to the world.

Sure. The guy was a banker, or something?

[Duncan Head]

Great article. I just have difficulty picturing how the 'sacrificed' cavalry could be surrounded by the Saka and still get caught between this small force and Alexander's main force. Did they not pay attention to what their enemy was doing? Were they completely enveloped by Alexander's main force? Could they not have ridden off when the enveloping started?

Another article, with discussion about what Arrian actually means that bears on that point, is at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson ... 4-6-7.html

cheers,
Duncan

[bachmat66]

Salve,
reviving this old topic:
I have been thinking about the Saka on the Jaxartes plain - what if the so called 'trapped Saka were heavily armed and armored, aristocratic if you will, riders hippakontistai, the cream of the Saka 'confederacy?
I have been thinking that if we accept the use of heavy bows - like those shown on Atarn http://www.atarn.org/chinese/scythian_bows.htm - and which could have effectively put the hippotaxotai out of the harms way when faced with Macedonian psiloi (due to their strength and range), then we are just left with a question who were the warriors that got trapped by the Macedonian's genius?
Another question is whether the Saka actually had been defeated? If we accept the huge losses suffered by the Saka (it is Arrian only who quotes them but not Curtius nor anyone else) why there was not smashing campaign?
Why broken enemy with camps near by suffered no pursuit and no invasion?
The losses suffered by the Macedonian army are actually quite high when compared with Macedonian other battles eg battle of Grannicus?
So we have these 160 killed and 1000 wounded Macedonians (only Curtius quotes them) out of 4000 horsemen and 3-4000 psiloi or so, and who knows how many horses died during and after - is this a fine victory that was left to dangle due to simple Alexander's diarrhea?
I dare say there was more to this battle than Arrian would like us to think