However, before Li Ning arrived, Alexander still had to face many difficulties. He found that the wall facing the causeway was too strong, and any siege weapons he built could not cause substantial damage to this wall. At the same time, the siege warships were unable to break the wall on the Sidon Port side. The Macedonian king was disappointed but far from discouraged. It was not until the Macedonians tried to attack every part of the city wall that the siege ships finally succeeded in severely damaging a section of the wall facing Egypt and the outer sea and breaking it. The Tyrians never thought that this area would be attacked, so this section of the wall was not as strong as the rest.
The besieged Tyreans for months displayed their inventiveness and mechanical skill, and Alexander's engineers used all their strength to counter them. Prior to this, the Macedonian soldiers had become increasingly impatient, and their confidence in conquering this extraordinary fortress had also been shaken. But the opening of a breakthrough rekindled the courage in their hearts. Alexander built a trestle bridge over the breach and sent assault troops to attack. But the Tyrians drove them back with a rain of arrows, fireballs, and other means, and built a curved inner wall at the breach to block it. Alexander can only wait for better offensive opportunities. Although many historians believe that Alexander planned to abandon the siege and continue the expedition during this period, Alexander did not take any actions to confirm this theory, and this theory was completely inconsistent with Alexander's perseverance character.
Three days after the failed attack, the sea was calm and Alexander prepared for a new attack. It was already the end of July.
He concentrated his battering rams on the southwestern part of the wall, which was also the easiest point to attack. At the same time, he also ordered some warships carrying giant crossbows, trebuchets, slingers, and archers to circle the entire island and shoot so that the opponent could not determine the direction of the main attack. Some warships were deployed near the coast, preparing to deter the opponent with fierce attacks and dense arrows. Other warships carried Alexander's most elite troops-Admetas's shield-bearers and Cornas' phalanx infantry brigades. Alexander was also preparing to lead the assault himself. The rest of the fleet was dispatched to the entrances of the two ports, preparing to attempt to cut off the blocking ropes at the entrances and enter the harbor. In addition, all other remaining units of the army will also provide support in this general offensive. After several hours of trying, Alexander finally broke a larger breach in the wall. The battleship carrying the battering ram retreated, and the two battleships with the trestle moved forward to build the trestle on the beach. Immediately afterwards, under the personal supervision of Alexander, the shield-bearing guards began to launch an assault. The Tyrians also resisted their attacks with the highest courage. But once the Macedonians gained a foothold on the city wall, they quickly drove them back with their usual bravery. Admetas, the shield-bearer commander, was pierced by a spear and became the first Macedonian to die. Alexander and the phalanx infantry of Konas followed closely behind the shield-bearing guards, captured several arrow towers and the city walls connecting them, and advanced along the city walls toward the acropolis of Tire. This was much easier than them descending from the city wall to the ground and then attacking the Acropolis from the ground, so the Acropolis was quickly captured.
At the same time, the fleets responsible for attacking the two ports (the Phoenicians were responsible for attacking the Egyptian port, and the Cypriots were responsible for attacking the Sidon port) all successfully broke through to the port. They destroyed the Tyrian battleship.
It is somewhat ironic that the reinforcements that Alexander had been looking forward to finally arrived at this time, and his own army had paid a heavy price and had almost captured 20% of the army, but at this time Yuan Jun's The arrival also strengthened the soldiers' belief in victory. You must know that he and his soldiers had been shaken by this under different circumstances before this, although later historians could not find any behavior to confirm the behavior of both of them. Wavering, but if the wavering of any party affects this expedition, then the history of thousands of years will be rewritten accordingly.
Li Ning's biggest reliance is that in the original history, Alexander did not do anything to betray his will for the expedition, so he ordered his military team to march slowly, but this order to march slowly was carried out excessively mechanically. You have to know They could have leisurely crossed the Asia Minor Peninsula and headed directly to the city of Tire through the southern port. However, these damn unlucky armies chose to give up because they were afraid of seasickness, until the news that the city of Tire was about to be destroyed reached them. In their ears, they hurriedly worried about missing what Li Ning thought was the perfect opportunity and accelerated their progress. Although the seasickness they were worried about still appeared widely in the video, it is undeniable that this time they faced this kind of Negative impact, they immediately launched an attack on the city occupied by the enemy.
Flame weapons finally began to show their power at this time. Although Alexander's soldiers had occupied the south and north of the city and launched a flanking attack, when gunpowder was secretly placed on the battlefield, the earth-shattering destructive power still quickly spread. They opened the door to victory, and the rapid collapse of the city wall forced the Tyrians to make a difficult decision.
The Tyrians abandoned the city walls and regrouped near the temple of Agenor. Alexander, who directly commanded the shield-bearers of the Guards after the death of Admitus, rushed out of the acropolis and defeated all resistance soon after. Under attacks from Cornas and the fleet from all directions, the battle in the city quickly turned into a massacre. The Tyrians had earlier tortured and massacred Macedonian captives on the city walls, and threw their bodies into the sea so that they could not be buried. Even Alexander's envoys were thrown from the city walls into the sea. These cruel acts and their tenacious resistance angered them The Macedonians. According to Curtis and Theodorus, a total of 8,000 Tyrians were killed and 2,000 were crucified or hanged on crosses on the coast. Among the remaining residents, Alexander pardoned all those who had taken refuge in the temple of Hercules (including the King of Tire and many high officials), and then sold all the remaining 30,000 residents and mercenaries into slavery. Women, children and the elderly had mostly been sent to the ungrateful colony of Carthage. In the final general attack, only 20 shield-bearers were killed, and only 400 Macedonian soldiers died during the entire siege. In addition, there were undoubtedly 3,000 to 4,000 Macedonian soldiers wounded. It is said that some of the residents fled the city with the tacit consent of the Phoenician fleet, and returned to Tire after the fighting calmed down. Curtis recorded that 15,000 people were saved as a result.
Tire's end, cruel as it was, was nothing more than the custom of ancient sieges. Perhaps this cruelty seems unforgivable, but the siege of Magdeburg during the Thirty Years' War ended with similar brutality. If after 16 centuries of Christianity, the tragedy of massacre of 30,000 men, women, and children out of 36,000 men, women, and children could still occur in the name of religion, then Alexander’s so-called “cruelty” reputation should not bear so many criticism. Ancient armies needed this kind of massacre to maintain morale in the face of ragtag groups. Even a great king like Alexander had to think twice before he acted even if he wanted to stop the massacre. In that era, if soldiers were deprived of these "rights", the commander's prestige in the army would be seriously damaged. And there is no doubt that Alexander was at some point as thirsty for revenge as his phalanx infantry.
Now Alexander finally got what he wanted and sacrificed to Hercules with military etiquette. The entire army passed in front of the temple in a parade formation, and the battering ram that broke through the city wall was presented to Hercules as a thank you gift. Les. Alexander's fleet also lined up in battle formation for review. The captured sacred ship of Hercules was inscribed with dedications and rededicated to the temple. In addition, Alexander celebrated by holding games on the temple grounds.
And so, after a seven-month siege, Tire fell. There is no doubt that this city's heroic resistance and tragic fate have had as much impact on the world as the Battle of Issus. The centuries-old glory of Tire finally succumbed to Alexander's indomitable courage, ability, and military brilliance.
Alexander still used the site as a naval base, but the city of Tire itself was completely destroyed. But according to Strasbourg, it later became a bustling city again. The construction of the causeway even completely changed the tides of the strait, causing the original harbor to be filled with silt, and the island where the new city was located became a peninsula. This was undoubtedly a work of nature built for the martial arts of this greatest commander. monument.
During the siege of Tire, Alexander also received a second letter from Darius, who offered to exchange his mother, wife and children for 1,000 talents of gold, and was willing to marry his daughter Statila. to Alexander, and even agreed to cede all the land west of the Euphrates. Alexander read this letter to his fellow cavalrymen, and Parmenio advised Alexander to accept the terms.
The two are said to have had the following conversation about this: "If I were Alexander, I would accept them."
"If I were Parmenio, I would accept it, but I am Alexander, so I will not accept it." Then Alexander wrote back to Darius and said that the whole of Persia belonged to him, and if he wanted to make peace with If Darius's daughter gets married, then he doesn't need Darius's consent at all, and as for gold, he doesn't need it at all. After being rejected, Darius began to make full preparations for the next confrontation.
According to Josephus, Alexander then began to march on Jerusalem (some say it was after taking Gaza) because the latter decided to remain loyal to Darius and refused to provide Alexander with supplies. But when he arrived at the city, he found that the high priests and the citizens were already waiting there to greet him. Alexander gave the highest respect to these people, and he was also regarded by them as the Greek king who overthrew the Persian king prophesied in the Book of Daniel in the Bible. Not only did he do no harm to the city, he even granted it the privilege of exempting it from taxes for one year every seven years. Regardless of whether the details recorded by Josephus are entirely accurate, Alexander could not have left a major city like Jerusalem behind to conquer. There is therefore no doubt that these records are generally correct. Afterwards, Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, defected to Alexander, and Acre surrendered without any resistance.
So far Alexander has been in this hasty year. The capture of Tire City was finally completed.
Li Ning used his time to attack Tell City to enrich his deployment around the Black Sea. Although he has not completely turned the Black Sea into his own inner lake, it can already leisurely continue to develop eastward in the Caspian Sea.
Of course, there are still many tasks that need to be completed by him, one of which is to continue the expedition with Alexander.
This time he wanted to capture Egypt at lightning speed in order to gain a foothold in the southern Mediterranean.
By early September, all of Syria except Gaza had surrendered to Alexander. And Gaza happened to be where Alexander had to conquer. The city is located on the edge of a desert that is higher than the plains, built on a 60-foot-tall man-made hill. It was also the strongest fortress Alexander had encountered in southern Syria up to this time, and its position controlled the road from Damascus to Egypt and the road from the Red Sea to Tire. Gaza has become a fortress since Syria's often turbulent people were controlled by Persia. Darius handed over the fortress to his most trusted servant, the eunuch Batis, who also collected a large amount of supplies and concentrated them here. Battis, who was loyal to Darius, believed that with the Persian garrison and some Arab troops, he could hold the fortress and ensure Egypt's vassal status until Darius raised a new army. Then Darius would use his army to drive the arrogant adventurer away from the holy land of Asia. Battis believed that Alexander relied on his fleet to conquer Tire, but the warships could not approach Gaza because it was two miles away from the coast (Strabourg said it was 7 stadia), and the swamps on the coast were also Making this place completely unsuitable for landing. This made the fleet completely useless in Gaza, and Battis was also very satisfied with the fortification situation in Gaza.
After arriving in Gaza, Alexander camped in what appeared to be the weakest part of the southern wall of the city and ordered the construction of suitable siege weapons for the siege. Since the Macedonians could only build siege weapons on level ground, while the walls were built on high ground, engineers thought they could not build weapons capable of approaching and attacking the walls, but Alexander disagreed. After all, when even Tire has been conquered by him, what other city can resist him? Alexander immediately began building mounds of enormous proportions at the weakest point in the southern part of the wall. In an astonishingly short time, the mound (perhaps only part of it) was high enough for siege weapons to attack the walls. It is also possible that Alexander built more than one mound.
Before the siege began, Alexander made sacrifices to the gods as was customary. At this time, a bird of prey flew over Alexander's head and threw a stone on his head. The bird of prey then landed on a siege machine and became entangled in the rope above. The priest Aristander saw these signs and predicted to Alexander that he could indeed conquer Gaza, but he must pay attention to his own safety. So Alexander uncharacteristically stood not near the city walls, but behind the siege weapons, and also arranged more bunkers than usual. But one day, the defenders in the city came out and counterattacked, almost setting the siege machinery that had taken so much work to build on fire, and the lower-lying Macedonians were about to be driven out of the surrounding siege towers and siege weapons. Seeing this imminent danger of failure, Alexander could no longer control himself. He grabbed his weapon and led his shield-bearing soldiers to quickly come to the rescue. The Macedonians repelled the attack after retreating for a distance, but Alexander was hit by an arrow fired from a huge crossbow. The arrow penetrated the shield and breastplate and entered the shoulder. Alexander was seriously injured and nearly died. According to Curtis, Alexander was wounded in two places during the siege.
When the siege weapons brought from Tire arrived at Majumas, a small port near Gaza, the Macedonians also extended the mounds around the city. However, the "surroundings" referred to in historical data may only be the construction of several more mounds in different directions. Part of the mound (Arrian said the entire mound) was 120 feet wide and 250 feet high, almost as high as the city wall. Since the sandy soil on the plains could not be used to build the mounds, all construction materials had to be transported from afar. Perhaps the above figures are not reliable, but past war cases in Ethiopia, Egypt, Nineveh, and Babylon can also be seen how huge the projects that can be built by forcibly mobilizing the population of an entire region are. In fact, since the function of the mounds was only to provide siege towers and battering rams with access to the city walls, only one or two of them were needed to be built in the most suitable locations, and the remaining parts of the city walls could only be blocked by smaller siege lines. If we really want to build huge mounds to surround the whole city, it will waste a lot of unnecessary manpower. In this way, no matter what the meaning of the word "around" in the historical data, we can only conclude that Alexander built a few more mounds around the city instead of surrounding the entire city with mounds. If these mounds faced only a small part of the city wall, the above figures would be completely achievable.
The Macedonian siege weapons could easily work on the mounds. A large part of the city wall was broken by the battering rams, and breaches were also opened in many more areas. But although Alexander had suppressed the city walls and driven the defenders away from the parapets and bunkers, the defenders were still very tenacious. Even though the Macedonians were as heroic as ever, the defenders were able to repulse their attacks three times at great cost. Before the fourth attack, Alexander first expanded the gap in the city wall, and learned from the experience of previous attacks that had little effect due to lack of tools, and put all ladders and all available tools into use. In addition, he also sent more troops to attack from all directions at the same time. General competition broke out among the Macedonian soldiers to be the first to scale the walls. In the end, Neoptolemus, a fellow cavalryman, was the first to climb the city wall before others. Others followed, overwhelming the defenders and capturing the city wall, and the elite troops arranged in advance began to advance towards the city gates. The city gates were opened soon after, the Macedonians entered the city, and a bloody massacre broke out throughout the city. All the heroic Gazan men were killed in battle, and the Macedonians who respected them after death were put into a posture of dying with swords in their hands. The women and children were all sold into slavery. A total of 10,000 people died in Gaza. Alexander is said to have retaliated very savagely against the local commander Bartys by dragging his body behind his chariot in a demonstration around the city, just as his ancestor Achilles had done to Hector. While this act of revenge was consistent with Alexander's age, it was unusual for him and probably not true.
