How did he fuck up so bad? He had the biggest empire known to

>>3008529
Alexander's men were more disciplined and technologically advanced, and Darius never tried to adapt in any significant way. He tried to adapt by making bigger armies and preparing the battlefield to his advantage but the inherent strengths of his army never changed and as such Alexander kept beating him across his empire.

>>3008529
He made the same mistake Hitler and Napoleon made: he didn't listen to his generals at several key points.

>>3008529
>the best military units of that time

Are you excluding the actual best military units of that time that defeated him or what?

>>3008555
>Implying Darius's generals fared any better

Alexander led a disciplined and spiritually united force, one that had significant tactical and technological advances.

Darius led a bunch of vassal states filled with undisciplined desert dwellers with little internal unity. Calling it the Persian 'empire' is a bit of a misnomer.

>>3008563
This. From the very getgo Memnon suggested implementing a scorched earth strategy against Alexander, but was refused by all the other satraps because A: They didn't want to ravage their own land and B: He was a Greek.

>>3008529
>the best military units of that time
But this is wrong and had been wrong for a long time. For reasons I'm not 100% certain of myself, the "Greek" world had enormously passed the Persian one in military effectiveness, going at least as far back as the War of the Delian League. Darius's best troops were his greek mercenaries, and even they were a fair amount behind Macedonian Phalanges.

>>3008576
He had the best cavalry of that time, the biggest navy and even used war elephants.
Were a bunch of long spears really that hard to defeat?

>>3008563
They actually did.

One Greek General almost instigated a revolution in mainland Greece against the Macedonians after conquering most of the Aegan islands with his Persian/Ionian fleet but died of illness before reaching Athens to meet up with the collaborators there.

The same guy told Darius he should use scorched earth policies against Alexander since the Macedonian supply lines were to scarce but Darius III went against the idea until it was too late.

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>>3008529
"heh, nothin personal Persian."

"One day you'll commit suicide because you're a bitch who wouldn't fight me."

>>3008586
>He had the best cavalry of that time,
Did he? The Companions were damn tough.

> the biggest navy
Well, as long as he had a coast. Which is why Alexander went south after the victory at Issus and not into the heart of the empire.

>Were a bunch of long spears really that hard to defeat?
It's not just "Muh long spears". It's things like professionalism, a dedicated corps of supply and engineers, widespread use of heavy armor. The Persians were behind in a lot of ways.

Seriously, go look up the Anabasis. A force about a quarter the size of Alexander's and far less advanced managed to trample along the Persian empire for YEARS unimpeded by the central authority. They were way, way behind.

>>3008586
>best cavalry
Alexander had way better heavy cavalry. The first shock cavalry ever. That alone was a huge crushing blow to the Persians even at the first major battle (Granicus river). I could go on about all the other aspects of his army but I'll just stop there.

>>3008631
>The first shock cavalry ever.
Not him, but that's probably not true. You have Neo-Assyrian plinths depicting armored cavalry with melee weapons, and while that doesn't definitively prove it, that heavily implies that they were using shock cavalry some 400 years before Alexander was even born.

>>3008589
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Memnon actually seemed to know what he was talking about (although he did lose at Granicus).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memnon_of_Rhodes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Granicus

>>3008651
Most things I've read has describes them as the first shock cavalry, which I think is a fair statement when you look at how they were used. Being heavily armoured on horseback doesn't imply earlier cavalries were shock cavalry, as the higher-class guards and generals would obviously armour themselves up while owning horses, but they'd still fling missiles around or just engage in melee with other cavalry/weak or routing infantry. Being "melee" cavalry doesn't even imply shock cavalry. The way the companions were equipped, drilled, and used was very unique, right down to their wedge formation.

>>3008611
>managed to trample along the Persian empire for YEARS unimpeded by the central authority
>central authority

thats the thing though, there wasnt much centralisation in persia. compare this to greece, which had just fought a series of wars over how best to centralise.

>>3008611
The cavalry of the upper satrapies was considered top-shelf but could not be assembled until Gaugamela.

Also don't forget that Persian cavalry under MAzeus almost collapsed the Macedonian left at the same battle and at the Battle of the Granicus members of the Persian cavalry came within a hair of slaying Alexander.

I agree that The Persian cavalry were no Companions but they were some damn tough opposition it would seem.

>>3008529
But he didn't. A battle is won by communication and motivation. Now imagine you have a massive, 500,000 man army, but they all speak over 300 different languages, also none of them want to fight and are only there expecting to stand in the rear and avoid a double tax levy.
Catastrophe

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>>3009033
>>3008529
This. While Darius had some elite soldiers the vast majority were conscripted goat herders with no training that were forced to pick up sharpened sticks and wicker shields. To make things worse, the language barrier must have made coordination really tough

>>3008539
this the Macedonian phalanx was the standard until the Roman manipular formation kicked its ass

>>3008576
Yeah Herodotus mentions that their equipment were not metal such as their shield. Wasn't heavy but the Greeks have been fighting each other for hundreds of years before that. So they were trained. Also to note the greecian geography is not suitable for large armies. There was much difficulty for xerxes when he had to move his army to Greece.

>>3008611

Alexander also read Xenophons work

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>>3008529
>>3008539
Are you people retarded? Darius III was barely the ruler of the Persian Empire for a short time, had little to no experience governing (even his stint as a satrap/governor under his predecessor was him being helped by others who treated him as a figurehead), and was primarily famous as a soldier and fighter, not as a leader. On top of that even Greek sources and later Roman ones even say Darius III had terrible counselors and advisors save Atrabanus and that's also ignoring several powerful officials in his court were also corrupt as fuck.

>be Darius III
>cousin/distant relative of Atraxerxes III
>cousin is doing well putting down revolts, uprisings, keeping Macedonia/Philip II in cheek and playing the Greek city-states against each other
>mighty and great cousin is murdered by a dick-head eunuch whose high off power
>this whole time all you did was rule a satrapy that largely had your underlings doing the actual work since you are only famous for being a pretty amazing fighter/champion of the persian army in your youth/peak prime
>dick head eunuch tries to have you poisoned but you reverse the tide of things, survive, and he dies
>time to consolidate---oh shit these greek and macedonian niggers from europe are invading
>shit you have no idea how to lead an army better turn to your generals and governors
>only a few of them have a clue on how to face the greeks/macedonian heavy infantry/hoplites and shit
>other higher-ranking court officials manipulate you into disregarding their advice at several key times that would've checked Alexander's advance
>shit
>your army has lost three times now in a short period of years
>better retreat beyond parsa to gather reinforcements despite the fact you should be retired from battlefield shit being in your late 50s
>oh shit your cousin stabbed you
>time to bleed out on a cart
>fucking aye