Eyewitness account of the Battle of Arbela

In the reign of Alexander the Great (October 29, 331 B.C.)

My name is Lucan and I am a fairly new soldier of Alexander the Greats army. I have been training
since I was but a small lad, but since I am now fourteen, my trainer has decided that it is time I participated in
defending my country.

For this battle, we will have 35,000 well-trained men. I am confident. Alexander is a wonderful
commander, and we all honor him and are willing to give our lives for him. As young as he is (he is merely
twenty-two) we all give him the respect of an elder. Once we get into ranks and march to the field of
Gaugamela, we will be invincible and the Persians will run. We will start marching tomorrow. Mother has
been feeding me so much that I fear I will be unable to march. I will have to merely roll.

In the reign of Alexander the Great (October 30, 331 B.C.)

I am writing by the light of my lamp, since I doubt that I will have time to write later today. I suppose
that most lads going off to war would be afraid that they would never see their families again, but I have nary
a trace of fear or doubt. I am sure that under Alexanders commands and the many years of training all the
soldiers have had, we will come out victorious.

In the reign of Alexander the Great (November 2, 331 B.C.)

! Yesterday was the most surreal day of my life. First, we marched for a long time,
seeming to march forever, then we got to the field of Gaugamela, and I wished I had never obeyed my instructor to
come to war. I saw a bloody defeat coming to us, and wished I hadnt been so proud about our abilities. Alexander
rode his favorite horse, Bucephalus in front of all of his men, tall and straight. I could see how he had already
conquered most of the world. He had no fear of anything. He didnt seem to be intimidated by the 200,000
Barbarian soldiers advancing towards us. As for myself, I was terrified. Even with all of our training and wonderful
commanders, I doubted that we would ever be able to overcome 200,000 with a mere 35,000. Unlike us, Darius III
had scythe chariots. I noticed most of the younger men around me started trembling when they saw the chariots.
We had only heard about them, but never seen them. They were just as fearsome-looking as they were said to be.
The sharp scythe blades glistened in the sunlight as they made a sort of design around the outside of the wheel. If
one of those chariots came upon un-suspecting persons, it would be immediate death for the victim. Thankfully,
Alexander had taken this into consideration.

Strangely though, we didnt start fighting right away like I had thought we would. The signal was to keep
marching until we drew near to king Darius III and his royal cavalry. All of the soldiers in my division stopped as
we got the signal. We were facing the Persians head-on. We had been training in the phalanx formation, and we
readied our spears. I could hear the javelin men readying their weapons. Then the Barbarians stopped their
advance. There was a time that seemed like forever where all was silent besides the horses tossing their heads and
their harnesses jangling. Heard a clink of metal on metal somewhere behind me, but I didnt turn around. Finally,
when I started getting jumpy, Alexander commanded us to start marching again. We turned to the right and
marched our spears and shields still in place. My heart pounded hard, because I knew at any minute now, the
fighting would start. I tried to look ahead, but the men in front of me were taller than I, so I couldnt see where we
were headed. I trusted Alexanders leading, so I marched tall and strong although the 200,000 Barbarians were
close by with their scythe chariots. When moving, the chariots were even more frightening. The sun flashed bright
on the blades every time the wheels turned.

After marching for a little while, the chariots made their move and rushed towards the front line of our
army. I stopped marching, paralyzed with terror, but the man behind me bumped into me and stumbled, so I hurried
to catch up with my line. I was not going to be the reason of the Macedonian armys defeat- stupidly stopping the
march by tripping everyone. Even though a few men were killed by the scythe blades, we kept up our march,
always veering slightly to the right. The Barbarians looked almost like they were attached to us, staying perfectly
parallel to us as we marched side-by-side.

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 I noticed that the ground was getting rockier and less level, with a few small stumps here and there.
Suddenly, I felt a small wave of hope wash over me. Alexander definitely had a plan. But just then, more of those
terrifying chariots rushed at us. We parted like the Red Sea and the javelin men threw their darts at the chariots
dashing by. The drivers werent harmed, but the horses fell dead in their harnesses. We closed in around them,
resuming our formation. I felt my stomach churn when I heard the chariot drivers being killed. I felt tears sting my
eyes, and I knew now was the worst time to get weak and throw up, but I did not like cruelty.

Our few chariots were the only ones harmed. The other few that charged through the ranks were free to
pass through, since we had been taught to part if they ever rushed at us. I noticed that king Darius was getting
jumpy, for half of his remaining chariots drove fast around our right wing, I suppose they were doing that to cut us
off, since we were getting to rougher ground and they wouldnt be able to be used for much longer. There was a
break in their line because some of their soldiers rushed to help the chariots that were flanking us. Alexander saw
this and charged forwards to close the gap with his Companion cavalry and part of the phalanx. They went straight
towards Darius, where he was with his mother, wife, and two daughters. While they were rushing towards them,
Alexander and his men erupted with a loud, terrifying battle cry. It made goosebumps rise and spread from my
back, up my neck, down my legs, and all over my arms. I didnt stop marching, though. Not this time.

The time that followed was all confusion to me. There was a man-to-man fight as Alexander and his men
charged forward. I looked away when our great leader started striking men down with his spear. Thus far, I had not
been part of the action. But now, we got the call to help Alexanders Companion cavalry and the small part of the
phalanx. I rushed forward with the rest of the men and struck down everything in my way. My mind wasnt
thinking anymore. I just heard my orders and obeyed. I saw Darius IIIs mouth drop open as we got closer and
closer, then he wheeled his horse and galloped away, leaving his army without a leader and his wife, mother, and
daughters to fend for themselves. I had never seen a bigger coward in my life.

Alexander ordered the Artes to spring upon the chariots that were outflanking us. When the scythe chariot
drivers saw the fearless Artes charging towards them, they went into panic and did the same as their leader. They
fled. But we didnt allow them to get away. A division of our army overtook them and mercilessly slaughtered
horse and driver alike.

Later, we learned, while this was going on, the rest of the Persians were invading our camp and plundering
everything in their path. When Alexander learned of this, he and his Companions rushed towards the camp and
fought with the advancing Barbarians. There was no order in that battle. The phalanx was ignored, there was no
orderly horse deploying, and no javelin casting. This was men that were desperate to live and fighting until death to
get it. Sixty of Alexanders Companions had fallen, wounded. But Alexander overcame, sending the remaining
Persians fleeing for their life.

As Alexander was fighting the Barbarians at the camp, there was another battle raging at the field, where I
was still stationed. We were having a splendid victory, and by the time Alexander and his men came back, the
Persians were scurrying across the field to the shelter of the trees. We followed. This kept up until daylight the
following day. We rested for a little while near midnight, but then resumed our pursuit.

We didnt capture king Darius III, for he had gone without rest and fled all night long. Although we didnt
capture him, we plundered all of his wealth and obtained all of his money, along with his spear and bow.

100 of our brave, loyal soldiers were slain, and over 1,000 of our horses were killed in battle, or just from
exhaustion in the pursuit. Although we are sorrowful about our loss, we won the victory. Many Barbarians were
slain in battle and many more were taken as prisoners.