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Citizens versus Alexander the Great: The Tyrian citizens refuse to surrender their walled, island fortress to a Macedonian army under Alexander. Which side will prove to be overconfident in their abilities?
Significance
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Tyre was under complete siege a total of six times in history, Alexander being the only one to capture the island fortress. This is impressive, considering that one of the sieges took place in the twelfth century where technology was far more capable than what Alexander possessed.
Analysis
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Persistence comes to mind when explaining why Alexander was able to conquer Tyre while others were not. DeVries plays with the idea that Alexander’s new torsion catapults played a decisive role (2008: 29-30). The untrained citizens of Tyre compared to its other sieges must have also played a part; the breach in the south was easily overrun by veteran Macedonian forces.
Persistence comes to mind when explaining why Alexander was able to conquer Tyre while others were not. DeVries plays with the idea that Alexander’s new torsion catapults played a decisive role (2008: 29-30). The untrained citizens of Tyre compared to its other sieges must have also played a part; the breach in the south was easily overrun by veteran Macedonian forces.
Notes
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It is always difficult to try and animate – that is show rapid, constant movement – a siege in which both sides sit still. Every siege I animate is a new challenge but I feel my first two, Tyre and Alesia, have been up to standards. By completing this animation I have completed the first commander spotlight in which I animate three battles fought by the same commander. A note on casualties: figures only include casualties suffered before the city surrendered and the Tyrian percentage only accounts for men of military age.
It is always difficult to try and animate – that is show rapid, constant movement – a siege in which both sides sit still. Every siege I animate is a new challenge but I feel my first two, Tyre and Alesia, have been up to standards. By completing this animation I have completed the first commander spotlight in which I animate three battles fought by the same commander. A note on casualties: figures only include casualties suffered before the city surrendered and the Tyrian percentage only accounts for men of military age.
– Jonathan Webb
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Works Consulted
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Cummins, Joseph. Turn Around and Run Like Hell: Amazing Stories of Unconventional Military Strategies that Worked. London: Murdoch, 2007.
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DeVries, Kelly. “Siege of Tyre, 332 BC.” In Battles that Changed Warfare 1457 BC – AD 1991, 28-37.London: Amber, 2008.
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Fuller, J.F.C. The Generalship of Alexander the Great. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1958.
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Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. London: Salamander, 1980.
Images
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Alexander the Great: http://www.wpclipart.com/famous/politial/
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Macedonian infantry: http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/the-macedonian-phalanx/
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Map of the Persian Empire: Sheppard, Ruth. Alexander the Great at War. Oxford: Osprey, 2008
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Map of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections
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Map of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections
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Triremes: http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com/ancientbabylon/id34.html
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Tyrian men of military age: http://anthropology.net/2007/05/29/how-alexander-the-great-used-holocene-morphogenesis-to-capture-tyre/
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If you enjoyed the Siege of Tyre 332 BC battle animation, you may also enjoy these other battle animations:
Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC, another battle featuring Alexander the Great:
Siege of Alesia 52 BC, another siege featuring impressive engineering efforts in the Ancient Era:
Thank you for visiting The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps.
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