Alexander the Great won the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC. Fought in May near the Granicus River in the Troad, the battle was Alexander's first major victory against the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
After crossing the Hellespont, Alexander moved into Asia Minor, where Persian satraps assembled an army to stop him. The Persian forces defended the riverbank, but Alexander led a bold attack across the water, with Macedonian cavalry playing a decisive role. The victory opened much of western Asia Minor to his advance.
The battle is often confused with Alexander's later victories. Issus took place in 333 BC, while Gaugamela—the battle that finally broke Darius III's main field army—was fought in 331 BC. The Granicus came first in the sequence of Alexander's major Persian victories.
The ancient battlefield is associated with the modern Biga River in northwestern Turkey. The victory also carried personal danger: ancient accounts describe Alexander entering the fighting himself and narrowly surviving an attack by Persian cavalry.