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The battle of Alexander the Great against the Persians (Darius)

Jean Bondol · 1372

A 1372 manuscript miniature showing two mounted armies firing arrows at each other. It shows how medieval readers pictured Alexander's war against Darius.

Shows Alexander's battle against Darius as a later medieval picture, reflecting how readers imagined his conquest of Persia.

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Illuminated manuscript page with a miniature in a quatrefoil frame showing two armies on horseback in battle, with arrows flying between them against a blue background. Red decorated heading text above and a historiated initial with columns of gothic script text below.
Jean Bondol, The battle of Alexander the Great against the Persians (Darius), 1372, illuminated manuscript page. KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is an illuminated manuscript page made by Jean Bondol in 1372. A miniature in a quatrefoil frame shows two armies on horseback in battle, with arrows flying between them against a blue background. Red decorated heading text sits above, and a historiated initial with columns of Gothic script text sits below. The page is held by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

Why it matters

The picture shows Alexander's battle against the Persian king Darius as it was imagined in the fourteenth century. It is a later illustration, not a record made by people who fought in the battle. It shows what medieval readers expected a war scene to look like, with mounted soldiers and archers, and how the story of Alexander was kept alive in books.

Look closer

  • How does the artist show that two armies are fighting, and which side seems to be winning?
  • What details of armor, horses, or weapons tell you when and how this picture was made?
  • What does the picture leave out about the real causes and outcome of the battle?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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