Alexander’s Cavalry Charge at Chaeronea, 338 BCE

The Battle of Chaeronea, fought in 338 BCE between Philip of Macedon and the Greek city-states, is known only from meager literary evidence and a few archaeological finds. For decades, scholars had reconstructed the battle to include a cavalry charge led by Philip’s eighteen-year-old son, the future Alexander the Great. More recently, this cavalry charge has been called into question, primarily because of the supposed maxim that cavalry will not trample disciplined infantry. A reconsideration of the evidence, however, including skeletal remains from the battle and studies of equine behavior, suggests that Alexander’s charge was feasible.