6. Tyre (332BC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHQYwx9pOX4&list=PLB2518B40F026A610 Alexander the Great didn't earn a name like that with simple victories. Tyre is one of his most famous and most creative successes. Alexander was coming off the back of his famous win at the Battle of Issus, where he defeated the Persian king, Darius III, despite being outnumbered 2:1. Darius III managed to escape, but Alexander was keen on conquering the entire Persian Empire. Tyre was the one remaining Persian port city which hadn't surrender to the Macedonian. Its secret was that the city was actually split in two: the mainland area and the island area. With the women and children sent off to Carthage, the Phoenician troops moved to the island. When Alexander reached the city, he sent peace envoys essentially surrender envoys but they were killed and thrown over the walls. The main defensive attribute of the island, was that walls were built around the edge. There were no beaches, so there was no way of actually getting onto the island. This is where the genius comes in. With his engineers realising the water between the mainland and the island was shallow, Alexander had his army construct a causeway linking both. As the causeway got closer to the island, the Tyrians attacked more frequently, leading Alexander to build two 150ft siege towers, which had ballistas and catapults on top of them. The defenders came up with a plan to destroy the towers, sending a special fire ship charging into the causeway, before igniting it. The plan worked, forcing Alexander to re-think his strategy. Luckily, with his previous conquests he had gained some Persian defectors and earned the friendship of the King of Cyprus, both of whom had ships. With a fleet of 200 ships, he began bombarding the city walls. His fleet surrounded the city, and, eventually, they breached the walls. Alexander's troops overwhelmed the defenders. An estimated 6,000 Tyrians were killed, with a further 30,000 being sold into slavery. Alexander completed the causeway, which, in case you think it might be myth, in still there today.