 With him were many scholars who recorded Alexander's discoveries and achievements far in the east.In 334 BCE Alexander fought the battle that would make his name, opposed by an army of Persians holding an advantageous position on the steep banks of the river Granicus.The unfamiliar tactics and brute strength of the highly disciplined Macedonian phalanx army, advancing with their heavy weapons, inflicted a crushing defeat to the Persian army, prompting the disgraced Persian commander to commit suicide.