place
Issus
also: Issus, Issum, Issica pugna
Coastal town at the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean (modern Iskenderun Bay, Turkey), famous as the site of Alexander the Great's decisive victory over Darius III in 333 BC. Cicero was hailed as imperator near Issus after his Amanus campaign (Fam. 2.10).
Reading notes
- Ad Atticum 5.20 §3 in the very place where Alexander had pitched against Darius at Issus
Cicero's camp lay on the field of Issus (333 BC), where Alexander the Great routed Darius III of Persia. The self-mocking comparison ('an imperator no little better than either you or I') sets his skirmish against the most celebrated of ancient battles.