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The Battle of Hatra was the decisive battle of the Macedonian-Seleucid war, as a part of the greater Wars of the Diadochi, in which a final stand by the Seleucid Empire ended with a devastating defeat. Without an experienced military force left standing, there was nothing to stop the Macedonians from completing their conquest of Seleucid territory.

Background
In 260BCE, Antigonus II completed his conquest of Asia Minor, and planned an invasion of Seleucid territory. While relations had been neutral beforehand, the growing Macedonian border had given Antiochus I reason to be cautious enough to send an army to his western border, but it was too late. By the time they arrived, they were met with an overwhelming force of Macedonians that wiped them out, before spreading into Syria and capturing city after city. Over the next few years, Antiochus struggled with war on his southern border against Ptolemy, and all but abandoned the region.

Prelude
In 254BCE, Antiochus' army was wintering near Hatra, in preparation of an invasion into Ptolemaic territory. However, his scouts reported an approaching Macedonian army. Due to his army's large size being encamped in a small town, he did not have the supplies necessary to withstand a siege, so he chose to engage Antigonus in the field, hoping to strike a victory that would halt their expansion, allowing him to broker a peace.

Forces
Antigonus was commanding an army of nearly 9000 cavalry, roughly three times as many as Antiochus. While he outnumbered him here, Antiochus' true strength was in his infantry, with modern estimates placing the number at 50,000, compared to Antigonus' 27,000. Both armies were fielding highly experienced soldiers - each had seen multiple battles over the last few years, as well as the highest standard of training both nations offered.

Battle
Due to the low supplies Antiochus had to fall back on, Antigonus knew he could simply wait it out, as his men were plentifully supplied - any day that battle did not happen was another closer to Antiochus' army beginning to starve. So he lined up his forces roughly 2 kilometres away and waited. Antiochus knew this too, and after realising he would be forced to go on the offensive, he formed his line and approached the Macedonians until he was in range with his skirmishers. While he harried the Macedonians with ranged fire, his cavalry engaged on each flank, but despite being heavier on the charge, their engagement in melee was equal, and they eventually succumbed to the numbers and routed, at which point the Macedonians gave chase to prevent a return to the field.

Sensing an opportunity while the Macedonian cavalry was occupied, and his ranged harassment unable to goad them into attacking, he sent his infantry in, stretching the line to far beyond the Macedonians' ability, in an attempt to envelop them. As his men engaged with each end of the line, they were ambushed by Antigonus' elite Hypaspists that had been placed behind the frontline, obscured from view. Flanking with their short swords, they were able to disrupt the formation of the Seleucid phalanxes, allowing their own pikes to press forward. Seeing that the battle would be decided on the wings, Antiochus redirected men from the centre to the flanks, only keeping enough where they were to hold the Macedonians. Despite the successful ambush, the numbers began to overwhelm the Macedonian wings, and they showed signs of faltering. In desperation to press his advantage, Antiochus joined the fray with his bodyguards and attacked the Macedonian centre, hoping the break the line in the centre so he could defeat them in detail. With so much focus on the battle, he had failed to pay attention to the Macedonian cavalry, which had now returned. With rear charges on each flank, as well as in the centre, the Seleucids were surrounded, and quickly succumbed.

Aftermath
Antiochus was found among the dead after the battle, but it is not known if he fell in battle, or took his own life. As the remaining military force of the Seleucids, there was nothing to stop the Macedonians from taking Hatra, and eventually Seleucia, their capital being the sole remaining city of the empire that once spanned from the Persian Gulf to Asia Minor. Historians today theorise that due to the elite status of each nation's army, contemporary states would view it as the battle that decided the future of the continent.