Issos

The road north of Iskenderun continues over the plain. This area close to the coast, extending to the Deli Çayi, is believed to be the scene of the Battle of Issos (333), in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persian King Darius III in a decisive cavalry encounter.

The exact site of the ancient town of Issos has not been established with certainty. It lay at the innermost tip of the Gulf of Issos and in Xenophon's time was a large and flourishing city. It is said to have been renamed Nikopolis (City of Victory) after Alexander's victory.