Site of the Persian Gate

The Persian Gate was the name of an old pass through part of the Zagros Mountains. The pass connected Yasuj with Sedeh. In 331 BCE the gate was the site of the Battle of the Persian Gate in which the Achaemenid Empire (Persians) were defending against invasion from Alexander the Great.

The Persian lured the Macedonians into the narrowed pass and ambushed the advancing Macedonians, keeping the pass for a month. The battle was similar to Thermopylae in that the Persian were attempting to hold off a larger invading force in a narrow pass. The irony is Alexander was attacking the Persians for their invasion of Greece.

Eventually the Macedonians encircled the Persians through a pincer attack and were defeated. Some historians say this battle was the most serious challenge to Alexander's conquest of Persia.