Alexander
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Bactria; and Dionysos was supposed to have started out on his triumphal march westward from India.
Herakles, too, one of Alexander’s ancestors and rivals, supposedly had visited India.
Never one to be outdone, Alexander was determined to surpass the accomplishments of Zeus’ other
sons. They had merely passed through India; he came to establish a lasting empire.
From Bactra, therefore, Alexander and his army marched for ten days back over the Caucasus and
reached the city he had founded during his first expedition into Bactria, Alexandria-in-the-Caucasus
(modern Begram). There he dismissed the local hyparch for governing poorly and then appointed
Nicanor as governor of the city. Tyriespis was made satrap of the region of Parapamisadae and the
land up to the Cophen River (now the Kabul). More people from the area and all the soldiers
declared unfit for fighting were settled in the city. Having settled these matters, by way of Nicaea,
where he offered sacrifice to Athena, Alexander then marched for the Cophen toward the plain of the
Indus River.
CHAPTER 18
In the Footsteps of Dionysos
THE FIRST GREAT GAME
For his route to the Indus, Alexander had chosen to pass through the region that more than 2,000 years
later would comprise the Northwest Frontier of British India. In that mountainous and inhospitable
territory, solitary, brilliant, and often eccentric officers of the Indian army, such as “Bokhara” Burnes,
Captain Arthur Conolly, and Francis Younghusband, often disguised as horse traders or Tibetan holy
men, played the Great Game against Britain’s indigenous and European enemies. Twenty-three
centuries earlier Alexander played his own brutally effective game against the local tribesmen.
Before setting out, Alexander divided his army into two columns. Hephaestion and Perdiccas were
put in charge of three battalions, half the Companions, and all the mercenary cavalry. These troops
were sent along the main road through the Khyber Pass into the territory of Peucelaotis toward the
Indus River. Hephaestion’s battle group therefore holds the distinction of being the first documented
military force to make the thirty-mile trek through the famous pass in the Safed Koh mountains, now
on the border between modern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Alexander, with the Guards, the rest of the Companion cavalry, the phalanx regiments from Upper
Macedon, the archers, the Agrianes, and the mounted javelin men, took a more northerly route, which
followed the river Choes (modern Kunar) into the mountain country through Bajaur and Swat (in
modern Pakistan).
They assaulted the first town they came upon after crossing the Choes, and here Alexander was
slightly wounded in the shoulder by an arrow that pierced his corselet. Nevertheless, he and the
Macedonians easily stormed the settlement, and all the prisoners taken in the town were massacred in
revenge for Alexander’s wound. As usual the Macedonians were particularly ferocious and
unmerciful toward their enemies when Alexander was hurt in battle.
The town of Andaca capitulated, and Craterus was left there with the other infantry commanders to
destroy any other cities that did not surrender. When Alexander advanced into the territory of the
hyparch of the Aspasians, the inhabitants burned their city and fled into the mountains. Ptolemy killed
the local leader in hand-to-hand combat, and the Macedonians again prevailed.
After Alexander and his men crossed the mountains into the region of Bajaur, they came to the town
of Arigaion (Acadira), where they were met by Craterus and his colleagues. The city was now
fortified and settled with volunteers from the area and soldiers unfit for duty. Greeks called such a
settlement at a strategically or commercially important site synoikismos.
At the news that Ptolemy had sighted barbarian fires ahead more numerous than in Alexander’s
camp, Alexander once again split the army into three columns and attacked the locals after they had
descended into the plain. We are told that no fewer than 40,000 men and 230,000 oxen were captured.
The finest of the latter were sent back to Macedon. Within weeks Alexander had pacified—by lance
and fire—a region the British later struggled to control for more than fifty years.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DIONYSOS
Sometime during the campaign in the Bajaur region, the people of a town named Nysa sent out to
Alexander their chief, Acuphis, with thirty envoys, to ask Alexander to leave their city to their god.
Acuphis explained that Dionysos had founded their city (with discharged soldiers who were also his
Bacchoi) on his return to the Greek Sea after his conquest of the Indians, naming the city Nysa after
his nurse.
Alexander bought Acuphis’ story, granting freedom and independence to the settlers of Nysa, only
demanding that the Nysaeans send 300 cavalrymen to accompany him. The persuasive Acuphis
subsequently was appointed governor of the territory.
While he was in the area, a “desire” seized Alexander to see Mount Merus, where the Nysaeans
displayed memorials of Dionysos. Ivy and laurel grew there in abundance. Alexander and the
Macedonians had not seen these plants, so characteristic of the Greek landscape, in seven years.
Alexander offered sacrifice on the spot (presumably to Dionysos), and some of his officers reportedly
crowned their heads in ivy and performed a Bacchic revel. Regrettably, none of the sources tell us
what the local tribesmen made of the spectacle of drunken, ivy-wreathed Macedonian soldiers
roaming the mountainside, crying out “Euhoi, Euhoi,” as the women Bacchants in Euripides’ last and
greatest tragedy had done.
The inhabitants of the kingdom of the Assaceni of the lower Swat Valley, who could claim no life-
saving connection to any Greek god, were far less friendly. They had prepared for battle with 2,000
cavalry, 30,000 infantry, and 30 elephants. One by one, however, their fortresses, including Massaga,
Ora, and Bazira, were seized, assaulted, or abandoned. The inhabitants of Massaga were cut down,
but reportedly only after their mercenaries, whom Alexander had granted leave of the city, appear to
have gone back on an agreement with Alexander to join his army.
THE ROCK OF AORNOS
The survivors from these towns fled to the Rock of Aornos (in southern Swat), identified today with
Pir-Sar, a flat-topped ridge rising 8,000 feet above sea level, and commanding the Indus about
seventy-five miles north of Attock City. Atop the rock there was a perennial spring, as well as wood
and arable land. By legend, Herakles himself had tried to capture the Rock of Aornos, but had failed
because of an earthquake.
Naturally, a longing seized Alexander to succeed where Herakles had failed. Any labor at which
Herakles had come up short was a welcome challenge to Alexander. After appointing a satrap of the
region, Alexander therefore advanced toward Aornos, accepting the surrender of towns in the area
and establishing garrisons and a supply base at Embolima.
Despite its intimidating history and height, Aornos proved relatively easy to capture. Some of the
neighboring people who had surrendered guided Ptolemy, the Agrianes, and other lightly armed units
up to the first saddle of the mountain, where they established a stockade and fought off a
counterattack. Alexander then brought up the rest of the army.
they occupied to the level of the Rock itself. From the mound, slingers fired on the Indians, and
missiles were flung from the Macedonian siege engines to give cover to the Macedonians as they
worked. Alexander’s use of artillery to cover field operations (as opposed to siege warfare) was
another brilliant adaptation, one that has been copied by virtually every commander since.
Recognizing that defeat was certain once the Macedonians had completed the mound, the defenders
of Aornos then used a delay during surrender negotiations to concoct a plan to escape and scatter at
night to their homes. Unfortunately for them, Alexander led an assault team of bodyguards and elite
guards (hypaspists) onto the plateau itself before they could carry out their plan. The king was the first
to scale the Rock. Many of the refugees were killed as they fled. Some panicked and threw
themselves over the cliffs of the Rock. Alexander had surpassed Herakles. Altars in honor of Athena
the Victorious were duly set up.
Resistance among the Assaceni then collapsed. As he made his way toward the Indus River,
Alexander now learned that the Indians of the district had fled to the kingdom of Abisares (to the east
of the Indus), but had left their elephants grazing near the Indus. The surviving elephants were
captured and incorporated into Alexander’s army. Meanwhile, Hephaestion and Perdiccas had
pressed along through the Cophen Valley, seriously opposed only by the prince of Peucelaotis, whose
capital (modern Charsadda) was stormed after thirty days.
Beating Alexander to the Indus, Hephaestion and Perdiccas had constructed a bridge for the
crossing of the great river, perhaps at Ohind (Udabhandapura). For the crossing itself, many smaller
boats and two thirty-oar ships had been prepared as well; and awaiting Alexander at the crossing
point were gifts from the local Indian ruler, Taxiles, including 200 talents of silver, 3,000 oxen,
10,000 sheep for sacrifices, and 30 elephants. Taxiles also had sent 700 cavalry as fighting allies and
had surrendered Taxila (present-day Takshiçila, about twenty miles northwest of Islamabad), the
largest city between the Indus and Hydaspes Rivers.
CROSSING THE INDUS
Before crossing the Indus, Alexander sacrificed to the gods whom it was his custom to honor and then
held a contest of athletics and cavalry. The sacrifices turned out to be favorable to the crossing.
Exactly how Alexander crossed this immense river—about two and a half miles wide today at its
broadest point—unfortunately is not known. Arrian reports only that Alexander crossed with the army
and then made customary sacrifices on the far side of the river. Alexander certainly was the first (and
last) Greek or Macedonian ever to reach India at the head of a large army.
Once across the mighty Indus, Alexander made his way first to Taxila, where he granted Taxiles’
son Mophis (who took the name Taxiles after his father’s death) and the Indians of the district as much
of the territory bordering on their own as they asked for. This, of course, was a reward for the gifts
that Taxiles had left for Alexander. In Taxila Alexander also received representatives from Abisares,
king of the Indian hill tribes east of the Indus (modern Kashmir), who brought presents but also the
somewhat alarming news that Abisares kept two snakes, one 80 cubits in length and the other 140
cubits. This was a reminder to Alexander and the Macedonians that they were a long way from home;
it should have been a warning, too.
Perhaps Alexander’s presence unnerved Taxiles/Mophis, for he kept up a shower of gifts: 56
elephants, large numbers of sheep, and some 3,000 bulls. He also revealed to Alexander how much
grain he had supplied to the forces under Hephaestion, and gave golden crowns to Alexander and his
friends. As if all this were not enough, he added eighty talents of coined silver. Alexander was so
pleased that he returned all the gifts and added 1,000 talents from his booty, gold and silver
dinnerware, Persian clothing, and thirty horses with their trappings. After he had drunk too much at
dinner, one of Alexander’s Macedonian officers, Meleager, sarcastically congratulated Alexander on
having at least found one man in India now worth 1,000 talents. Remembering another party that had
ended disastrously, Alexander controlled his anger, remarking that “envious men only torment
themselves.”
After the usual sacrifices and games, Alexander left Philip as governor of the district, along with
any men who were sick or unfit for duty. Alexander and the army, its ranks swelled by the addition of
5,000 Indian troops led by Taxiles/Mophis and the governors of the district, then made their way to
the Hydaspes River (the modern Jhelum).
Awaiting them on the far side of the Hydaspes was Porus (Indian Paurava), ruler of the rich and
densely populated country between the Hydaspes and Acesines (modern Chenab) Rivers. The
geographer Strabo of Amaseia later claimed that there were no fewer than 300 cities within Porus’
realm.
While in Taxila Alexander had sent a representative, Cleochares, to Porus to instruct him to pay
tribute and to meet Alexander at the point of entry to his territory. Porus agreed to be present when
Alexander entered his kingdom—but under arms. These “arms” included about 2,000 cavalry, 20,000
infantry, and perhaps 85 war elephants. Because horses will not charge elephants, these last were the
greatest threat to the Macedonians. Overall, however, Porus’ army was far smaller than the Persian
army Alexander had faced at Gaugamela, and was smaller too than the army Alexander now was
leading, which perhaps totaled 75,000 combatants.
Once Alexander got to the Hydaspes, Porus was observed on the far bank of the river in a strong
defensive position. The exact location of what proved to be the battlefield remains controversial, but
Sir Aurel Stein has made strong arguments for the area of Malakwal (on the Jhelum) opposite
Haranpur. Once the Macedonians had arrived, Porus himself moved to guard the best crossing point.
At the other parts of the river where a crossing was possible, the Indian king had posted guards. His
strategy clearly was to prevent the Macedonians from crossing the river and to attack Alexander if he
tried. Overall, Porus was in a very strong defensive position; the problem facing Alexander has been
aptly compared to that which faced Napoleon before the battle of Wagram in 1809, when Napoleon
was confronted by the Austrian army led by the Archduke Charles on the other side of the Danube. At
the Hydaspes Alexander faced the greatest tactical challenge of his career.
CHAPTER 19
The Battle of the Hydaspes
PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE
With Porus’ position in mind and his forces in view, Alexander planned his counter-measures with
great care and skill. The Hydaspes was no mere trickle of water, as Alexander had scornfully called
the Granicus. Moreover, Porus would prove a far more formidable adversary than the Persian satraps
of Asia Minor.
The flotilla Alexander had used to cross the Indus had been disassembled and transported in carts
to the Hydaspes. Grain was also brought from all the territory controlled by Taxiles/Mophis.
Alexander divided up his forces into a number of smaller units an
d moved these up and down the
river, destroying any enemy possessions, but all the while looking for a ford.
After a while it was clear to Porus that Alexander meant to remain in the neighborhood of the
Hydaspes until the water fell sufficiently to allow Alexander to effect a crossing at any one of a
number of places. The low-water point would come in September 326.
But Porus had underestimated his opponent. Alexander was determined to bring matters to a head
even before the river reached its high-water mark in late June (when the river would be swollen by
the melting snows from the Himalayas and the advent of the monsoon season).
Since the river could not be crossed openly in the face of Porus’ forces, however, Alexander
decided to get his army across the river by cunning. Unlike Piero Soderini, the Gonfalonier (chief
official) of the Florentine Republic, Macedon’s greatest prince had learned how to play the Fox as
well as the Lion; he knew when to roar and when to deceive. Alexander noisily moved his mounted
troops up and down the river every night, until Porus and the elephants got tired of shadowing his
movements.
Alexander then discovered a crossing point about seventeen (or so) miles upriver from his base
camp, around modern Haranpur. There, at a sharp bend in the river, was a projecting headland of
thickly wooded land (perhaps near Jalalpur). Just off the spit was an uninhabited island (Adana).
On the night of the intended crossing, Craterus, perhaps Alexander’s most reliable general, was to
be left at the base camp with his own cavalry regiment, two mounted contingents, two Macedonian
infantry battalions, and 5,000 Indians. His orders were not to attempt to cross the river until Porus had
moved to attack Alexander (who would have crossed the river in secret with a strong force at the
spit) or until Craterus was sure that Porus was in retreat and the Macedonians were victorious. If
Porus opposed Alexander with only part of his forces, Craterus was to stay put. But if the Indian king
moved his whole contingent of elephants against Alexander, then Craterus was to attack across the
river immediately. Craterus and the men under his command thus were to be used as a “pinning