Chapter V: Part 5

However, I shall treat of the Indians in a separate work,[82] in which I shall set down whatever seems to be most credible in the reports supplied by those who accompanied Alexander in his expedition, and by Nearchos who made a voyage round the Great Sea which adjoins the Indians. I shall then add the accounts of the country which were compiled by Megasthenes and Eratosthenês, who are both writers of standard authority. I shall describe the customs of the Indians and the remarkable animals which their country is said to produce, and also the voyage which was made by Nearchos in the outer sea.[83] In the meantime it will suffice if I content myself with describing only what seems requisite to make the account of Alexander’s operations clearly intelligible. Mount Tauros divides Asia, beginning from Mykalê, the mountain which lies opposite to the island of Samos; then forming the boundary of the country of the Pamphylians and Kilikians, it stretches onwards to Armenia. From the Armenians it passes into Mêdia, and runs through the country of the Parthians and the Khorasmians. Reaching Baktria it there unites with Mount Parapamisos, which the Macedonians of Alexander’s army called the Kaukasos, for the purpose, it is said, of magnifying the deeds of Alexander, for it could thus be said that he had carried his victorious arms even beyond the Kaukasos. It is possible, however, that this mountain range may be a continuation of that other Kaukasos which is in Skythia, in the same way as it is a continuation of the Tauric range. For this reason I have before this occasionally called this range Kaukasos, and in future I mean to call it so. This Kaukasos extends as far as the great Indian Ocean in the direction of the east.[84] All the important rivers of Asia accordingly rise either in Mount Tauros or Mount Kaukasos, and shape their courses some to the north, and others to the south. Those which run northward discharge their waters either into the Maiôtic Lake, or into the Hyrkanian Sea, which is in reality a gulf of the Great Sea.[85] The rivers which run southward are the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Hydaspês, Akesines, Hydraôtes, and Hyphasis, together with the rivers between these and the Ganges. All these either enter the sea, or, like the Euphrates, disappear among the swamps which receive their waters.

_Chapter VI.—Position and boundaries of India and how its plains may have been formed_

If anyone takes this view of Asia, that it is divided by the Tauros and the Kaukasos from west to east, then he finds that it is formed by the Tauros itself into two great sections, one of which lies towards the south and the south wind, and the other towards the north and the north wind. The southern section is divided into four parts, of which, according to Eratosthenês, India is the largest, this being also the opinion of Megasthenes who resided with Siburtios the satrap of Arakhôsia, and who tells us that he frequently visited Sandrakottos the king of the Indians.[86] They say that the smallest part is that which is bounded by the river Euphrates, and which extends to our own inland sea, while the other two parts which lie between the river Euphrates and the Indus will scarcely bear comparison with India even if both were taken together. They also say that India is bounded towards the east and the east wind as far as the south by the Great Sea, and towards the north by Mount Kaukasos, as far as its junction with the Tauros, while the river Indus cuts it off from other countries towards the west and the north-west wind as far as the Great Sea. The larger portion of India is a plain, and this, as they conjecture, has been formed from the alluvial deposits of the rivers, just as in other countries plains which are not far off from the sea are generally formations of their respective rivers, a fact which explains why the names of such countries were applied of old to their rivers. There is, for instance, in the country of Asia the plain of the Hermos, a river which rises in the mountain of Mother Dindymênê, and on its way to the sea flows past the Aiolian city of Smyrna. There is again another Lydian plain, called that of the Kaÿstros, which is a Lydian river, and another plain in Mysia, that of the Kaïkos, and another in Karia, that of the Maiandros, which extends as far as the Ionian city of Milêtos. In the case of Egypt again, the two historians, Herodotos, and Hêkataios (or at any rate the author of the work on Egypt, if he was other than Hêkataios) agree in declaring that in the same way Egypt was the gift of its river,[87] and clear proofs have been adduced by Herodotos in support of this view, so that even the country itself got perhaps its name from the river, for that in early times Aigyptos was the name of the river which the Egyptians and other nations now call the Nile the words of Homer sufficiently prove, since he says[88] that Menelaös anchored his ships at the mouth of the river Aigyptos. Now if the rivers we have mentioned, which are of no great size, can each of them separately form in its course to the sea a large tract of new country, by carrying down silt and slime from the upland districts in which they have their sources, there can be no good reason for doubting that India is mostly a plain which has been formed by the alluvial deposits of its rivers.[89] For if the Hermos and the Kaÿstros and the Kaïkos and the Maiandros and the other rivers of Asia which fall into the inland sea were united, they could not be compared in volume of water with one of the Indian rivers, and much less with the Ganges, which is the greatest of them all, and with which neither the volume of the Egyptian Nile, nor the Istros (Danube) which flows through Europe, can be for a moment compared. Nay, the whole of those rivers if combined into one would not be equal to the Indus, which is already a large river where it issues from its springs, and which after receiving as tributaries fifteen rivers,[90] all greater than those of Asia, enters the sea still retaining its own name. Let these remarks which I have made about the country of the Indians suffice for the present, while I reserve all other particulars for my description of India.

_Chapter VII.—The bridging of rivers_

In what manner Alexander made his bridge over the Indus neither Aristoboulos nor Ptolemy, the authorities whom I chiefly follow, have given any account; nor can I decide for certain whether the passage was bridged with boats, as was the Hellespont by Xerxes and as were the Bosporos and the Istros by Darius,[91] or whether the bridge he made over the river was one continuous piece of work. I incline, however, to think that the bridge must have been made of boats,[92] for neither would the depth of the river have admitted the construction of an ordinary kind of bridge, nor could a work so vast and difficult have been executed in so short a time. But if the passage was bridged with boats I cannot decide whether the vessels being fastened together with cables and anchored in a row sufficed to form a bridge as did those by which, as Herodotos the Halikarnassian says, the Hellespont was joined, or whether the method was that which is used by the Romans in bridging the Istros and the Keltic Rhine,[93] and by which they bridged the Euphrates and the Tigris as often as necessity required. Since, however, the Romans, as far as my knowledge goes, have found that the bridging of rivers by boats is the most expeditious method of crossing them, I think it worth a description here. The vessels at a preconcerted signal are let go from their moorings and rowed down stream not prow but stern foremost. The current of course carries them downward, but a small pinnace furnished with oars holds them back till they settle into their appointed place. Then baskets of wicker work, pyramid-shaped and filled with rough stones, are lowered into the river from the prow of each vessel to make it hold fast against the force of the current. As soon as one of those vessels has been held fast another is in the same way anchored with its prow against the stream as far from the first as is commensurate with their bearing the strain of what is put upon them. On both of them beams of wood are rapidly laid lengthwise, and on these again planks are placed crosswise to bind them together. In this manner the work proceeds through all the vessels which are required for bridging the passage. At each end of the structure firmly fixed railed gangways are thrown forward to the shore so that horses and beasts of burden may with the greater safety enter upon it. These gangways serve at the same time to bind the bridge to the shore. In a short time the whole is completed amid great noise and bustle, though discipline is by no means lost sight of as the work proceeds. In each vessel the occasional exhortations of the overseers and their rebukes of negligence neither prevent orders from being heard nor the work from being quickly executed.

_Chapter VIII.—Alexander arrives at Taxila—Receives an embassy from Abisares and advances to the Hydaspês_

This method has been practised by the Romans from of old, but how Alexander bridged the river Indus I cannot say, for even those who served in his army are silent on the matter. But the bridge was made, I should think, as nearly as possible in the way described, or if it was otherwise contrived let it be so.

When Alexander had crossed to the other side of the Indus he again offered sacrifice according to his custom. Then marching away from the Indus he arrived at Taxila,[94] a great and flourishing city, the greatest indeed of all the cities which lay between the river Indus and the Hydaspês. Taxilês, the governor of the city, and the Indians who belonged to it received him in a friendly manner, and he therefore added as much of the adjacent country to their territory as they requested. While he was there Abisarês, the king of the Indians of the hill-country, sent him an embassy which included his own brother and other grandees of his court. Envoys came also from Doxarês, the chief of the province, and those like the others brought presents. Here again in Taxila Alexander offered his customary sacrifices and celebrated a gymnastic and equestrian contest. Having appointed Philip, the son of Makhatas, satrap of the Indians of that district, he left a garrison in Taxila and those soldiers who were invalided, and then moved on towards the river Hydaspês—for he had learned that Pôros with the whole of his army lay on the other side of that river resolved either to prevent him from making the passage or to attack him when crossing.[95] Upon learning this Alexander sent back Koinos, the son of Polemokratês, to the river Indus with orders to cut in pieces all the boats that had been constructed for the passage of the Indus and to bring them to the river Hydaspês. In accordance with these orders the smaller boats were cut each into two sections and the thirty-oared galleys into three, and the sections were then transported on waggons to the banks of the Hydaspês. There the boats were reconstructed, and appeared as a flotilla upon that river. Alexander then taking the forces which he had with him when he arrived at Taxila and 5000 of the Indians commanded by Taxilês and the chiefs of that country advanced towards the Hydaspês.[96]

_Chapter IX.—Alexander on reaching the Hydaspês finds Pôros prepared to dispute its passage_

Alexander encamped on the banks of the river,[97] and Pôros was seen on the opposite side, with all his army and his array of elephants around him.[98] Against the place where he saw Alexander had encamped, he remained himself to guard the passage, but he sent detachments of his men, each commanded by a captain, to guard all parts of the river where it could be easily forded, as he was resolved to prevent the Macedonians from effecting a landing. When Alexander saw this, he thought it expedient to move his army from place to place, so that Pôros might be at a loss to discover his real intentions. For this purpose he divided his army into many parts, and some of the troops he led himself in different directions, sometimes to ravage the enemy’s country, and sometimes to find out where he could most easily ford the river. He placed various commanders at various times over different divisions of his army, and despatched them also in different directions. At the same time he caused provisions to be conveyed to the camp from all parts of the country on this side of the river, to impress Pôros with the conviction that he intended to remain where he was near the bank, till the waters of the river subsided in winter, and afforded him a large choice of passages. As the boats were constantly plying up and down the stream, and the skins were being filled with hay, while all the bank was lined, here with horse and there with foot, all this prevented Pôros from resting and concentrating his preparations at any one point selected in preference to any other as the best for defending the passage. At this time of the year besides, all the Indian rivers were swollen and flowing with turbid and rapid currents, for the sun is then wont to turn towards the summer tropic.[99] At this season incessant rains deluge the soil of India, and the snows of the Kaukasos then melting flood the numerous rivers to which they give birth. In winter they again subside and become small and clear, and in many places fordable, with the exception of the Indus and the Ganges, and perhaps some one or two others. The Hydaspês at all events does become fordable.

_Chapter X.—Alexander’s devices to deceive Pôros and steal the passage of the river_

Alexander therefore publicly announced that he would remain where he was throughout that season of the year if his passage was for the present to be obstructed, but he continued as before waiting in ambush to see whether he could anywhere rapidly steal a passage to the other side without being observed. He clearly saw that it was impossible for him to cross where Pôros himself had encamped near the bank of the Hydaspês, not only because he had so many elephants, but also because his large army arrayed for battle, and splendidly accoutred, was ready to attack his troops the moment they landed. He foresaw besides that his horses would refuse to mount the opposite bank, where the elephants would at once encounter them, and by their very aspect and their roaring would terrify them outright; nor did he think that even before they gained the shore they would remain upon the inflated hides during the passage; but that on seeing the elephants even at a distance off, they would become frantic and leap into the water. He resolved therefore to steal the passage, and to do this in the following way. Leading out by night the greater part of his cavalry along the river bank in different directions, he ordered them to set up a loud clamour, raise the war-shout,[100] and fill the shores with every kind of noise, as if they were really preparing to attempt the passage. Pôros marched meanwhile along the opposite bank, in the direction of the noise, having his elephants with him, and Alexander gradually accustomed him to lead out his men in this way in opposition. When this had been done repeatedly, and the men did nothing more than make a great noise and shout the war-cry, Pôros no longer made any counter-movement when the cavalry issued out from the camp, but remained within his own lines, his spies being, however, posted at numerous points along the bank. When Alexander had thus quieted the suspicions of Pôros about his nocturnal attempts, he devised the following stratagem.

_Chapter XI.—Arrangements made by Alexander for crossing the Hydaspês unobserved_

There was a bluff ascending from the bank of the Hydaspês at a point where the river made a remarkable bend, and this was densely covered with all sorts of trees. Over against it lay an island in the river overspread with jungle, an untrodden and solitary place. Perceiving that this island directly faced the bluff, and that both places were wooded and adapted to screen his attempt to cross the river, he decided to take his army over this way. Now the bluff and the island were 150 stadia distant from the great camp.[101] But along the whole of the bank he had posted running sentries[102] at a proper distance for keeping each other in sight, and readily transmitting along the line any orders that might be received from any quarter. In every direction, moreover, shouts were raised by night, and fires were burnt for many nights together. But when he had made up his mind to attempt the passage, the preparations for crossing were made in the camp without any concealment. In the camp Krateros had been left with his own division of the cavalry, and the Arakhosian and Parapamisadan horsemen, together with the brigades of the Macedonian phalanx commanded by Alketas and Polysperchon and the contingent of 5000 men under the chiefs of the hither Indians. He had ordered Krateros not to attempt to cross the river before Pôros moved off against them, or before learning that he was flying from the field, and that they were victorious. “If, however,” said he, “Pôros with one part of his army advances against me while he leaves the other part and his elephants in his camp, then please to remain where you are; but if Pôros takes all his elephants with him, and a portion of the rest of his army is left behind in the camp, then do you cross the river with all possible speed; for,” added he, “it is the elephants only which make it impossible for the horses to land on the other bank. The rest of the army can cross over without difficulty.”

_Chapter XII.—Alexander crosses the Hydaspês_

Such were the instructions given to Krateros; but half-way between the island and the main camp in which he had been left, there were posted Meleager, Attalos and Gorgias, with the mercenary cavalry and infantry, who had received orders to cross to the other side in detachments, into which their ranks were to be separated as soon as they saw the Indians fairly engaged in battle. He then selected to be taken under his own command the corps of body-guards called Companions, the regiments of cavalry under Hêphaistiôn, Perdikkas and Dêmêtrios, also the Baktrian, Sogdian, and Skythian cavalry, and the Daan horse-archers, and from the phalanx of infantry the hypaspists, the brigade of Kleitos and Koinos, and the archers and the Agrianians, and with these troops he marched with secrecy, keeping at a considerable distance from the bank that he might not be seen to be moving towards the island and the bluff, from which he intended to cross over to the other side. There in the night the skins, which had long before been provided for the purpose, were stuffed with hay, and securely stitched up. During the night a violent storm of rain came on, whereby his preparations and the attempt at crossing were not betrayed to the enemy by the rattle of arms and the shouting of orders, since the thunder and rain drowned all other sounds. Most of the boats which he had ordered to be cut into sections had been conveyed to this place, and when secretly pieced together again were hidden away in the woods along with the thirty-oared galleys. Towards daybreak the wind had died down and the rain ceased. The rest of the army then crossed over in the direction of the island, the cavalry mounted on the skin pontoon rafts, and as many of the foot-soldiers as the boats could hold embarked in them. They so proceeded, that they were not seen by the sentries posted by Pôros till they had passed beyond the island, and were not far from the bank.

_Chapter XIII.—Incidents of the passage of the river_

Alexander himself embarked on a thirty-oared galley, and went over accompanied by Ptolemy, Perdikkas, and Lysimachos, his body-guards, and by Seleukos, one of the companions, who was afterwards king, and by one half of the hypaspists, the other half being on board of the other galleys of like size. As soon as the soldiers had passed beyond the island, they steered for the bank, being now full in view of the enemy, whose sentinels on seeing their approach galloped off at the utmost speed of each man’s horse to carry the tidings to Pôros. Meanwhile Alexander was himself the first to disembark, and taking the horsemen who had been conveyed over in his own and the other thirty-oared galleys, he at once formed them into line as they kept landing, for the cavalry had orders to be the first to disembark. At the head of these duly marshalled he moved forward. Owing, however, to his ignorance of the locality he had unawares landed not on the mainland, but upon an island, the great size of which prevented it all the more from being recognised as an island. It was separated from the mainland by a branch of the river in which the water was shallow; but the violent storm of rain which had lasted the most of the night had so swollen the stream that the horsemen could not find the ford, and he feared that the latter part of the passage would be as laborious as the first. When at last the ford was found he led his men through it with difficulty; for the water where deepest reached higher than the breasts of the foot soldiers, and as for the horses their heads only were above the river. When he had crossed this piece of water also, he selected the mounted corps of body-guards, and the best men from the other squadrons of cavalry, and brought them from column into line upon the right wing.[103] Then in front of all the cavalry he posted the horse archers, and next in line to the cavalry and in front of all the infantry the royal hypaspists commanded by Seleukos. Next to these again he placed the royal foot guards, and then the other hypaspists, each in what happened to be the order of his precedence for the time being. At each extremity of the phalanx were posted the archers and the Agrianians and the javelin men.

_Chapter XIV.—Skirmish with the son of Pôros at the landing-place_

Alexander having made these dispositions, ordered the infantry, which numbered nearly 6000 men, to follow him at the ordinary marching pace and in regular order, for when he saw that he was superior in cavalry, he took with himself only the horsemen, about 5000 in number, and led them forward at a rapid pace. Taurôn, the captain of the archers, he ordered to hasten forward with his men to give support to the cavalry. He had come to the conclusion that if Pôros engaged him with all his troops he would either, without difficulty, overpower him by charging with his cavalry, or would remain on the defensive till the infantry came up during the action, or that if the Indians, terrified by the marvellous audacity of his passage of the river, should take to flight, he would be able to pursue them closely, and the slaughter being thus all the greater there would not be left much more work for him to do.

Aristoboulos says that the son of Pôros arrived with about 60 chariots before Alexander made the final passage from the large island, and that he could have hindered Alexander from landing (for he made the passage with difficulty even when no one opposed him), if the Indians had but leaped down from their chariots and fallen upon those who first stepped on shore. The prince, however, passed by with his chariots, and allowed Alexander to accomplish the passage in complete safety. Against these Indians Alexander, he says, despatched his horse archers, who easily put them to a rout which was by no means bloodless. Other writers say that while the troops were landing an encounter took place between the Indians who had come with the son of Pôros and Alexander at the head of his cavalry, and that as the son of Pôros had come with a superior force Alexander himself was wounded by the Indian prince, and that his favourite horse Boukephalas was killed, having been wounded, like his master, by the son of Pôros. But Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, with whom I agree, gives a different account, for he states, like the others, that Pôros sent off his son, but not in command of merely 60 chariots; and indeed it is not at all likely that Pôros, on learning from the scouts that either Alexander himself, or, at all events, a part of his army, had made the passage of the Hydaspês, would have sent his own son with no more than 60 chariots, which, considered as a reconnoitring party, would have been too numerous, and not rapid in retreat, but considered as meant to repel such of the enemy as had not yet crossed the river, and to attack those who had already landed, an altogether inadequate force. He says that the son of Pôros arrived at the head of 2000 men and 120 chariots, and that Alexander had made even the final passage from the island before the prince appeared upon the scene.

_Chapter XV.—The arrangements made by Pôros for the conflict_

Ptolemy states further that Alexander at first despatched against the prince the horse archers, and led the cavalry himself, under the belief that Pôros was advancing against him with the whole of his army, and that this was a body of advanced cavalry thrown forward by Pôros. But when he discovered what the real strength of the Indians was he then briskly charged them with what cavalry he had with him. When they noticed that Alexander himself and his body of cavalry did not charge them in an extended line, but by squadrons, their ranks gave way, and 400 of their horsemen fell, and among them the son of Pôros. Their chariots, moreover, were captured, horses and all, for they proved heavy in the retreat and useless in the action itself, by having stuck fast in the clay. When the horsemen who had escaped from this rout reported one after another to Pôros that Alexander himself had crossed the river with the strongest division of his army, and that his son had been slain in the fight, he was still at a loss what to determine, for the division which had been left with Krateros in the great camp right opposite to his own position appeared to be undertaking the passage, but he at last decided to march with all his forces against Alexander and fight it out with the strongest division of the Macedonians led by the king in person. He nevertheless left there in his camp a few of the elephants and a small force to deter the cavalry under the command of Krateros from landing. He then took all his cavalry, 4000 strong, all his chariots, 300 in number, 200 of his elephants, and 30,000 efficient infantry, and marched against Alexander. When he found a place where he saw there was no clay, but that the ground from its sandy nature was all flat and firm, and suited for the movements of cavalry whether charging or falling back, he then drew up his army in order of battle,[104] posting his elephants in the front line at intervals of at least 100 feet, so as to have his elephants ranged in front before the whole body of his infantry, and so to spread terror at all points among Alexander’s cavalry. He took it for certain besides that none of the enemy would have the audacity to push in at the intervals between the elephants—not the cavalry, since their horses would be terrified by these animals, and much less the infantry, since they would be checked in front by his heavy-armed foot soldiers falling upon them, and trampled down when the elephants wheeled round upon them. Behind these he drew up his infantry, which did not close up in one line with the elephants, but formed a second line in their rear, so that the regiments were only partly pushed forward into the intervals. He had also troops of infantry posted on the wings beyond the elephants, and on both sides of the infantry the cavalry had been drawn up, and in front of it the chariots.

_Chapter XVI.—The plan of attack adopted by Alexander_

In this manner had Pôros arranged his troops. As soon as Alexander perceived that the Indians had been drawn up in battle order he made his cavalry halt, that he might get in hand each regiment of the infantry as it came up; and even when the phalanx by a rapid march had effected a junction with the cavalry he still did not at once marshal its ranks and lead it into action, and thus expose the men, while tired and out of breath, to the barbarians, who were quite fresh, but he gave them time, while he rode round their ranks, to rest until they could recover themselves. When he had observed how the Indians were arranged he made up his mind not to advance against the centre, in front of which the elephants had been posted, while the intervals between them had been filled with compact masses of infantry, for he feared lest Pôros should reap the advantage which he had calculated on deriving from that arrangement. But as he was superior in cavalry he took the greater part of that force, and marched along towards the left wing of the enemy to make his attack in this quarter.[105] Koinos he sent at the head of his own regiment of horse and that of Dêmêtrios to the right, and ordered him, when the barbarians on seeing what a dense mass of cavalry was opposed to them, should be riding along to encounter it, to hang close upon their rear.[106] The command of the phalanx of infantry he committed to Seleukos, Antigenês, and Taurôn, who received orders not to take part in the action till they saw that the phalanx of infantry and the cavalry of the enemy were thrown into disorder by the cavalry under his own command.

When the Indians were now within reach of his missiles he despatched against their left wing the horse archers, who were 1000 strong, to throw the enemy in that part of the field into confusion with storms of arrows and charges of their horses. He marched rapidly forward himself with the companion cavalry against the left wing of the barbarians, making haste to attack their cavalry in a state of disorder while they were still in column, and before they could deploy into line.

_Chapter XVII.—Description of the battle of the Hydaspês—Defeat of Pôros_

The Indians meanwhile had collected their horsemen from every quarter, and were riding forward to repulse Alexander’s onset, when Koinos, in accordance with his orders, appeared with his cavalry upon their rear. Seeing this the Indians had to make their cavalry face both to front and rear—the largest and best part to oppose Alexander, and the remainder to wheel round against Koinos and his squadrons. This therefore at once threw their ranks into confusion, and disconcerted their plan of operations; and Alexander, seeing that now was his opportunity while their cavalry was in the very act of forming to front and rear, fell upon those opposed to him with such vigour that the Indians, unable to withstand the charge of his cavalry, broke from their ranks, and fled for shelter to the elephants as to a friendly wall.[107] Upon this the drivers of the elephants urged these animals forward against the cavalry; but the Macedonian phalanx itself now met them face to face, and threw darts at the men on the elephants, and from one side and the other struck the elephants themselves as they stood around them. This kind of warfare was different from any of which they had experience in former contests, for the huge beasts charged the ranks of the infantry, and wherever they turned went crushing through the Macedonian phalanx though in close formation; while the horsemen of the Indians, on seeing that the infantry was now engaged in the action, again wheeled round and charged the cavalry. But Alexander’s men, being far superior in personal strength and military discipline, again routed them, and again drove them back upon the elephants, and cooped them up among them. Meanwhile the whole of Alexander’s cavalry had now been gathered into one battalion, not in consequence of an order, but from being thrown together in the course of the struggle, and wherever they fell upon the ranks of the Indians they made great carnage before parting from them. The elephants being now cooped up within a narrow space, did no less damage to their friends than to their foes, trampling them under their hoofs as they wheeled and pushed about. There resulted in consequence a great slaughter of the cavalry, cooped up as it was in a narrow space around the elephants. Many of the elephant drivers, moreover, had been shot down, and of the elephants themselves some had been wounded, while others, both from exhaustion and the loss of their mahouts, no longer kept to their own side in the conflict, but, as if driven frantic by their sufferings, attacked friend and foe quite indiscriminately, pushed them, trampled them down, and killed them in all manner of ways. But the Macedonians, who had a wide and open field, and could therefore operate as they thought best, gave way when the elephants charged, and when they retreated followed at their heels and plied them with darts; whereas the Indians, who were in the midst of the animals, suffered far more the effects of their rage. When the elephants, however, became quite exhausted, and their attacks were no longer made with vigour, they fell back like ships backing water, and merely kept trumpeting as they retreated with their faces to the enemy. Then did Alexander surround with his cavalry the whole of the enemy’s line, and signal that the infantry, with their shields linked together so as to give the utmost compactness to their ranks, should advance in phalanx. By this means the cavalry of the Indians was, with a few exceptions, cut to pieces in the action. Such also was the fate of the infantry, since the Macedonians were now pressing upon them from every side. Upon this all turned to flight wherever a gap could be found in the cordon of Alexander’s cavalry.

_Chapter XVIII.—Sequel of the battle and surrender of Pôros_

Meanwhile Krateros and all the other officers of Alexander’s army, who had been left behind on the opposite bank of the Hydaspês, crossed the river when they perceived that Alexander was winning a splendid victory. These men, being fresh, were employed in the pursuit, instead of Alexander’s exhausted troops, and they made no less a slaughter of the Indians in the retreat than had been made in the engagement.

The loss of the Indians in killed fell little short of 20,000 infantry and 3000 cavalry, and all their chariots were broken to pieces.[108] Two sons of Pôros fell in the battle, and also Spitakês,[109] the chief of the Indians of that district. The drivers of the elephants and of the chariots were also slain and the cavalry officers and the generals in the army of Pôros all....[110] The elephants, moreover, that escaped destruction in the field were all captured. On Alexander’s side there fell about 80 of the 6000 infantry who had taken part in the first attack, 10 of the horse archers who first began the action, 20 of the companion cavalry, and 200 of the other cavalry.[111]

When Pôros, who had nobly discharged his duties throughout the battle, performing the part not only of a general, but also that of a gallant soldier, saw the slaughter of his cavalry and some of his elephants lying dead, and others wandering about sad and sullen without their drivers, while the greater part of his infantry had been killed, he did not, after the manner of Darius, the great king, abandon the field and show his men the first example of flight, but, on the contrary, fought on as long as he saw any Indians maintaining the contest in a united body; but he wheeled round on being wounded in the right shoulder, where only he was unprotected by armour in the battle. All the rest of his person was rendered shot-proof by his coat of mail, which was remarkable for its strength and the closeness with which it fitted his person, as could afterwards be observed by those who saw him. When he found himself wounded he turned his elephant round and began to retire. Alexander, perceiving that he was a great man and valiant in fight, was anxious to save his life, and for this purpose sent to him first of all Taxilês the Indian. Taxilês, who was on horseback, approached as near the elephant which carried Pôros as seemed safe, and entreated him, since it was no longer possible for him to flee, to stop his elephant and listen to the message he brought from Alexander. But Pôros, on finding that the speaker was his old enemy Taxilês, turned round and prepared to smite him with his javelin; and he would probably have killed him had not Taxilês instantly put his horse to the gallop and got beyond the reach of Pôros. But not even for this act did Alexander feel any resentment against Pôros, but sent to him messenger after messenger, and last of all Meroês, an Indian, as he had learned that Pôros and this Meroês were old friends. As soon as Pôros heard the message which Meroês now brought just at a time when he was overpowered by thirst, he made his elephant halt and dismounted. Then, when he had taken a draught of water and felt revived, he requested Meroês to conduct him without delay to Alexander.[112]

_Chapter XIX.—Alexander makes Pôros his firm friend and ally—Founds two cities—Death of his famous horse Boukephalas_

He was then conducted to Alexander, who, on learning that Meroês was approaching with him, rode forward in front of his line with a few of the Companions to meet him. Then reining in his horse he beheld with admiration the handsome person and majestic stature of Pôros, which somewhat exceeded five cubits. He saw, too, with wonder that he did not seem to be broken and abased in spirit, but that he advanced to meet him as a brave man would meet another brave man after gallantly contending with another king in defence of his kingdom. Then Alexander, who was the first to speak, requested Pôros to say how he wished to be treated. The report goes that Pôros said in reply, “Treat me, O Alexander! as befits a king;” and that Alexander, being pleased with his answer, replied, “For mine own sake, O Pôros! thou shalt be so treated, but do thou, in thine own behalf, ask for whatever boon thou pleasest,” to which Pôros replied that in what he had asked everything was included. Alexander was more delighted than ever with this rejoinder, and not only appointed Pôros to govern his own Indians, but added to his original territory another of still greater extent. Alexander thus treated this brave man as befitted a king, and he consequently found him in all respects faithful and devoted to his interests. Such, then, was the result of the battle in which Alexander fought against Pôros[113] and the Indians of the other side of the Hydaspês in the month of Mounychion of the year when Hêgemôn was archon in Athens.[114]

Alexander founded two cities, one on the battlefield, and the other at the point whence he had started to cross the river Hydaspês. The former he called Nikaia in honour of his victory over the Indians, and the other Boukephala[115] in memory of his horse Boukephalas, which died there, not from being wounded by any one, but from toil and old age, for he was about thirty years old,[116] and had heretofore undergone many toils and dangers along with Alexander. This Boukephalas was never mounted by any one except Alexander only, for he disdained all other riders. He was of an uncommon size and of generous mettle. He had by way of a distinguishing mark the head of an ox impressed upon him, and some say that from this circumstance he got his name. But others say that though he was black, he had on his forehead a white mark which bore a close resemblance to the brow of an ox. In the country of the Ouxians this horse disappeared from Alexander, who sent a proclamation through the land that he would kill all the Ouxians if they did not bring him his horse, and brought back he was immediately after the proclamation had been issued[117]—so great was Alexander’s attachment to his favourite, and so great was the fear of Alexander which prevailed among the barbarians. Let so much honour be paid by me to this Boukephalas for Alexander’s sake.

_Chapter XX.—Alexander conquers the Glausai, receives embassies from Abisarês and other chiefs, and crosses the Akesinês_

When Alexander had duly honoured with splendid obsequies those who had been slain in the battle, he offered to the gods in acknowledgment of his victory the customary sacrifices, and celebrated athletic and equestrian contests on the bank of the river Hydaspês, at the place where he first crossed with his army. He then left Krateros behind with a part of the army to build and fortify the cities which he was founding there, while he advanced himself against the Indians whose country lay next to the dominions of Pôros. Aristoboulos says that the name of the nation was the Glaukanikoi, but Ptolemy calls them the Glausai.[118] By which of the names it was called I take to be a matter of no consequence. Alexander invaded their country with the half of the companion cavalry, picked men from each phalanx of the infantry, all the horse-archers, the Agrianians, and the other archers. The people everywhere surrendered on terms of capitulation. In this manner he took seven-and-thirty cities, the smallest of which contained not fewer than 5000 inhabitants, while many contained upwards of 10,000. He took also a great many villages which were not less populous than the towns; and this country he gave to Pôros to rule,[119] and between him and Taxilês he effected a reconciliation. He then sent Taxilês home to his capital.

At this time envoys came from Abisarês to say that their king surrendered himself and his whole realm to Alexander.[120] Yet before the battle in which Alexander had defeated Pôros, Abisarês was ready with his army to fight on the side of Pôros. But he now sent his brother along with the other envoys to Alexander, taking with them money and forty elephants as a present. Envoys also arrived from the independent Indians, and from another Indian ruler called Pôros.[121] Alexander ordered Abisarês to come to him as quickly as possible, threatening that if he did not come he would see him and his army arriving where he would not rejoice to see them.

At this time Phratophernes, the satrap of Parthia and Hyrkania, at the head of the Thracians who had been left with him came to Alexander. There came also envoys from Sisikottos, the satrap of the Assakênians, reporting that these people had slain their governor and revolted from Alexander. Against these he sent Philippos and Tyriaspês to quell the insurrection and restore tranquillity and order to the province.

Alexander himself advanced towards the river Akesinês.[122] This is the only Indian river of which Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, has mentioned the size. He states that where Alexander crossed it with his army in boats and on inflated hides the current was so rapid that the waters dashed with foam and fury against the large and jagged rocks with which the channel was bestrewn. He informs us also that it was 15 stadia in breadth; and while the passage was easy for those who crossed upon inflated hides, not a few of those who were carried in boats perished in the waters, as many of the boats were dashed to pieces by striking against the rocks. From this description we may fairly conclude, if we institute a comparison, that the size of the river Indus has been pretty correctly stated by those who take it to have an average breadth of 40 stadia, while, where narrowest and of course deepest, it contracts to a breadth of 15 stadia, which I take to be its actual breadth in many parts of its course, for I conclude that Alexander selected a part of the Akesinês where the passage was widest, and where the current would consequently be slower than elsewhere.

_Chapter XXI.—Pursuit after Pôros, nephew of the great Pôros—Conquest of the country between the Akesinês and the Hydraôtês—Passage of the latter river_

After crossing the river he left Koinos there upon the bank with his own brigade, and ordered him to superintend the passage of the river by those troops which had been left behind to collect corn and other supplies from the part of India which was now under his authority. Pôros he sent home to his capital with orders to select the best fighting men of the Indians, and to muster all the elephants he possessed, and to rejoin him with these. He resolved to pursue in person the other Pôros—the bad one—with the lightest troops in his army, for word had been brought that he had fled from the country of which he was the ruler; for, while hostilities still subsisted between Alexander and the other Pôros, this Pôros had sent envoys to Alexander offering to surrender into his hands both his person and the country over which he ruled, but this more from enmity to Pôros than friendliness to Alexander. On learning therefore that Pôros had not only been set at liberty, but had his kingdom restored to him, and that too with a large accession of territory, he was overcome with fear, not so much of Alexander as of his namesake Pôros, and fled from his country, taking with him as many fighting men as he could persuade to accompany him in his flight.

Alexander, while marching to overtake him, arrived at the Hydraôtês—another Indian river, not less in breadth than the Akesinês, but not so rapid.[123] Over all the country which he overran he planted garrisons in the most suitable places, so that the troops under Krateros and Koinos might, while scouring it far and near for forage, traverse it in safety to join him. He then despatched Hêphaistiôn with a force comprising two divisions of infantry, his own regiment of cavalry and that of Dêmêtrios, and one-half of the archers, into the country of that Pôros who had revolted. He received orders to hand over the country to the other Pôros, and when he had reduced all the independent Indian tribes bordering on the banks of the Hydraôtês, to place these also under the rule of Pôros. He himself then crossed the river Hydraôtês, where he met with none of the difficulties which had attended the passage of the Akesinês. When he was advancing into the country beyond the Hydraôtês he found most of the natives willing to surrender on capitulation, while some met him in arms, and others were captured when attempting to escape and reduced to submission.

_Chapter XXII.—Alexander marches against the Kathaians—Takes Pimprama, and lays siege to Sangala_

Alexander meanwhile had learned that the Kathaians[124] and other tribes of independent Indians[125] were preparing to meet him in battle if he invaded their country, and were inviting the neighbouring tribes, which were independent like themselves, to coöperate with them. He learned also that the city near which they meant to engage him was strongly fortified, and was called Sangala.[126] The Kathaians themselves enjoyed the highest reputation for courage and skill in the art of war, and the same warlike spirit characterised the Oxydrakai, another Indian race, and the Malloi, who were also an Indian race, for when shortly before this time Pôros and Abisarês had marched against them with their armies, and had besides stirred up many of the independent Indians against them, they were obliged, as it turned out, to retreat without accomplishing anything at all adequate to the scale of their preparations.

Alexander, on receiving this intelligence, marched rapidly against the Kathaians, and on the second day after he had left the river Hydraôtês arrived at a city named Pimprama, belonging to an Indian race called the Adraïstai,[127] which surrendered on terms of capitulation. Alexander gave his troops rest the next day, and on the third day advanced to Sangala, where the Kathaians and the neighbouring tribes that had joined them were mustered before the city, and drawn up in battle-order on a low hill, which was not on all sides precipitous. They lay encamped behind their waggons, which, by encircling the hill in three rows, protected the camp with a triple barricade. Alexander, on perceiving the great number of the barbarians, and the nature of the position they occupied, drew up his army in the order which seemed best suited to the circumstances, and at once despatched against them the horse-archers just as they were, with orders to ride along and shoot at the Indians from a distance, so as not only to prevent them from making a sortie before his own dispositions should be completed, but to wound them within their stronghold even before the battle began. Upon his right wing he posted the corps of horseguards and the cavalry regiment of Kleitos, next to these the hypaspists, and then the Agrianians. The left wing he assigned to Perdikkas, who commanded his own cavalry regiment and the battalions of the footguards. The archers he formed into two bodies, and placed them upon each wing. While he was making these dispositions the infantry and cavalry which formed the rearguard arrived upon the field. This cavalry he divided in two parts, and led one to each wing, and with the infantry that had arrived he closed up the ranks of the phalanx more densely. Then he took the cavalry which had been drawn up on the right and advanced against the waggons ranged on the left wing of the Indians, where the position seemed easier to assault, and where the waggons were not so closely packed together.

_Chapter XXIII.—Alexander drives the Kathaians into Sangala, which he invests on every side_