Alexander the Great in India

By Amal HEWAVISSENTI

Alexander of Macedonia was an ardent disciple of Aristotle, a major intellectual figure in Greece during 4th century BC. He had included, in his arduous expeditions to conquer foreign territories, historians and scholars to record his discoveries.

His mission was to incorporate east and west. He is by no means in the mould of 'Tamorlain' or 'Nadirsha' who were unscrupulous invaders intent only on plundering and killing.

He established a series of well fortified citadels and centers of communication on his way to conquer India.

Alexander considered the Indus river as a military and commercial route to India. Had he lived up to see the final stages of his invasion of India, he would doubtless have turned Punjab a second Alexandria.

Alexander and his army had a totally vague picture of the shape and size of India.

Their notion of the country was that it (India) was the last country in the east with the ocean as the boundary. For them, 'India' was a paradise country which was teeming with fabulous people, animals and vegetation.

The story of Alexander's invasion has been notably embellished and sometimes exaggerated by Greek writers who created puzzles in their records as they were completely unfamiliar with 'proper nouns' in India. V. A. Smith, a reputed historian says "Alexander's battles with native Indians or his invasion had so poor an impact on contemporary Indian mind that nothing worthy of notice has been mentioned in ancient Indian literature.

Power

In 336 BC, Alexander the Great rose to power in Macedonia - Greece and invaded Persia in his imperial expansion. In a series of battles within four years, the emperor vanquished Darius Codomannus of Persia and brought Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt and Babylon under his rule.Merderous 'Bessos' who had killed King Darius of Persia fled to Bactria (Bhalk) and assumed the title "King of Kings."

Alexander, who was by now hunting 'Bessos', effortlessly captured Drangiana and made it a part of his empire. Alexander encountered a small Persian army with a team of Indian militants and 15 tuskers.

He destroyed the whole army and captured Bessos on the banks of the river 'oxus'. Subsequently Alexander and his army crossed the Hindukush range and established his power in the district of Kabul after a deadly battle. He established a fully fortified fortress and a City here called 'Alexandria of Cocassus' in 329 BC.

Military

Basing all his military capacity on the fortress, Alexander and his men launched a huge attack on 'Bhalk' and 'Bukhara' and entered the two countries against much impaired resistance from the people. Here, the conqueror was astounded to observe the Iranians' practice of throwing dead bodies of men for dogs and vultures to eat.

In May 327 BC, Alexander and his army crossed 13,000 feet precipice called 'Khavak' and came to Afghanistan where they constructed a safe citadel in 'Jalalabad.' Further on the path of conquest, Alexander's army engaged in fierce battles with tribals in the districts of 'Malakanda' and 'Zwaat' and destroyed enemy citadels on the supposedly unreachable rocky mountains.

In an attempt to capture a fortress, Alexander was seriously injured. Intensely provoked by this, his army indiscriminately killed the people and levelled a destructive attack on the citadel 7,000 feet up the rock above the confluence of Kabul - Indus rivers.

The rock citadel was originally thought to be indestructible.

Yet, the Greek soldiers gradually filled the deep and wide moat around the castle with earth and drained water out of it.

Thakshila

Though the protectors of the castle attempted to escape under cover of darkness, Alexander's soldiers captured each and killed them.

Alexander and his army descended into the Kabul valley and crossed Indus river by means of an improvised bridge in 326 BC.

As he entered the city of Takshila, King Ambhi and people surrendered to him without any sign of protest or hostility.

Ambhi, the ruler of Takshila decided to support Alexander and defeat his enemy ruler Porus who was ruling the territory around Jhelam and Chenab rivers.

Alexander came to Thakshila the Kingdom of Gandhara. The famous university of Thakshila in the city, educated young men of highest social classes.

The young men learnt vedas, astrology and literature and the records made by Greek historians prove the level of splendour that reigned supreme in the university.

The city of Thakshila stood on a fertile plain and was the centre of commercial transaction and travellers who came from all over the continent. Here Alexander and the other Greeks were greatly astonished by the 'strange' customs and lifestyle of Indian people.

The Greeks saw how women willingly jumped into the funeral pile of their husbands. They saw the city of Thakshila as the centre for people of many ethnic groups.

The Greeks were especially impressed by the sight of naked ascetics who were practising harsh meditation styles.

Indian families by this time were characterised by polyandry and young women without adequate dowry were on sale at "Marriage markets".

The people at any time were prepared to assemble at the sounds of blowing of conches or drummings.

Porus - honourable

Ambhi, the ruler of Thakshila made every possible effort to please Alexander and his people and held a massive carnival filled with banquets, sports, animal sacrifices and all other festivities to celebrate the crossing of Indus river. Ambhi capitalised on the opportunity to bring havoc on his rival, Porus.

As Alexander proceeded to the Jhelam river, Porus confronted him with a strong army composed of tuskers and horses (July 326 BC).

As there were torrential rains, the river was flooding and King Porus was blocking Alexander's progress with a massive army. Tactfully, Alexander diverted the attention of the enemy ruler and his army and crossed the river at a point about 20 miles off where Porus and his army stood expecting Alexander's advance.

Alexander implemented this plan in a dark stormy night.

Crossing

When the Indian army under Porus received the news of Alexander's crossing of the river, they were commanded to attack the Greek army.

The Indian army sank in the mud in Jhelam river and came to a bitter failure.

The Indian archers were out of operation as their bows and arrows were heavily soaked in water.

However, Porus on a tusker was finally captured by Alexander's men and brought before him. Alexander was impressed by the courage and bravery displayed by Porus in his bitter fight with the Greek army. Alexander asked,

"How should I treat you?"

"Just as a King should be...!" Porus answered. Alexander gave his kingdom back to him and made him a viceroy.

Later Alexander's soldiers who were heavily battered by the increasing chill of rocky passes and storms, revolted against him.

Thus Alexander had to stop his conquest of India and return to Greece.

He died in June 323 BC in Baghdad at the age of 33.