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.
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