It's
May of the year 326 BC. The unbeaten Macedonian army invades the Punjab region
of the Indian subcontinent. Despite the pouring rain, the insatiable Alexander,
King of Macedon, Asia, and Persia stands on the western bank of the Hydaspes River,
considering how to overcome the next daunting challenge waiting for him on the
other side of the river. His last great battle, against a formidable Indian
King and his vast army are just about to happen.
It's
spring of the year 330 BC. With the troublesome crossing of the Zagros
Mountains behind, the Macedonian army reaches its final destination – the city
of Persepolis. Alexander quickly discovered, that a good part of the royal
treasury had been moved to Ecbatana in Media, where defeated king Darius
struggled to form yet another army. The Macedonian king had taken the majority
of the most important Achaemenes cities and decided to celebrate the Persian
New Year in the just captured capital.
He
requested local aristocracy to pledge allegiance to his rule, but only a few
nobles together with freshly appointed satraps attended the festivities. It
became obvious, that despite naming himself King of Asia, Alexander's claim to
the Persian throne needed to be beyond reproach. The only way to do that was
by killing Darius, who still formally remained, King of Persia. Prior to his
departure for Ecbatana, Alexander burned and looted Persepolis, wanting to
avenge the Persian capture of Athens 150 years earlier.
The pursuit had begun. The Macedonians arrived at Ecbatana in June, only to learn
that Darius was no longer there. The Persian King was well informed regarding
his enemy’s movement and left the city some days earlier, marching north-east
with his treasuries and followers, hoping to reach the yet unconquered
easternmost part of the empire. Still, there were subjects willing to obey
royal authority, but upon learning of the Macedonian chase, Darius' ranks began
to thin out due to desertions.
Eventually
he was arrested by his courtier’s lead by Bessus, satrap of Bactria, who hoped
that handing the Persian king over to the Macedonians would avert the conquest
of their eastern provinces. Yet Alexander turned down the disloyal satraps’
offer. It was probably a better choice regarding his claim to the Persian
throne, as Bessus then killed Darius. While Darius was buried in Persepolis
with all due honors, Bessus crowned himself as the new Persian King under the
name Artaxerxes.
He
expected the Macedonians to finally return to Europe, just like other
reasonable invaders would do, but it wasn't the case for Alexander. Another
extraordinary campaign began and in the matter of one year, Alexander crossed
and subjugated the vast plains of Central Asia. Around that time, the first
serious fractures started to appear in the Macedonian war machine. After the
conquest of Persepolis and the death of Darius, many regular soldiers expected
Alexander to return home, as five long years had passed since they crossed the
Hellespont to fight the Persians.
Moreover,
it looked like their beloved King had changed. He often demanded godlike
treatment, took over many of the Persian customs, and surrounded himself with
Persian advisors. He also became gradually more suspicious. When a plot against
his life was discovered, he put one of his commanders Philotas on trial and had
him killed, despite the lack of sufficient evidence. It was a troublesome deed,
as Philotas was the firstborn son of Parmenion, Alexander's trusted general and
second-in-command.
The
execution of the son meant that the father must die too. Alexander hastily sent
couriers back west with clear orders. Death met the old general in Ecbatana,
where he guarded the royal treasury and supervised reinforcements. Parmenion
remained loyal to the last. In the meantime, Alexander's troops were about to
cross the Hindu Kush range, one of the last obstacles on their way to attack
Because of the domain.
It
was late winter, and Bessus didn't believe that Alexander would risk marching
through the snowy mountain passes, yet it soon became clear that he once again
underestimated the Macedonian King. Alexander managed to cross the mountains
unopposed with minor losses to manpower and completely surprised Bessus. Soon,
the Macedonians acquired Bactria, forcing the usurper to flee north of the
River Oxus.
But
nothing could stop Alexander. Despite Persian efforts to disrupt his progress,
he marched through the desert, crossed the river, and directly confronted
Bessus’ force. Finally, the usurper was imprisoned by his own men fearing the
rage of the Macedonian King, and was handed over to Alexander. He was then
tortured and crucified. Now, Alexander could crown himself as the unopposed
king of Persia.
He
spent over a year quelling the unrests in his newly conquered lands. To calm
the tribes inhabiting the eastern satrapies, Alexander married Bactrian
princess, Roxana. With the northeast border secured, he turned his eyes on to
populous and fertile lands of the Indian subcontinent. Probably the primary
motivation for the new Indian campaign was Alexander's impertinence and
uncontrollable desire for conquest, as the possible gains were dubious and the
risk of failure was significant.
Regardless,
the Macedonian armies entered Punjab in late 327 BC, and soon reached the lands
inhabited by the Taxila people. Alexander was greeted by their king and soon
expected all neighboring states to pledge allegiance to the new Macedonian
overlord. Indeed, many local rulers bent their knees to the exotic invaders. But
there was one chieftain on the other side of the Hydaspes River, who refused to
surrender.
King
Porus of the Pauravians was a noble and courageous leader with a significant
army and solid border in the form of a wide river. Of course, his refusal was
totally unacceptable to Alexander, and soon the Macedonian troops reached the
western bank of the Hydaspes. King Porus was already there, guarding the
possible crossing. It was May, and he could easily stall for time. Melting snow
in the Himalayas together with upcoming monsoon rains could render the river
almost impassable for many months.
Alexander
knew this too, and tried to act as quickly as possible. Closer examination of
the river convinced him, that a direct crossing with the enemy guarding the
other side was an easy way to lose his army. Another solution had to be found.
Porus' troops patiently shadowed the Macedonian movements, who sought an
opportunity to cross the river. In fact, this was just a feint to let the
Indian guard down.
Upon
finding a suitable ford 30 kilometers upstream, he gathered his best units and
during the stormy night transported them across the river. Porus couldn't
believe the rumors about the Macedonian crossing and sent a 2,000 strong
mounted detachment under his son to investigate. Young Porus encountered
Alexander completed the crossing and decided to repel them immediately.
Yet
his brave charge was easily stopped by the Greeks, who after a short skirmish
routed the Indian patrol. The young prince didn't survive the fight. Though he
failed to stop the crossing, Porus at least learned that the enemy was now on
the same side of the river, and began deploying his troops. The Macedonian army
was considerably larger, yet the majority of the troops were still on the west
bank of Hydaspes, thus Alexander's detachments that crossed the river were
heavily outnumbered by the Indian army.
Though
their numerical advantage was partially diminished by the superior Macedonian
training, discipline and experience. Yet the Indians employed more than 100
formidable war elephants, which posed a serious threat to the Macedonian units,
as it was the first time they had to face such an extraordinary enemy on the
battlefield. The battle started with the attack of Scythian hired horse
archers, who tried to harass the elephants.
Shortly,
Companion cavalry lead by Alexander struck the Indian left flank. He tried to
avoid the enemy's elephants, as Macedonian horses were not trained to fight
such a threat. They feared these big animals and often refused to cooperate. The
sarissa phalanx reached the Indian line in the center and engaged the elephant
units. Although their sarissa spears were lengthened in order to fight
elephants prior to the battle, they still had a tough time engaging them.
War
elephant units even managed to temporarily penetrate the Macedonian line here
and there. King Porus saw that his left flank was clearly losing, so he sent
chariots and cavalry from the right to aid the collapsing left. This was a
clear signal for Coenus, commander of the remaining cavalry units. He quickly
moved his mounted troops and rushed through the Indian right flank, encircled
them, and attacked the left flank from the rear.
Some
of the elephant drivers in the center were killed, and the panicked animals
fled, trampling their own infantry. Seeing that the enemy was slowly gaining an
upper hand in the center and especially on the left flank, a couple of infantry
units started to waver and flee the battlefield. But they quickly realized that leftover Macedonian troops under Craterus had crossed the river and
attacked the running Indians.
Just
after slaughtering the fleeing units, Craterus moved forward and engaged the
Indian rear. King Porus, still fighting on his elephant, was aware that he had
lost the battle, yet refused to surrender. Finally, he was captured, and the
remaining part of his army avoided slaughter. The casualties on the Indian side
were significant, almost their entire cavalry and a good part of their infantry
were killed, while the Macedonians lost around 1,000 soldiers, mostly in the center.
King
Porus, who was a humongous warrior over 7 feet tall, was asked by Alexander how
he wished to be treated. He replied: „Treat me like a king would treat another
king”. Alexander was impressed by Porus' attitude and appointed him as the new
satrap of Punjab. Although the Battle of Hydaspes River was the last major
battle of the Macedonian king fought against a capable opponent, his story is
yet to be concluded.
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Abdul Aziz (رحمة الله عليه)
Muhammad bin Qasim
EastIndia Company
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did Hitler rise to power?
