Invasion of India (327-325 BC)
Darius-I had been able to annex part of India; but for a long time the southeast frontier of the Persian Empire had been at the Hindu Kush; the valley of the Ganges, separated from that of the Indus River by the Thar (=Great Indian) Desert, had been practically unknown. Alexander’s campaign opened a new age for the knowledge of the country.
The Indus River originates in the Tibetan Plateau then flows in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh. All of Pakistan’s major rivers are tributaries of the Indus. On its left (east) bank is the main tributary the Panjnad (‘five rivers’), which is formed by the southwards confluence of the five rivers of the upper basin (=Punjab; Gr: Pentapotamia), namely Chenab (Gr: Acesines), Sutlej (Gr: Zaradros, Jhelum (Gr: Hydaspes), Ravi (Gr: Hydraotes), Beas (Gr: Hyphasis); further north on its west (right) bank is the tributary the Kabul (Gr: Cophen).
• Cophen Campaign (327- 326 BC): Aornos
Early in 327 BC Alexander invited all the chieftains of Gandhara (northwest Pakistan) to come to him and submit to his authority. Ambhi (=Omphis=Taxiles), ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Hydaspes, complied, but the chieftains of some of the hill clans refused to submit.
Leaving a sizable force in Bactria, Alexander recrossed the Hindu Kush and descended to the Kabul River. Dividing his army into two columns he sent Hephaestion and Perdiccas with Ambhi through the Khyber Pass along the southern bank to secure a crossing over the Indus and await his arrival, while Alexander took the other half of the army up the Choaspes (=Kunar) River to pacify the region north of Kabul.
The southern army went through the Khyber Pass but halted in the region of Peshawar to besiege Pushkalavati (=Charsadda), the capital of western Gandhara. The siege lasted thirty days; Astes, the ruler of the region was killed, and Hephaestion’s army marched on to the Indus.
Alexander crossed the Kunar Valley into the Bajaur region of Greater Gandhara. He captured Arigaeum without a battle as the Assacenian (=Asvakan) tribes fled when he approached the town. After crossing the Guraios (=Panjkora) River, he captured Massaga (=Chakdara), the capital of the Assacenians in southern Dir. He then laid siege to two fortresses of Bazira and Ora in the Lower Swat region. Ora was captured on Alexander’s first assault on its walls: when the men of Bazira heard the news they fled to the Rock of Aornos.
It was said that the rock could not be taken. At the north side leading to the fort, Alexander constructed an earthwork mound to bridge the ravine. At the end of the third day, a hill connected to the nearest tip of Aornos was taken. The Macedonians hauled themselves up the last rockface on ropes and captured the fortress.
• Indus Expedition (326-325 BC): Hydaspes, Mallian Campaign
Alexander arrived with his army at Hund, on the right (west) bank of the Indus, where Hephaestion had already built the bridge of boats across the river. After resting in Taxila for two weeks, Alexander in preparation for a battle with the two local rulers Abisares (d.325 BC) and Porus (r.340-317 BC) beyond the Jhelum, ordered Coenus to go back to the Indus and bring up the boats used to construct the bridge there. Abisares in fact chose not to join with Porus; he instead made a submission to Alexander and awaited the outcome of events.
When Alexander arrived at the Hydaspes (=Jhelum), he found that Porus, who ruled the region between the Hydaspes and the Acesines (=Chenab), was on the opposite bank with his army and his troop of elephants, and had posted guards at all other points where the river was easiest to ford, with the intention of preventing the Macedonians from crossing. After manoeuvring for a time to keep Porus in doubt, Alexander left part of his infantry and cavalry under Craterus opposite Porus to pin him down, and took a large part of his infantry and cavalry at night more than fifteen miles upstream. He crossed the river with part of his force to establish a position and then had Meleager (d.323 BC) bring over the rest. Porus responded by sending cavalry and chariots, but mud and small numbers hampered the Indians and they were defeated.
Porus, Realising that he was facing a large army on his side of the river, quickly repositioned his forces, but left some elephants to hinder Craterus from crossing. Alexander sent part of his infantry on a long sweep of his left flank while he engaged with infantry and cavalry. The combination of Alexander’s charge, the sweeping force arriving in the rear of Porus’ line and Craterus’ force crossing the river was more than the Indians could handle. After a fierce battle Porus surrendered.
Alexander allowed Porus to retain his kingdom, which now became a buffer state at the eastern edge of Alexander’s Empire. After founding two cities, Nicaea (=Mong) and Bucephala (=Jalalpur?), the latter in honour of his horse, who died there, Alexander received the submission of Abisares, reduced the neighbouring hill tribes who were enemies of Porus, such as the Glausae, and give him their territory.
When Alexander heard that the Assacenians had murdered their governor, Nicanor (2), he sent one of his Companions, Philip (d.326 BC), son of Machatas, and Tyriespes (governor of the Kabul region), to help Sisicottus (commandant of Aornos garrison) to put down the rebellion before it could spread.
Hephaestion annexed the kingdom next to that of Porus, i.e. between the Acesines (=Chenab) and the Hydraotes (=Ravi), ruled by a man named the ‘bad’ Porus, and handed over the control the area to (the good) Porus. Meanwhile, with ‘bad’ Porus fleeing before him, Alexander had crossed the Acesines and the Hydraotes, accepting the voluntary surrender of or subduing the tribes along his line of march.
The Cathaeans resisted, but Alexander took Sangala and Sophytes made peace, as did his neighbour Phegelas. Alexander advanced to the Hyphasis (=Beas), but did not cross it. He wanted to take his army over the desert into the valley of the Ganges but his exhausted troops refused to march any farther east and he reluctantly agreed to halt.
On his return to the Hydaspes, Alexander appointed navarchs for the fleet that would descend the Indus. For the expedition to the Indus delta, he divided the bulk of his land forces into two parts: Hephaestion took the larger portion down the eastern bank, while Craterus with the smaller force descended on the west. Hephaestion headed for the junction of the Hydaspes and the Chenab, towards the territory of the peoples allied to the Mallians. By the time he arrived he found that Alexander (who had sailed ahead) had subdued the tribes of that region and was preparing to march directly against the Mallians, who lived between the Chenab and the Ravi.
In January 325 BC Alexander crossed the desert region between the two rivers and took the Mallians completely by surprise. Those who escaped to their chief city, where Alexander was seriously wounded, were slaughtered, while those of another town, if they did not find refuge in the marshes, were killed by the forces of Perdiccas.
The army continued southwards with Craterus now also on the eastern bank, since the terrain on the western bank proved too difficult for his troops. When the news came of unrest in the west, Craterus was dispatched with part of the army to police the regions of Arachosia, Drangiana and Carmenia (southeast Iran), where he was to rejoin Alexander.
Alexander sailed down to Patala, where the Indus separates into an eastern and western branch, and set troops to excavate a harbour and build a dockyard there. The navarch Nearchus (c.360-300 BC), who had commanded the fleet during the ten months’ voyage from Jhelum to the sea, was instructed to sail along the Indian coast as far as the Persian Gulf, while he himself marched his army to the Arabius (=Purali) River. He left Hephaestion here with the main force, while he, Leonnatus (356-322 BC) and Ptolemy ravaged the land of the Oreitai. Leonnatus was then left behind for a time to complete the synoecism of Rhambakia, the largest village of the Oreitai; while Hephaestion rejoined Alexander, who was preparing to cross the Gedrosian Desert.
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