Alexander the Great: Disgraceful Retreat from India - Part II

Alexander on Death Bed

The story of Alexander the Great’s triumphant march into India, suddenly giving up at the urging of his soldiers who were tired after years of fighting and who wanted to return to their loved ones in Persia. The Greek odyssey down the Indus, ended with Alexander sustaining a deadly wound; and, finally splitting his army in two so that they would have a better chance of escaping Pentopotamia (Punjab); returning with a fraction of his army to the seat of his empire in Persepolis and his death from his wounds; all based on Greek legends, with no documentation, just a myth.

So did Alexander really venture successfully into India and turn back at the urging of his men? Or was it all a spin? So what exactly happened to Alexander in India?

The Greek Version

Alexander crosses the Indus into the Punjab and somewhere near modern-day Bhera town in Sargodha district of Punjab, now in Pakistan, he faced the army of Porus, the Kshatriya king of West Punjab. The Greek chronicles state how the Indian elephant brigade was winning the day when by cleverly attacking Porus’ elephant, Alexander managed to unsaddle Porus, and the elephants in disarray retreated trampling their own troops. Porus is captured and brought to Alexander in chains. Alexander looks at the tall (supposedly 6 cubits) Porus and asks him how he wanted to be treated. Porus replied, “Like a king” – his arrogance and pride aroused Alexander’s admiration. Promptly, Alexander released Porus, agreed to be his friend, restored his lost kingdom to him, and added to it lands that were part of Ambi’s Taxila.

Porus confronts Alexander

What really happened at the Battle of Hydespas?

Here are some facts that the Greek chronicles agree and Western historians can not deny:

1. Alexander crossed Indus with the support from Ambhi, the king of Taxila
2. The Battle of Hydaspes was the fiercest battle Greeks had ever faced with large scale causalities on both sides including Nicaea, the Greek commander and Alexander's beloved horse - Bucephalus
3. Alexander sent emissaries twice to Porus to deal a peace treaty. Porus threw a spear in anger at the first emissary, Ambhi who ran back to Greek camp. Alexander then sent Mueres, the Indian to negotiate a peace treaty.
4. Porus was able to keep his kingdom and did not lose an inch of territory after the battle
5. There as a mutiny by the Greek soldiers who refused to fight after Hydaspes forcing Alexander to retreat from Punjab never to return again
6. Alexander retreated via a Southern route through Multan, Balochistan, and Sindh and not from the Northern route via Taxila and Bactria from where he had entered
7. Alexander was chased out of Pentopotamia (Punjab) and hounded by Indians and he was badly injured at Multan during retreat and almost died of the wound
8. Alexander barely managed to reach Sistan in Persian territories with a fraction of his army, went in alcoholic depression on return to Babylon and died soon after escaping India - either by poisoning or an infectious disease

Did Alexander Lose the Battle of Hydespas?

Lets analyze these eight facts and try to figure out what could really have happened:

Question 1: Did Ambhi of Taxila really help Alexander?

Ambi, who fought on Alexander’s side, lost lands to Porus as a result of Porus’s defeat at Hydespas. Why? Alexander had given King Ambhi, the ruler of Taxila, 1000 talents (over 25,000 kilos) of gold to fight alongside him in the battle against Puru. That’s even stranger! Because Greek sources say Ambhi voluntarily came over to their side. So why a willing ally was paid such a large amount? If Alexander was really rolling through India, it’s inconceivable he would pay off a minor king to ally with him. 

Or ... initial support from Taxila was part of a well orchestrated plan to corner the Greeks into submission probably masterminded by Chanakya, the great political science professor from Taxila University?

Ruins of Taxila University

Question 2: How fierce was the battle of Hydespas? How did Bucephalus die?

Alexander’s newly inducted Persian advisers would have warned him how their greatest king, Cyrus, was killed in a battle with Indians in Pentopotamia exactly two centuries before Alexander. And in an earlier history, the Assyrian queen Semiramis, who had crossed the Indus with 400,000 highly trained troops, escaped with just 20 troops, the rest being slaughtered by the Indians. The Geography of Strabo reads, 

Alexander … heard that no one had hitherto passed that way with an army and emerged in safety, except Semiramis, when she fled from India. The natives said that even she emerged with only twenty men of her army; and that Cyrus son of Cambyses, escaped with only seven of his men … When Alexander received this information he is said to have been seized with a desire of excelling Cyrus and Semiramis … 

The elephant cavalry of Porus of Punjab and Abisares of Kashmir, trampled the Macedonians and the battle of Hydespas was so fierce that lived up to the legends Alexander had heard about Punjabi Kshatriya valor. For instance, Arrian writes in Alexander Anabasis that the Indians were the noblest among all Asians. In fact, Arrian and other Greeks say the Indians were relentless in their attacks on the invaders, then in the eastern part of India “the armies were superior in stature and combat”.

Battle of Hydespas

Arrian records that in the final encounter with Alexander, Porus employed all his cavalry, 4,000 strong, all his chariots, 300 in number, 200 of his elephants, and 30,000 of efficient infantry along with 2,000 men and 120 chariots detached earlier in the day under his son's charge. Porus, atop his elephant, led his elephant corps instead of the usual double-horse chariot used by Indian kings. The elephants caused heavy losses to the phalanx, with their tusks fitted with iron spikes and lifting some before trampling them. 

The fighting style of Porus' soldiers was described in detail by Arrian: "The foot soldiers carry a bow made of equal length with the man who bears it. This they rest upon the ground, and pressing against it with their left foot thus discharges the arrow, having drawn the string far backwards for the shaft they use is little short for three yards long, and there is nothing can resist an Indian archer's shot, neither shield nor breast plate, nor any stronger defence if such there be."

Army of Porus at Hydespas

In the first charge, by the Indians, Porus’s brother Amar killed Alexander’s favorite horse Bucephalus, forcing Alexander to dismount. This was a big deal. In battles outside India the elite Macedonian bodyguards had not allowed a single enemy soldier to deliver so much as a scratch on their king's body, let alone slay his mount. Yet in this battle Indian troops not only broke into Alexander’s inner cordon, they also killed Nicaea, one of his leading commanders.

Charge of Elephant Cavalry

According to the Roman historian Marcus Justinus, Porus challenged Alexander, who charged him on horseback. In the ensuing duel, Alexander fell off his horse and was at the mercy of the Indian king’s spear. But Porus dithered for a second and Alexander’s bodyguards rushed in to save their king.


Plutarch, the Greek historian and biographer, says there seems to have been nothing wrong with Indian morale. Despite initial setbacks, when their vaunted chariots got stuck in the mud, Porus’s army “rallied and kept resisting the Macedonians with unsurpassable bravery”.

Question 3: Why did Alexander send emissaries to Porus twice to broker peace?

According to Curtius Quintus, Alexander towards the end of the day sent a few ambassadors to Porus: "Alexander, anxious to save the lives of his men, sent Texile the Indian to him (to Porus). Texile rode up as near as he dared and requested him to stop his elephant and hear what message Alexander sent him. But Texiles was an old rival of the Indian King, and Porus turned his elephant and drove at him, to kill him with his lance; and he might indeed have killed him, if he had not spurred his horse out of the way in the nick of the time. Alexander, however, far from resenting this treatment of his messenger, sent a number of others, last of whom was Indian named Meroes, a man he had been told had long been Porus' friend".(Arrian Page 180).

Towards the end of battle of Hydaspes (Jhelum), Arrian mentions a certain Meroes and attests him to be an Indian and a friend of Porus. Arrian further attests that he was finally chosen by Alexander to bring Porus for concluding peace treaty with the Macedonian invader.

Alexander negotiates with Porus

Why would Alexander send peace brokers to Porus if he had won the battle and captured Porus as the Greek historians spin the stories. Could it be possible that the battle reached a stalemate after fierce fighting and Alexander was trying to find an honorable exit? 

And ... who was Meroes? Could he be the Indian hero Chandragupta Maurya who was the leader of the young warriors trained by Chanakya at Taxila university? Now this could be the deciding factor to determine the role of Chanakya and Taxila in forcing the Greeks to retreat from Punjab.

Question 4: What happened to Indian kingdoms after the battle of Hydespas? How was Porus able to keep his territories?

According to the Greeks, Alexander was apparently so impressed by Porus he gave back his kingdom plus the territories of king Ambhi of Taxila who had fought alongside the Macedonians. This is counter-intuitive. Ambhi had become Alexander’s ally on the condition he would be given Porus’ kingdom. So why reward the enemy whose army had just mauled the Macedonians?

There is a simpler explanation that does not require one to strain one’s intelligence. Alexander in fact lost the battle to Porus. The victorious Porus imposed a separate peace on Ambi that included the surrender of some Taxilan land to Porus and a withdrawal of support for the Greeks.

Alexander with Sandrocotttus Meures

In fact, the only Indian ruler who lost his kingdom was Ambhi of Taxila. So, why would an ally of Alexander lose his kingdom if Alexander won the battle of Hydespas? It clearly looks like Alexander conceded defeat in the battle and retreated from India. Did the aftermath of Hydespas battle established Chandragupta Maurya as the emerging rules of Taxila? 

Question 5: Why did the Greek soldiers mutiny? and when?

After the battle, Alexander asked Porus what it would take to win the rest of India. He made the mistake, I guess, of asking this in public with all his generals listening in, and Porus described the entire rest of the Gangetic valley with its multiple kingdoms, and the Magadhan empire downstream. Porus described these in terms of how much bigger they were than his own kingdom.As a result, there was no more stomach among the Macedonians for continuing. They had almost lost to Porus. How could they successfully confront even larger forces?

Says Plutarch: “The combat with Porus took the edge off the Macedonians’ courage, and stayed their further progress into India. The Greek historian says after the battle with the Pauravas, the badly bruised and rattled Macedonians panicked when they received information further from Punjab lay places “where the inhabitants were skilled in agriculture, where there were elephants in yet greater abundance and men were superior in stature and courage”.

Macedonians plead Alexander to Retreat

Indeed, on the other side of the Ganges was the mighty kingdom of Magadh, ruled by the wily Nandas, who commanded one of the most powerful and largest standing armies in the world. According to Plutarch, the courage of the Macedonians evaporated when they came to know the Nandas “were awaiting them with 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8000 war chariots and 6000 fighting elephants”. Undoubtedly, Alexander’s army would have walked into a slaughterhouse.

From Punjab, the land of the braves, Alexander ordered a retreat to great jubilation among his soldiers.

Now, this raises an important question: Did the Greeks refused to continue to India after the battle of Hydespas? OR ... the mutiny happened during the battle of Hydespas, forcing Alexander to broker peace with Porus and rush to a hasty retreat?

Question 6: Why did Alexander choose Southern route of his retreat to Persia?

And so Plutarch’s story goes that the army revolted against continuing. And Alexander decides to retreat, but he asks Porus what the best way to return would be. He is told that he should go down the Indus in boats and then go along the Makran Coast in boats and ships to Arabia and thence to Persia. And Alexander does something like that – at the Indus delta he splits his force into two and sends one by sea and the other by land and they both return safely after three years.

But why couldn’t he just retreat the way he came? He had just defeated Porus and obtained his eternal friendship. He had defeated the kingdoms along the way and set up his own warlords to rule them. Ambhi was his friend (well, maybe). He knew the way back. The Greek retreat from India shows clear signs of a defeated force. Indeed, if the Greek and Macedonian soldiers were really that tired of fighting, as western historians claim, then the ‘triumphant’ troops should have returned via the same route they arrived. But instead they preferred to trek south through unknown and hostile lands in Sindh and Balochistan. 

The only explanation is that they were not allowed safe passage through Punjab and Taxila. The only possible answer is at the Battle of Hydaspes, the Macedonians realized they were dealing with an enemy of uncommon valor. Sensing defeat they called for a truce, which Porus accepted. The Indian king struck a bargain – in return for Ambhi’s territories, which would secure his frontiers, Porus would assist the Macedonians in leaving India safely.

Question 7: Was chasing of the Greek army by Indians a well executed plan?

Its is said that Sandrocottus or Chandragupa Maurya guided Alexander's Macedonian army out of Pentopotamia. Does that mean that Porus and Taxila were working in tandem and refused safe passage to the Greeks? Alexander negotiated a safe-conduct for his own troops, provided they went down the Indus, and did not trouble Taxila or Puru again. So there’s Alexander, having suffered his first major defeat, set adrift down the Indus with a much reduced army. 

Alexander led his forces back to Persia by the southern route through the Gedrosian and Makran Desert (now part of Balochistan). In crossing the desert, Alexander's army took enormous casualties from hunger and thirst, and they were chased by Indian warriors along the way. During the crossing, Alexander refused as much water as possible, to share the sufferings of his men.

Alexander refuses Water

Within a few years after Alexander’s retreat, the Indians drove the Greeks out of India. Inspired by the master strategist Chanakya, the young Chandragupta Maurya, founded the Maurya Empire in India and conquered the Macedonian satrapies left in place by Alexander (according to Justin), and assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor and Philip. The Roman historian Justin described how Sandrocottus (the Greek version of Chandragupta's name) conquered the northwest:

Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight.
— Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV, XV.4.19

The Greek leader Selucus finally conceded defeat to the Indians and married his daughter to Chandragupta Maurya.

Question 8: What was left with Alexander when he reached Persia? Why did he go into alcoholic binge at Babylon? and how did he die?

There is more indirect evidence of the lack of major Greek victories in India. The booty that fell into Greek hands after they defeated the Persians in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC is estimated at 100,000 talents (more than 2,500,000 kilos) of gold. However, there is no mention of any large booty captured from India – strange because those days India was pretty much swimming in gold and other precious metals and stones. So it can be safely argued that Alexander failed to get his hands on a substantial booty because he never won any substantial victories.

Depleted Greek Army on Retreat

The Greeks had to fight for water and food along the entire length of the journey. In the next battle, against the Mallavs (Most likely the Malhotra Kshatriyas of Multan), he was felled by an Indian warrior whose arrow pierced the Macedonian’s breastplate and ribs. Says Military History magazine: “Although there was more fighting, Alexander’s wound put an end to any more personal exploits. Lung tissue never fully recovers, and the thick scarring in its place made every breath cut like a knife.”

The retreat of Alexander was tragic in many way. His soldiers suffered extreme hardship in the deserts of Baluchistan. Many fell dead, and many suffered sickness. Finally the conqueror reached Babylon. There in that ancient city he began to plan his new conquests. His ambition for world conquest became limitless. But amidst new hopes and newer dreams, suddenly he fell ill. It was 323 B.C. when Alexander was only 33 years old. In that fatal fever, Alexander breathed his last.

When he arrived at Susa, twenty months after turning back from his conquests, his army was but a miserable fragment of that which had crossed into India with him three years before.

Ailing Alexander The Great 

Alexander never recovered and died in Babylon (modern Iraq) at the age of 33.

References:

1. http://in.rbth.com/blogs/2013/05/27/marshal_zhukov_on_alexanders_failed_india_invasion_25383
2. https://controversialhistory.blogspot.com/2007/04/myth-of-alexander-victory-in-india.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Hydaspes
4. http://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/why-alexander-retreated-from-india/2386
5. http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/history/failed-indian-invasion-by-alexander-of-macedon/
6. http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=1684