The Campaigns of Alexander (Classics) (29 page)

Near the scene of the battle and the spot where he crossed the Hydaspes, Alexander founded two cities; one he called Nicaea, to commemorate his victory, the other Bucephala, in memory of his horse Bucephalus, who died in that country – not of hurts received in battle, but of old age and exhaustion. He was about thirty and worn out.
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In former days he had shared with Alexander many a danger and many a weary march. No one ever rode him but his master, for he would never permit anyone else to mount him. He was a big horse, high-spirited – a noble creature; he was branded with the figure of an ox-head, whence his name – though some have said that the name came from a white mark on his head, shaped like the head of an ox. This was the only bit of white on his body, all the rest of him being black. In Uxia,
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once, Alexander lost him, and issued an edict that he would kill every man
in the country unless he was brought back – as he promptly was. The story is evidence both of the fear which Alexander inspired and of his devotion to Bucephalus. But I must say no more: what I have written in Bucephalus’ praise, I have written for Alexander’s sake.

When the funeral rites for the men who fell in the battle had been duly performed, Alexander offered the customary sacrifices in thanksgiving for victory and celebrated games, with athletic and equestrian contests, at the place of his first crossing of the Hydaspes.
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Then, leaving Craterus with part of the army to superintend the building and fortification of the newly founded settlements, he proceeded against the Indians across the border of Porus’ kingdom. Aristobulus calls this tribe Glauganicae, Ptolemy Glausae – but never mind that; the name hardly matters. Alexander entered their territory with half of the Companions, picked troops from each battalion of heavy infantry, the archers, the Agrianes, and the whole contingent of the mounted archers. The natives surrendered to a man. Some thirty-seven towns were taken, the smallest having not less than 5,000 inhabitants and many of them more than double that; a large number of villages hardly less populous also fell into Alexander’s hands. All this territory he handed over to Porus. He also brought about a reconciliation between Porus and Taxiles, and sent Taxiles back to his own people.

About this time Alexander was visited by a delegation from Abisares offering the surrender of himself and his territory, and this in spite of the fact that before the battle on the Hydaspes his intention had been to join Porus.
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His own brother was now among the envoys, entrusted
with a gift of money and forty elephants for Alexander. The free Indians also sent a delegation, and yet another came from a chieftain who also bore the name Porus.
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Alexander promptly sent for Abisares, adding a threat that, should he fail to appear, he would soon see the Macedonian army and its commander-in-chief in an unwelcome spot.

Meanwhile Phrataphernes, the satrap of Parthia and Hyrcania, arrived with Thracians left there under his command, and at about the same time a message came through from Sisicottus, the satrap of Assacenia, that the Greek governor had been assassinated, and the people had thrown off their allegiance to Alexander.
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Alexander, accordingly, dispatched a force under the command of Philip and Tyriaspes to restore order in the province. He then marched for the river Acesines.

The Acesines is the only Indian river of which Ptolemy, son of Lagus, has mentioned the size. By his account, at the point where Alexander’s men crossed it on boats and floats it is a little under two miles wide and very swift; it is fouled by large jagged rocks over which the water pours violently with much noise and commotion. The floats got over easily enough, but of the boats a number came to grief, being swept on to the rocks, where they were broken up and their occupants drowned. From this description it is reasonable to infer that other writers are pretty accurate when they give the average breadth of the Indus as five miles, contracting to two at the points where
it is narrowest and deepest. Indeed, two miles is its breadth over a good part of its course. I am inclined to think, moreover, that Alexander deliberately crossed the Acesines at its widest point, to take advantage of the slower current.
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After crossing he left Coenus with his own battalion to superintend the passage of the remainder of the troops who were to bring up the grain and other supplies from those parts of the country which were already in his hands. Porus was then sent back to his people with instructions to rejoin later with the pick of his troops and any elephants he happened to have. The other Porus – the one who had disgraced himself, and was reported to have fled his country – Alexander proposed to pursue with the most mobile units of his army. This second Porus, so long as there was hostility between Alexander and his nobler namesake, had sent Alexander repeated offers to surrender himself and his territory – not, indeed because he liked Alexander, but because he hated his namesake; then, learning that the latter had not only been released but had also been granted a large accession of new territory, he became alarmed, and fled his country with as many fighting men as he could persuade to share his fortunes. What frightened him was not Alexander so much as the threat to himself of his rival’s increase in power.

Alexander’s route in pursuit of him brought him first to the Hydraotes, a river as broad as the Acesines but not so swift. At all strategic points throughout the territory on the hither side of the Hydraotes he left troops, so that Craterus and Coenus in their foraging expeditions might be able to go pretty well anywhere without risk. He then
instructed Hephaestion to proceed with two battalions of infantry, his own and Demetrius’ cavalry regiment, and half the contingent of archers to the territory of the renegade Porus, which he was to hand over to the other Porus, together with any independent Indian tribes he might find on the Hydraotes; these, too, were to be taken over and submitted to Porus’ authority. These arrangements made, he crossed the Hydraotes, which, unlike the Acesines, caused him no trouble, and advanced along the further bank. Most of the tribes in this region surrendered to him without resistance, including a few who had begun by offering a certain show of hostility; a few others tried to elude him, but were caught and subdued by force of arms.

It was reported to Alexander that a tribe of independent Indians known as Cathaei was, among certain others, preparing resistance in the event of an invasion, and calling for the support of its neighbours. Sangala,
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the town where they were proposing to make their stand, was said to be a strong one, and they themselves were reputed to be excellent soldiers and brave men. The defiant attitude of these people was shared by two other tribes, the Oxydracae and Malli. Not long before, Porus and Abisares had undertaken an expedition against these people; they had induced a number of other independent tribes to support the attempt, but even so they had achieved nothing – nothing, at any rate, commensurate with the magnitude of their preparations.

The effect of this report was to put Alexander on the move against the Cathaei without an instant’s delay. Two days’ march from the Hydraotes he reached a town named
Pimprama, belonging to a tribe known as the Adraistae. They offered no resistance. On the following day he rested his men, and then proceeded against Sangala. The Cathaei with the neighbouring tribes who had joined them had taken up a position on a hill in front of the town; the hill was less steep in some places than in others, and all round it they had put carts to form a triple defensive ring, within which they lay encamped.

Alexander modified his tactics to suit the circumstances. In view of the enemy’s strength and the nature of his position, he immediately ordered forward the mounted archers with instructions to ride along the enemy’s front, shooting at long range, to prevent a sortie before the rest of his troops were in position, and to cause as much damage as possible before they left their defensive position to engage in force. Meanwhile he brought Cleitus’ mounted regiment and the special cavalry squadron round to the right wing of his army, with the Guards and Agrianes in close touch; and on the left posted Perdiccas’ cavalry regiment and the battalions of heavy infantry. The archers were in two divisions, one on each wing. Before his dispositions were completed, the rear-guard, both horse and foot, arrived on the scene; the cavalry was used to strengthen the wings, and the additional infantry units to increase the solidity of the phalanx. This done, Alexander took control of the mounted troops on his right and advanced against the line of baggage-carts on the Indian left, where they were spaced out somewhat more widely and the conformation of the ground seemed to offer not too awkward an approach.

The cavalry threat did not draw the Indians out from their defences; they climbed on to the carts and met the advance with bows and arrows at long range. Alexander saw that cavalry in these circumstances would be
ineffective, so he promptly dismounted and in person led his infantry to the assault. The enemy was driven without difficulty from the first line of carts, but, falling back on the second, they rallied and were better able to defend themselves. Holding a smaller ring, they were consequently in closer order, and the Macedonians had no longer the advantage of advancing over open ground; on the contrary, they had to clear the outer ring of carts out of their way and push through individually as best they could, wherever there was room. They managed it, however, and once again the Indians were forced to withdraw. This time they made no further stand; without attempting to hold the third line of carts, they hurriedly retreated and shut themselves up in the town.

Alexander did not press his offensive any more that day. So far as he could with the number of infantry troops at his disposal he surrounded the town, but the extent of its defences was too great to allow a complete encirclement. At one point there was a break in the defences, and in front of this at no great distance was a lake; round this lake Alexander took the precaution of posting his mounted men, as the water was evidently shallow, and he guessed that the Indians, severely shaken as they were by their previous defeat, would attempt to get out of the town under cover of darkness. His guess proved right: about the second watch most of them slipped out, and fell into the arms of the cavalry patrols. Many were killed, and the rest, realizing that there were enemy patrols all round the lake, retired into the town again.

All round the town, except where the lake formed a natural barrier, Alexander now erected a double stockade, and saw to it that the lake itself was more efficiently guarded. His intention had been to bring up siege-engines to breach the town’s defences, but he was informed by
deserters that the Indians had decided to make their escape that very night: their purpose was to slip out by the lake, where there was a break in the stockade. Accordingly he ordered Ptolemy, son of Lagus, to take up his position at that point with the three Guards’ regiments, all the Agrianes, and a brigade of archers. Pointing to the place where he guessed the enemy would make their attempt to get through. ‘The instant,’ he said to Ptolemy, ‘you see them at it, stop them, and order the trumpeter to sound the alarm. On this signal, the rest of you officers will take your men promptly to the scene of action, wherever the trumpet calls you. And, mark you, I shall be there myself.’

Ptolemy collected all the carts he could out of those the Indians had left behind after their initial repulse and sent them across the line of the Indians’ escape, to act as booby traps in the darkness and confusion; he also gave orders that the posts which had been cut for the stockade but not yet erected should now be used to construct a barrier on either side between the lake and the wall of the town. His men completed the work, despite the fact that most of it was done in darkness.

At approximately the fourth watch
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the Indians, just as Alexander’s informants had said they would do, opened the town gates which led to the lake and made their way with all speed towards it. Ptolemy and his guards were ready for them. At once the trumpeters sounded the alarm, and Ptolemy led his men fully armed and in good order against the enemy; their way of escape was already blocked by the carts and the new section of palisade, and when the trumpets sounded and they found Ptolemy’s troops on top of them, cutting down every man who managed to struggle through between the carts, they gave it
up and withdrew once more into the town, with a loss during their retreat of some 500.

By this time Porus had arrived with the rest of his elephants and 5,000 Indian troops. Alexander had had his siege-engines assembled and they were already being brought into position; but they proved unnecessary, for before a breach was made in the wall – which was of brick – the Macedonians undermined it, erected scaling-ladders at numerous points all round, and took the town by assault. Up to 17,000 Indians were killed in this operation and over 70,000 taken prisoner. Five hundred mounted men and 300 war chariots were also captured. Throughout the siege Alexander lost a little under 100 men; the number of wounded, however, was disproportionately large – over 1,200 – among them being Lysimachus, of Alexander’s personal guard, and other officers.

After the burial of the dead with all customary ritual, Alexander sent his secretary, Eumenes,
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with 300 mounted men to the two towns which had joined Sangala in refusing submission. His instructions were to report the capture of Sangala and to give the people an assurance that if they stayed where they were, and admitted Alexander as a friend within their gates, they would have nothing to complain of in their treatment – no more, indeed, than any of the other independent tribes which had voluntarily submitted to him. Both towns, however, had already had the news that Sangala had been taken by assault, and such was the consternation it caused that the
people had fled. Alexander pursued them hotly as soon as he knew that they were on the move, but, as the report took some time to reach him, most of them had had time to get clear away. A certain number of sick, perhaps 500, had been abandoned by their comrades in their dash for safety, and these were caught and killed. Alexander soon broke off the pursuit, returned to Sangala, and razed it to the ground. The land belonging to it he handed over to the Indian tribes who had given up their former independence and voluntarily attached themselves to his cause. Porus was then sent with his troops to the towns which had surrendered, with orders to garrison them, and Alexander himself marched for the river Hyphasis, bent upon still further conquest. So long as a single hostile element remained, there could, he felt, be no end to the war.