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| Why did Alexander go back after returning all the land to Porus after the victory? |
Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch while describing the personality of Alexander wrote that his color was fair but his face was reddish.
Alexander was short in stature compared to the average Macedonian, but his height was not seen as an influence on the battlefield. Alexander did not have a beard. His cheeks were thin, his jaw was square and his eyes reflected fierce determination.
Marcus Curtius wrote about Alexander in his book 'History of Alexander that 'Alexander's hair was golden and curly. His two eyes were different in color. His left eye was gray and his right black.
There was so much power in his eyes that those in front used to get scared just by seeing him. Alexander always carried Homer's book 'The Eliade of the Casket' with him. He used to keep it under his pillow even while sleeping.
Plutarch, in his biography of Alexander, The Life of Alexander the Great, writes that 'Alexander never showed any interest in the pleasures of the flesh, whereas in other matters there would have been fewer men more courageous and fearless than him. From childhood, he showed respect for women. It was a time when slave girls, daughters, and even wives were considered personal property.'
He writes: 'Alexander's mother, Olympias, became so distraught at Alexander's lack of interest in girls that she hired a beautiful court prostitute Callexena to arouse interest in the opposite sex, but Alexander had no interest in this woman. No effect.
"Later Alexander himself admitted that sex and sleep always reminded him that his body was mortal."
Campaign to conquer the world at the age of 23
23-year-old Prince Alexander began his campaign of world conquest from the Greek city of Macedonia in 334 BC.
There were one hundred thousand soldiers in Alexander's army who traveled ten thousand miles and reached the banks of the Indus through Iran.
As early as 326 BC, when Alexander was in Iran, he sent messengers to the kings of the Indian cities near Iran and asked them to accept his submission.
As soon as Alexander reached the valley of Kabul, kings started arriving to meet him. One of them was still the ruler of the Indian city of Taxila (Taxila).
To show his loyalty to Alexander, he offered Alexander 65 elephants to use in his upcoming campaign.
Ambhi, king of Takshala, was courting Alexander so much because he wanted Alexander to join him in the war against his enemy the Purus.
By defeating all the kings, the direction of the river Indus
Marcus Curtius writes that he 'deliberately opened the gates of India to Alexander. He provided grain as well as 5000 Indian soldiers and 65 elephants to Alexander's army. His young general Sandrocaptus also joined Alexander.'
Alexander spent two months in Taxila and enjoyed the hospitality of the king there.
Alexander's biographer Philip Freeman writes in his book 'Alexander the Great': 'At this juncture, Alexander divided his army into two parts. He sent a large army under Hepistian across the Khyber Pass to crush the tribal rebels on the way and, most importantly, to reach the Indus River as soon as possible and build a bridge so that Alexander's army could cross the river. can cross
He writes: 'On this route, many Indian kings and a large number of engineers accompanied Alexander's army. Alexander took a circuitous route and headed east of the Hindu Kush to control the tribes living on that side.'
When an arrow hit Alexander's arm
All the kings who came in Alexander's way and did not surrender, Alexander captured their forts.
At one place tribal rebels ambushed Alexander's army and during this campaign, an arrow hit Alexander in the arm. At that time they were setting up camp to rest in the evening.
Alexander's soldiers saved their lives by climbing a nearby hill.
The attackers thought that Alexander had escaped, but the soldiers descended the hill and suddenly counter-attacked them. The rebels surrendered.
Alexander spared his life on the condition that he join his army. At first, they agreed, but when some soldiers tried to run away, Alexander ordered them to be killed.
When Alexander reached the city of Bezira, he found that all the soldiers and citizens there had left the city and climbed the hill called Orans.
This hill was surrounded by a deep ravine and there was only one way to reach the top. Above was a flat plain where grain could be grown in abundance. There was also a reasonable arrangement of water.
Alexander's local guide told him that even Hercules had not been able to climb this hill. Alexander took this as a challenge.
Despite the opponents having the advantage of height, Alexander's soldiers fought their way to the top of the mountain.
Surprised by this attack, the Baziranagar soldiers offered to surrender the next day.
They tried to escape at night but Alexander was already prepared for it. They attacked them. Many people died by falling into ditches.
Porus refused to surrender
It took 20 days for Alexander's army to reach the river Indus. There, the king of Taxila sailed boats on the river IndusHelped them build the bridge.
People living on the banks of the Indus River knew that a bridge could be built across the river by tying wooden boats parallel to the river flow.
Alexander's spies reported that Porus had a large army, including giant elephants.
Alexander thought that he could defeat the Persian army but it was not easy to do so due to the onset of monsoon.
Alexander's army must have had the experience of fighting in the rain, but they also faced intense heat.
From there, therefore, he sent a message to Porus to come to the frontier and accept his obedience.
Porus replied that he would not accept Alexander's submission but was willing to meet him on the frontiers of his empire.
Alexander's army crossed the river Jhelum amid a storm
Alexander and his soldiers marched for several days and reached the river Jhelum. Porus' army was on the other side of Jhelum. Alexander camped on the northern bank of the river. They were looking for a place where Porus could not see them crossing the river.
To deceive Porus, he sent his army far back along the river.
Alexander needed to keep his soldiers in one place. Sometimes they were taken to the west and sometimes to the east. Meanwhile, they lit a bonfire on the bank of the river and started making a lot of noise. On the other side of the river, Porus' soldiers got used to the movements of Alexander's soldiers and stopped keeping a close eye on them.
Unlike Alexander's army, the army of Porus remained in one place because the elephants were stationed at the front and it was very difficult to move them around again and again.
Alexander also ordered grain from the surrounding fields to be brought to his camp. When Porus spigot this news, Porus took it to mean that Alexander had intended to stay there until the end of the monsoon.
At the same time, there was a strong wind and a storm. Taking advantage of this, Alexander led his soldiers across the river. However, many of Alexander's soldiers were killed by lightning in this attempt.
When Porus learned of this, he tried to stop Alexander's troops from crossing the river. Although Porus was a brave and capable general, the problem before him was how to face Alexander's trained soldiers.
Porus' trick to target the elephant's eye
The only thing in Porus's favor was that there were many elephants in his army.
Philip Freeman writes: 'But by this time Alexander's soldiers had learned how to fight elephants. Alexander's soldiers would surround the elephant and attack it with spears. Meanwhile, an archer would aim at the elephant's eye. As soon as an arrow hits the elephant's eye, it runs wild and crushes its own people.
'Alexander sent his soldiers to the left and right of the Porus soldiers and told them to advance and attack the Porus soldiers from behind. In this fierce fighting, many soldiers of both sides were killed and a large number of other people were also killed.'
He further wrote that this battle took place on the banks of the Jhelum River at Jalalpur in Punjab. Alexander was riding his horse Bosephulus when an arrow hit the horse and he fell there, Alexander did not even have time to mourn the death of his horse. He took another horse and continued the battle. As Porus' soldiers came under pressure, Alexander's soldiers attacked them from behind and blocked their escape route.'
Porus was imprisoned
But Porus, mounted on a huge elephant, continued to fight. Appreciating his courage, Alexander sent him a message that his life would be spared if he surrendered. The messenger's name was Omaphus.
Porus tried to kill the messenger with his spear. Then Alexander sent another messenger to Porus. He persuaded Porus to surrender.
Philip Freeman writes: 'When the two kings met, Porus's elephant helped him down on his knees, despite being wounded. Sikandar was impressed by Porus's six feet tall figure. After being captured, Alexander asked Porus what should be done with them. Porus immediately replied, 'What one king does to another king.'
Alexander allowed Porus to leave the battlefield for the ointment. A few days later he not only returned the land he had won from Porus but also granted him some additional lands in the vicinity. Alexander's assistants did not like it.'
Meanwhile, Alexander's army performed the last rites of their slain soldiers. In memory of his slain horse, Alexander founded a new city near the battlefield and named it Bocephalus after his horse.
Plutarch, Alexander's biographer, writes that 'as long as Porus was in a position to fight, he fought Alexander fiercely.'