Arrian explicitly tells us that after the mutiny of his army at the Hyphasis River (modern Beas), Alexander ordered the construction of twelve altars to thank the gods for having led him so far as conqueror and be a memorial for his own accomplishments. These altars must have been truly out of proportion, being “as high as the loftiest siege towers and even broader in proportion”. Each altar was dedicated to one of the Olympian gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus.
King Chandragupta, who reigned from 321 to 297 BC and founded the first Indian Empire, has reportedly worshiped at these altars in memory of Alexander the Great. Plutarch tells us that in his time, nearly four centuries after Alexander, the local kings would still stop at these altars to sacrifice on them in the Greek fashion. Philostratus, in turn, mentions that Apollonius of Tyana (15-100 AD) visited India
The location of these altars triggers the discussion of whether Alexander and his men crossed the river or not. Was the Hyphasis River
New studies have indicated that the altars left by Alexander must have stood at the confluence of the Sutlej and theBeas (Hyphasis) rivers, taking into account that in ancient times their confluence was situated 40 miles below the present river junction. This point seems to coincide with the place where Feroz Shah who was Sultan of Delhi Delhi
New studies have indicated that the altars left by Alexander must have stood at the confluence of the Sutlej and the
If he was great then why he did not able to capture india...actually he was a looser.It seems to be funny that he defeated Porus but he did not capture his state.Actually after a long war that continued for almost a year,he had lost most of his soldiers.Since Porus army consisted of mighty elephants who have killed and frightened most of Alexander hourses and soldiers.His soldiers refused to go further.So. he erected 12 huge stone alters on the Northern bank of river Beas to mark the farthest point of his advance.Verify your knowledge first.One more thing as a result of this war Alexander the great become Alexander the late.
ReplyDeleteAlexander the great after battling for eight years his army and equipment were both getting old and tired. His army's moral fell and thinking as a logical leader he stopped his conquest. He defeated Porus and his army with minimum casualty and he was considered the greatest conqueror of antiquity.
Deleteso, no one is great unless if they conquer India? what kind of stupid barometer is that? Alexander conquered from Epirus (western Greece) all the way into the beginnings of the modern day western boundaires of India from East to West. Went from the deserts of Egypt and Cyrene (Libya) to the mountainous fortresses of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. He never lost a battle, and expanded an empire that once only included the area around modern day Thessaly/North Macedonia. Yet you don't find that impressive because his soldiers (not him) chose to finally turn back? You're the only one that needs to verify anything
DeleteI listened some stories that porous help her wife during her pregnancy so he don't occupied those state
DeleteDo you mean that King Porus helped Roxane during her pregnancy, which led Alexander to not occupying Porus' realm in exchange?
DeleteIf my understanding is correct, I wonder if this only is an assumption or one of the many legends tied to Alexander’s conquests? Do you know the source of this story?
You missed the point entirely. Porus' cavalry was annihilated by Alexander and his elephants trampled friend and foe as their mahouts could no longer control them. Porus was dying when Alexander reached him. It was Alexander who nursed him back to life.
ReplyDeleteYou better find another history book to read up!
You know what history books waries at one its told that alexdander won and in some its told that alexander joined hands with porus and made a deal with him that the territory he captures till beas will be given to him but alexdander's soldiers were afraid to go further than beas because they were afraid of further army of king chandragupta maurya who was the 1st national ruler of india and had huge military support this led alexander to retreat because what is a king without his army so made this altars to denote his farmost achievement and then he died in babylon in 323 bc
DeleteOf course, history as penned down over the centuries varies from one source to the next. However, it pays off to shift through the facts and figures to reach the most plausible and most realistic truth. History is constantly updated following new excavations and discoveries. Today’s truth is different from yesterday’s, and will change again tomorrow.
DeleteAlexander did indeed reinstate Porus’ as king of his realm. He also gave him the Indian territories he conquered after the Battle of the Hydaspes, including the Nanda Kingdom. You may want to read my post “Was Chandragupta inspired by Alexander” on the subject.
https://makedonia-alexandros.blogspot.com/2016/07/was-chandragupta-inspired-by-alexander.html
Chandragupta was indeed the first ruler to unify India .
The mutiny of Alexander’s army at the Hyphasis/Beas was not linked to Chandragupta whose kingship started only in 321 BC, i.e, two years after Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC.
I laughed at this person typical Indian with no regard for education and this i say as fellow person from Punjab no doubt White India today also has no connection with Brown India.
DeleteHe says Chandragupta when at that time it was Nanada Dynasty who were ruling Janpads(satrpy) of India east of Yamuna.
As we know this Akhilesh has only read in his Indian history books which exaggerates Chanakya who is just a character from a play called Mudra Rakshas and may not even exist that is why every Indian knows about chandragupta but the real Nanada dynasty are never talked upon.
So request you to not explain to these idiots they are same like Muslims of India, no regard for real history.
Keep smiling!
DeleteAlexander never crossed River Ravi . The point from where Alexander turned back was the site of these altars. Unless we know their location , we can't say anything about his crossing of any river after Chinab .
ReplyDeleteAlexander never crossed Ravi . He returned back from Sialkot , where he had erected 12 Altars .
ReplyDeleteThe Punjab is a very confusing region with its many rivers that shifted course over the centuries. In antiquity, the situation was not clear cut either.
DeleteThe most problematic factor may be placing Sangala at the site of modern Sialkot, i.e., between the Hydraotes/Ravi and the Hyphasis/Beas.
Arrian puts Sangala on the other side of the Ravi. After Sangala, Alexander marched for the river Hyphasis/Beas. That is the place of the mutiny and where he built his 12 altars before turning back. He tells us that Alexander withdrew towards the Hydraotes/Ravi, crossed the river and retraced his steps to the Acesines/Chenab.
Diodorus is rather vague on the whereabouts of Alexander, but after he erected the altars, he has him marching back to the Acesines/Chenab River by the same route he had come.
Curtius has Alexander coming to the river Hydraotes/Ravi, then to a great city which is not named but whose story is that of Sangala. Alexander builds the altars on the Hyphasis/Beas from where he returns to the Acesines/Chenab.
Very good article, i am very happy to see a greek person taking genuine interest in Alexander's campaigns.
ReplyDeleteIt is no doubt Alexander came to Hyphasis(beas) and it is probable he could have won victory till Magadh capital of Patliputra as did by later Greeks in form of Indo greek and later greek king Milinda.
As for altars made by him, alexander built citadels and religious structures throught his campaign and many built by him are now claimed by different names as per different culture groups taking control of these structures.
I am from Punjab, India and there is only respect for Alexander as he defeated Puru King after a very great battle. It must be known to Indian here commenting against Alexander that Achemenid kingdom had control over these satrapies in Punjab by 500 BC onwards which is never mentioned in history books of India.
Lastly, Sakala the modern Sialkot which was to be capital of later Indo Greeks is just 40 Kilometers from Jammu Fort and i again stress the areas nearby were in Persian influence rather than Indian influence, and these Indians shoukd know that this is White India due to white race of Indians still found in Punjab region and afghan rather than Brown India which is common today so it is probable crossing Hyphasis he must had gone to coast of Yamuna from where Indian Magadha Kingdom started.
I would recommend you read some W.W. articles and books on Indo greeks to see how greeks influenced so much on Indian culture, doric pillars, gandhara art and architecture and later buddhism
Thanks for putting the Hyphasis/Beas in the right context, although I find it hard to believe that Alexander went as far as the Yamuna. Maybe one day history will tell us.
DeleteSpeaking about the Greeks in India is a very difficult and complex subject. It was, of course, Alexander who opened that part of India to the western world but we had to wait for the Graeco-Bactrian kings (in particular Demetrius) to move further east and to create the Indo Greek Kingdom in the early 2nd century BC. It is interesting that you mention the Greek King Milinda by his Indian name. I know him as Menander.
I am not surprised that the Indians do not recognize the role of Alexander or the Greek/Hellenistic influence that emerged in his wake. The Greeks themselves usually don’t look that far either. Even the most faithful Alexander fans generally stop following the conqueror beyond the Battle of Gaugamela while the Battle at the Hydaspes is, in my opinion at least, by far his greatest achievement.
You are right about the huge influence the Graeco-Bactrian and the Indo Greek kingdoms had on that part of the world and in Gandhara in particular. Frank Holt’s books make excellent reading as well.
As I studied English translations of Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian , I found that during the war it was Alexander who requested Porus to cease war for multiple times, and Porus denied consecutively, than Meroes was successful to bring Porus on ceasing the war.
DeletePorus got a high protocol by Alexander on their meeting like an equivalent Ranked Commander not like a defeated King.
The terms of peace agreement were all in favour of Porus not in favour of Alexander. Porus was awarded as King of the whole regions occupied by their allied forces after the war at Jehlum .
It is ridiculous to believe that 23,000 force out of 36,000 was killed by a force whose strength was 11,000, just killing their 310 in response.
Actually the war was very hard for both sides, and Alexander wanted safe exit by shaking hand with Porus, who was Super King of Punjab at that time .
Thank you for commenting.
DeleteAlexander had great respect for Porus and admired his attitude in battle. This may be the reason why in the end he did not take possession of Porus’ kingdom. He gave it back to Porus and even let him rule over the wider Punjab.
Sometimes I wonder if Alexander didn’t realize that he could not realistically rule so much of the world. The Persian Empire he just conquered was immense already. Adding India might have been one bite too many. But that is my personal opinion.
Yes it may be hard to believe about Alexander going till Yamuna but with 2300 years back Punjab was very different with huge forests and less population(can you please tell me what did Greeks called Yamuna?).
ReplyDeleteYes Milinda is famous because of philosophical nature and accepting Buddhism, but i am not sure if he converted to Budhism as coins carried Hindu, Avestan deities side by side with Buddhist symbols(as you know buddha statue was first made by Greeks as they imagined, hence he is more Caucasian faced then mongol face made by Tibetans later.
Greeks are very very important in Indian history, i think greek blood survived in Higher Caste Indians(white Indians) as these would have made good relations like Alexander had already done with Sogdians by marrying Roxana.
I am thankful for letting me know new author of book to study, i mostly read old british authors because of their huge interest in India when they ruled India.
I can understand people even Greek themselves less interest in Greek world of Orient but by making people aware you are doing good work in name of Alexander and greek race as well.
Also you should know last Indo greeks became Hindu(or Jain) in Gujarat area when Scythians pushed them in India.
Yamnuna River is a tributary of the Ganges and as such is not part of the Punjab. Hence my doubts about Alexander going that far.
DeleteIsn’t it an interesting subject to sift through the Greek and Macedonian bloodlines left behind in Sogdiana and India? I imagine that most people don’t want to recognize that heritage. DNA comparison with the Kalash, for instance, has led nowhere, although their blue eyes and blond hair is not explained otherwise. I don’t think that Indians would take it too kindly if they were told to be descendents of Alexander’s troops.
You are the first person I encounter who knows about the Greeks creating the first statues of Buddha.
I am not familiar with the whereabouts of Menander and his relation to Buddhism but it does not come to me as a surprise. A while ago, I wrote a blog about Heliodorus, who was a Greek ambassador (see: Heliodorus, Greek ambassador in India). He was sent by the Indo-Greek King Antialcidas Nikephoros to the court of King Bhagabhadra who ruled over north, east and central India. He converted to Hinduism. There must have been quite a shift in religious believes in those days when Hellenism allowed frequent and open movement of people and ideas between east and west!
The history of India is quite a vast subject and it goes back much and much further than we (or at least I) can comprehend. The British were obviously intrigued by the mysteries that surround that far away past and I can understand your fascination for their writing. However, we should not forget that History is a volatile subject. Yesterday’s truth may become obsolete today as much as yesterday’s denial may turn to be today’s truth.
My own fascination is about what has NOT been written, the blank pages. Only time will tell, don’t you think so?
One thing i want to point you say "Blond hair" cant be proved otherwise for "Kalash people" is that Persians and Indo Aryans were Blond haired with Tocharians(Da Yuan of Indo Greeks?) were blue eyed light haired as seen in Turkestan(Xinjiang) caves.
ReplyDeletePoint being many claim descent from Alexnder's army(like Malana villagers in Himachal India) although they look like Red Indians facially because they are Khas people as i have seen them personally as i live on Foothills of Himalya.
Greeks blood i believe will be found in Tajiks, even Uzbeks, mostly in Dari and Pashtoons as well as higher caste Indians and Pakistanis but proper DNA tests have to be performed not on tribes claiming.
I will read your other blog as recommended.
No one knows about Buddha, how he looks like the wanderer Hermes as Greeks must have thought about them and i still want to know - were Greeks responsible for Zoroastrian decline in Persia?
Alexander tried removing many barbaric notions(as seen by hellenic race) of Zarathustra like dogs eating corpses(yes this is true, even today they feed their corpses to vultures in India) but he could not!!!
Everything is speculation but i tell you what i observe!!!
Yes, please do tell me what you observe! I have not travelled beyond Uzbekistan. That is the furthest east my own observations go. Seeing certain locations and landscapes by ourselves often tells more than what is available in books.
DeleteIt seems to me that we are drifting away from the subject of this post (Twelve Altars). If you wish to dig deeper into this part of (Alexander) history, you are welcome to use my email via my blog. Just click on Argyraspid under the picture About me on the right hand side column.
I wish Ashoka was still alive. We wouldn't have to prove anything. I'm so sad
ReplyDeleteYes, and I wish Alexander was still alive! What a fascinating world we would be living in!
DeleteI am a american born asian Indian. My father is from the Jalandhar area," and the lore in that area is that it's the exact spot Alexander the Great stopped. What's interesting, the lore goes further that an area called "Jalandhar Cantt," was actually built upon where Alexander's army camped and finally that even the name of Jalandhar was founded as "Alexander."
ReplyDeleteNot sure any of its true but its fascinating.
Right ... where does history stop and legend take over ...?
Delete