Alexander marching beyond the Hydaspes

After the Battle of the Hydaspes, Alexander made customary offerings and sacrifices to thank the gods. The dead were given the usual burial ceremony with all the splendor and pomp this occasion required. The king organized games and competitions, and he built two new cities to crown his victory. Nicaea (Alexandria Nicaea), named after Nike, the goddess of Victory, emerged on the battlefield itself. At the same time, Bucephala (Alexandria Bucephala) was erected at the point where he started the river crossing and was meant to honor his faithful charger who died at this time (most probably not on the battlefield but instead of old age).

[By Acphalia - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0]

Once this was resolved, he instructed Craterus to supervise the fortification of the newly founded settlements and maintain his communication line. Alexander pursued his march further east and took 37 towns, the smallest of which had more than 5,000 inhabitants; according to Arrian, some were even double that size. Many well-populated villages also surrendered, and all these settlements were handed over to Porus.

Alexander then headed for the Acesines River, which was nearly 3,000 meters wide at the point where he chose to cross it. It has been speculated that he deliberately opted for the widest point to take advantage of the slower current. Once again, he used boats and floats, which had to maneuver around large jagged rocks in the fast-flowing water. The floats managed well, but several boats hit the rocks and fell apart, drowning many men in the process. Here he left Coenus to supervise the remainder of the troops that followed with the grain and other supplies taken from the just conquered territories. Porus was sent back to his realm with instructions to collect more men and elephants and join up with Alexander further down the road.

[Acesines River from Wikimapia]

Then, there was the other Porus, generally known as the bad Porus, a nephew of King Porus. He ruled over Gandaris, the lands between the Acesines River (modern Chenab) and the Hydraotes River (modern Ravi). He had sent Alexander repeated offers to surrender simply because he hated his uncle. Still, when his namesake was granted many new territories by Alexander, he fled his country, taking with him as many fighting men as he possibly could. This bad Porus fled east beyond the Hydraotes River, and Alexander followed on his tail. This meant that he had to cross this major river as well. It was swollen by the melting snows from the Himalayas and was as wide as the Acesines but not as swift. It is amazing how all these river crossings are treated as a matter of course by our historians while each and every one was a challenge in its own right.

[Bridge of boats on the Hydraotes in 1880]

Before engaging in the river crossing, Alexander, as always, made sure to safeguard his rear. This was especially important at this point since he was advancing in enemy territory. Arrian recognizes the significance of these measures, and he particularly mentions how Alexander left troops at every strategic point throughout the region west of the Hydraotes, allowing both Craterus and Coenus to move around with minimal risk during their foraging expeditions. At this point, Hephaistion was sent back with Demetrius to catch the renegade Porus and take any independent Indian tribe he might encounter on the way and hand them over to the “good” Porus.

As soon as Alexander landed on the other bank of the Hydraotes, most Indian tribes surrendered without resistance and those who did not were subdued by force. An exception was the stand made at Sangala, but that is another story (see: The siege of Sangala in modern Pakistan).