Alexander the Great & Battle of Hydaspes

Ancient History
Useful for UPSC, SSC, Railways and various competition exams.

By - Sumit Choudhary
 Alexander : Introduction
❖ Alexander the Great was a king of Macedonia who conquered an empire that
stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.
❖ Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias (one of Philip's seven or eight
wives).
❖ Alexander the Great is arguably the greatest military leader in history.
❖ By never loosing a battle, by conquering nearly the known world in twelve years,
and by spreading his influence on the known world, Alexander was the first
person to receive the title “ The Great.”
❖ Alexander had conquered Asia Minor along with Iran and Iraq. He then marched
into northwest India from Iran.
 Boyhood
• Born on July 26, 356 B.C. in Pella,
Macedonia
• Alexander's mother taught him
that Achilles was his ancestor, and
that his father was descended
from Hercules
• Alexander was told by an oracle
that his true father was Zeus and
not Philip II.
• Achilles became Alexander’s role
model.
• When Alexander was 13 years old,
he became the pupil of Aristotle.
• Aristotle is considered one of the
greatest minds in history.
 Youth & Education
• He tamed a beautiful and spirited
horse that no one would dare touch or
ride and named it Bucephalus.
• This horse would later carry him to the
far reaches of India.
• Philip was so proud of Alexander's
power over the horse that he said, "O
my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of
thyself, for Macedonia is too little for
thee."
• When Alexander was 13 years old, he
became the pupil of Aristotle.
• Aristotle inspired in Alexander the love
for literature, sciences, rhetoric,
philosophy, and sports
 Rise to Power
❖ At age 16, Alexander was given command of
Macedonia while Philip II went to war against
Byzantium.
❖ When he was only 18, he commanded part of
Philip's cavalry at the battle of Chaeronea.
❖ After his father’s death in 336 B.C., Alexander
became king at the age of 20.
❖ After Alexander became king, the surrounding
territories revolted.
❖ Alexander and his army stormed the city of
Thebes and destroyed every building except the
temples and the house of the poet Pindar.
❖ Seeing this, the rest of the territories
surrendered and Alexander then had control of
Macedonia and Greece.
 Conquests
• In May of 334 B.C., Alexander’s Army marched across the Hellespont
to invade the Persians under their King Darius III.
• At the battle of Granicus, Alexander’s army lost only 34 men while
the Persian army lost thousands.
• After the battle of Granicus the Persian army regrouped and struck at
Alexander again at the battle of Issus. Again alexander won.
• He conquered the Persian Capital, Persepolis and from there the
Persian empire fell before his feet.
• The Persian king, Darius III fled like a coward, but ended up being
assassinated by his own men.
• Alexander hunted the assassins down and killed them for committing
such a grave act.
 Conquests
❖ Within the Persian Empire Alexander
went on to conquer the territories of
Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Anatolia,
Syria, Gaza, Bactria, and Egypt.
❖ In 331 while conquering Egypt
Alexander established the famous city
of Alexandria.
❖ After conquering the territories of the
Persian Empire, Alexander turned his
eyes toward India.
 Battle of Hydaspes
❖ Alexander was attracted to India’s
wealth.
❖ In northwest India, just before
Alexander’s invasion, there were many
small rulers like Ambhi of Taxila and
Porus of the region of Jhelum (Hydaspes).
❖ Ambhi accepted Alexander’s sovereignty
but Porus put up a valiant but
unsuccessful fight.
 Battle of Hydaspes
❖ It was here in the Indus Valley that Alexander and his army would face
something they have never encountered before in battle, the Indian war
elephant.
❖ Alexander found enough boats to ferry 15,000 of his best men 16 miles down
river. He then marched back 16 miles and engaged King Porus from behind.
❖ Alexander drew the Indian cavalry to one flank away from the protection of
their elephants and then surrounded them while his foot soldiers came up with
spears to attack the elephants. By wounding the elephants, the animals
became wild and turned on their own men causing chaos for their army. King
Porus was taken captive and the battle was over.
❖ Alexander was so impressed with Porus’s fight that he granted him his territory
back. Porus might have accepted lordship. The battle between him and Porus is
called the Battle of Hydaspes.
Planning of battle
 Porus Captured & Aftermath
❖ Alexander approached the proud, defeated king and asked him how he wanted to
be treated - to which Porus responded that he wanted to be treated as a king.
❖ After that, Alexander’s army crossed the river Chenab and annexed the tribes
between Ravi and Chenab.
❖ But his army refused to cross the river Beas and revolted. They were exhausted
after years of battles.
❖ Alexander was forced to retreat in 326 BC. On his way back, he died at Babylon in
323 BC aged 32.
❖ After his death, the Greek Empire split in 321 BC.
❖ In northwest India, Alexander left four of his generals in charge of four regions,
one of them being Seleucus I Nicator, who would later trade his territories in the
Indus Valley with Chandragupta Maurya.
❖ Eudamas was the last General of Alexander in India.
Empire of Seluecus Nicator
 Questions & Answers
➢ Why was Alexander tte Great called Sikander?
Ans :- The name Sikander is like an alternative word for Alexander in the Persian
language. It was used for Alexander the Great because the word describes someone
that is powerful; a king or a conqueror.
➢ Was Alexander defeated in India?
Ans:- Alexander did not suffer any defeat during his time.
➢ Who was the king of Magadha when alexander attacked India ?
Ans :- Dhannand of Nanda Dynasty
➢ Where is the city called Bucephalia founded by Alexander the Great in memory of
his beloved horse Bucephalus ?
Ans :- In Pakistan, located on the North Hydaspes river(Jhelum).
 Questions & Answers
➢ Whom alexander appointed Governor of Punjab & sindh after Battle of
Hydaspes?
Ans :- Seleucus Nicator
➢ Alexander’s Governor defeated by which Indian king?
Ans:- Chandragupta Mauryan.
➢ Who was Megasthenes and name of his famous book ?
Ans :- Megasthenes was a greek Philosopher who came to Chandragupta’s court
from Seleucus nicator’s Court , he wrote “Indica” .
Thank you
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