TRAGEDIES OF TRIUMPH

After his fourth and final ‘great’ battle at the Hydaspes in 326 BC, Alexander’s winning streak came to an end. Alexander’s army seemed to have been thrown back into the bad old days of 328/7, facing insurgencies and internal disputes and making little progress to pacify and rule his newly-conquered lands.

Tim Howe

Yet the campaign in the Indus Valley was different. There are many possible reasons, but what is certain is that after the victory over Poros the Macedonian army was less gregarious, less keen to rush into the unknown, which, together with the infamous Indian monsoon, worked against morale. We have a first-hand account of all of this through the eyewitness account of Ptolemy, as reported by Arrian. Crossing the Acesines Flush with victory, and buoyed by a seemingly-powerful new ally in Poros, Alexander roused his weary men to conquer the peoples across the Hydaspes (Jhelum) River. Initially, the weather proved the real enemy. Crossing the rain-swollen Acesines (Chenab) River offered a major challenge. Much of the army would float over on inflated skins while the rest would board the boats…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVIII.1

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