Introduction-





king Porus of Paurava which was on the banks of river Jhelum ( Greeks know this

river as Hydaspes ) in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.

According to the question who won the Battle of Hydaspes. So the answer to the question is that many resources say that Alexander won the battle but many others also claim that Porus won the battle because after this battle of Hydaspes Alexander conducted no other invasion into India and the Alexander’s army could not face another battle after Battle of Hydaspes .



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According to the sources which claim that Alexander won the Battle Of Hydaspes in these sources it was mentioned that the resistance put up by King Porus and his men won the respect of Alexander, who asked Porus to become one of his governors. And Porus was appointed as plenipotentiary after Battle of Hydaspes.



A Short Summary Of The Whole Battle Here-







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Story Of Battle Of Hydaspes Beginning To End.



On His, Way To India



After invading the Persian empire successfully, Alexander moved further

as to fulfil his dream to conquer the world. So, Alexander invaded northern India.



Alexander has gained many troops along the way to India including the support of Taxila ( an enemy of Porus) before the battle of Hydaspes .





To avoid any more battles, Alexander offered a peace agreement to Porus king of Punjab. But proud Porus refused it and he told Alexander that he will meet in a battle, he countered Alexander because he thought defence lies in the river itself because

the river Hydaspes was itself deep, wide and fast flowing and Alexander had to wait until the monsoon is not over.



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Preparation For The Battle Of Hydaspes



Alexander had camped on the other side of Hydaspes river opposite to Porus waiting for the monsoon to end but he had a full backup of food for that long period provided by the king Ambhi ( King of Taxila)



Alexander had played many tricks to confuse king Porus about his strategy to cross the river.

As Alexander don’t want King Porus to know about when he will cross or how he will cross the river. So, the crossing of the river for the battle of Hydaspes was to be done in three waves.



To keep Porus unaware, Alexander left Craterus in a camp with sufficient soldiers

and orders not to cross himself until later. One story also describes that Alexander to leave a soldier dressed as a king to further confuse Porus.



Alexander took with him his cavalry, archers and infantry to cross the river Hydaspes .

Crossing The River Hydaspes



In order to safely cross the river, Alexander made rafts from tents and used the thirty galleys and boats from his crossing of the Indus River Alexander hoped that he would cross the river along with his 15000 cavalries and 11000 infantry smoothly. But actually not that easier to cross that river and Alexander was also surprised that instead of reaching another shore he reached on a large island which was a river island. From the island to the other side, his men would have to wade across. Many do not believe the existence of a large island would have been something Alexander could have missed. There is some disagreement on whether Alexander knew of the island – it could have been a mistake or it may have been on purpose.



At dawn, he reached the shore successfully and regrouped his army into battle formation to meet king Porus. And also scouts of Porus have already seen that Alexander has crossed the river. So, Porus prepared to retaliate.



Battle Of Hydaspes ( Battlefield)



Porus at first send his son along with 3000 cavalry and 120 chariots in order to delay Alexander’s army but it was a futile attempt. Alexander killed his son and vanquished the cavalry and chariots of Porus. After this short battle with the son of Porus, he waited to get reinforcement so that he could face his upcoming enemy forces during the Battle of Hydaspes .



Arrian a Greek Historian described the condition of that time as follows.



“”and the Indians, seeing Alexander there in person and his massed cavalry coming at them in successive charges, squadron by squadron, broke and fled … . Porus’ son being among the killed; their chariots and horses were captured as they attempted to get away””



Porus prepared to meet the Macedonian army, placing his well-known weapon, the elephants, on his front line ahead of his infantry. The Indian cavalry was situated on the right and six-man chariots were situated on the left. In the middle was Porus with his elephant.



Most of the ancient document agree that Alexander was on the right and with the help of companion cavalry to attack Porus and his horse archers to attack elephants. The aim of Archers was to make elephants panic. Coenus attacked the right flank while Alexander attacked the left. In defence, Porus ordered his cavalry to help him in the left flank against Alexander assaults.



Unfortunately, elephants in the Porus army became panicked and caused more harm to Porus’ army than Alexander.



Meanwhile, Coenus ( A general of Alexander) around Porus and attacked his left flank from behind. Porus’ army fled straight into the waiting Craterus who had already crossed the river – 12,000 Indians and 80 elephants died to only 1,000 Macedonians ( according to the ancient resources).



Aftermath.



Porus was a proud king despite severe wounds and watching his army flee from battlegrounds he doesn’t admit defeat or surrender.

Alexander when asked Porus after Battle of Hydaspes that how he wanted to be treated Porus responded by saying treat me just like a king. Alexander respected this and told Porus that he would remain, king, owing allegiance to Alexander.



Plutarch wrote–



When Porus was taken prisoner after the Battle Of Hydaspes , Alexander asked him how he wanted to be treated , he answered, “As a king. ’ For that expression, he said, when the same question was put to him a second time, comprehended everything. And Alexander, not only suffered him to govern his own kingdom as satrap under himself but gave him also the additional territory of various independent tribes whom he subdued.



