Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/61

 Chap. I.J

EXPEDITION OF ALEXANDER.

27

Alexander crosses the ludus.

question ; but it is admitted on all hanels that he crossed it in the north of the ^c 3i Punjab, where the towTi of Attock now stands. Here a bridge of boats had been constructed by Hephsestion and Perdiccas, who had been sent forward with a division of the army for that purpose. When Alexander arrived, the south- west monsoon had set in, and the river was gi-eatly swollen by the rains. Had the passage been opposed, it could scarcely have been forced ; but Taxiles, the chief whose territories lay on the eastern bank, had hastened to give in his sub- mission, and thus, instead of an enemy, proved a valuable auxiliary. In Taxila, his capital, described as a populous and wealthy city, unequalled by any situated, Uke itself, Ijetween the Indus and its nearest tributary, the Hydaspes or Jailum, Alexander and his army were hospitably entertained. In return for this hospitality, Taxiles received an arbitrary grant of as much adjoining territory as he chose to ask.

If Alexander expected that all the Indian princes would prove as pusillani- Passage moiis as Taxiles, he was soon undeceived. Porus, a native rulei', whose terri- Hv.hili)es. bounded those of _^_

tones

demand for tribute with army on the left bank of the river, Alexander found rapid, and inmiediately saw passage could not be effected boats. The neighbom'hood materials, he caused the

Alrxanuer the Great.'

Taxiles on the east, met a defiance, and lay with his the Hydaspes. On reaching it running broad, deep, and that even an undisputed without a gi-eat number of not furnishing the necessary boats which he had used

on the Indus to be taken to pieces, and transported overland. The more serious obstacle still remained. Porus kept strict watch on the bank. His army appears to have been greatly outnumbered by that of Alexander, for the main body consisted of only 30,000 infantry, with an inconsiderable body of cavalry, 200 elephants, and 300 chariots; but placed as he was, numl)ers counted as nothing against him, since he could easily, with a mere handful of troops, overmatch any numl)er, provided the attempt to force a passage were made openly. Alexander was too skilful a tactician not to per- Aiex.uuier-s ceive this at a single glance, and had, accordingly, from the very fii-st, determined to trust less to open force than to stratagem. By a series of movements and comiter-movements, he distracted the attention of the enemy, and kept him in a state of uncertainty as to the point where the attempt at crossing was likely to ■^ be made. Next, by selecting a number of stations along the bank, and making false alarms during the night, he obliged the troops of Porus to be always in motion, till natm-e itself was completely exhausted by want of repose. Lastly, by ordering provisions to be brought in from all quarters, he encouraged the belief that he had abandoned the idea of crossing until the swollen waters had sub- sided. Under this impression, the vigilance of Porus relaxed. Meanwhile, in

' Silver tetradrachma of Lysimacbus. — From Briti.sh Museum.