Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/77

Rh reposed in fancied security, and inflicted severe loss upon them. Recovering from their surprise, the mercenaries formed themselves into a hollow circle, with the women and children in the centre, and offered a desperate resistance, in which the women took an active part. At last the gallant defenders were overpowered by superior numbers, and, in the words of an ancient historian, "met a glorious death which they would have disdained to exchange for a life with dishonour." The unarmed camp-followers and the women were spared.

This incident, which has been severely condemned by various writers, ancient and modern, as a disgraceful breach of faith by Alexander, does not seem to have been, as supposed by Diodorus, the outcome of implacable enmity felt by the king against the mercenaries. The slaughter of the contingent was rather, as represented by Arrian, the tremendous penalty for a meditated breach of faith on the part of the Indians, and, if this explanation be true, the penalty cannot be regarded as altogether undeserved. While the accession of seven thousand brave and disciplined troops would have been a welcome addition to Alexander's small army, the addition of such a force to the enemy in the plains would have been a serious impediment to his advance; and he was, perhaps, justified in protecting himself against such a formidable increase of the enemy's strength.

Alexander next captured a town called Ora or Nora, and occupied an important place named Bazira, the