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wa« difpirtchcd to join Taxilca and thf reft of the Indian 

 ■ri:icti, vvlio wcie come out to meet them, and to reduce 

 the country as far as this river. This commilTion was caiily 

 and Ipecdily executed. Alexander bent his march towards 

 the river Choalpcs, and reduced teveral pUices in hisprogrcls, 

 among which And.ica was one of the moll coiUiderable. 

 He proceeded accainll the Afpii and Aflaecni, whom he 

 fuccelTivcly dcfealt.d, notwiihllanding ohltinate rcfiftance ; 

 but having inveiled Majjaza, the capital of the latter people, 

 he was woundtd in tiie luge, a:;d the army was repeatedly- 

 repulfed. At length, however, the Indians were compelled 

 t^ lubmit ; and by an ad of pcrlidy, which Diodoriis Siculiis 

 Jeverelv condemns, they were all put to the fword. Plutarch 

 aifo reproaches the king for this barbarous action. Ora and 

 Uiizira, and the rock of Aonui.':, to which the inhabitants 

 of the latter place retired, were next reduced ; and Alex- 

 ander proceeded to the liver Indus, where Hephxllion and 

 Perdiccas had already provided a bridge of boats for the 

 palTage of the army. Having retrefhed his troops in the 

 territory of his friend and ally, Tiixiles, Alexander pafled 

 ths Indus, B. C. 327 ; and advanced forward to the Hy- 

 dafpes, known in modern times by the name of the Bctah 

 or Che'um, or, according to the orthography of Major 

 Rennell, Beliut and I!iyl«m, where Porus with a large aniiy 

 lay encamped to difpute his padiige. When he approached 

 the banks of this river, he found that the people with whom 

 he had to contend were not to be fubdued fo eafily as the 

 Perfians, and other Afiatics. The Indians were not only a 

 very tail and robult, but alfo a very hardy and well dilci- 

 plincd people ; and their king Porus, a prince of high fpirit, 

 invincible courage, and good conduct. Alexander, however, 

 after encountering great difficulties, on account of the in- 

 undations to which the Indian rivers are fubjedl at the time 

 of his march, which was Midfummer, or about the height 

 of the rainy feafon, pafTed the Hydafpes ; and having van- 

 quiflied a detachment under the command of the fon of 

 Porus, who was flain in the aAion, he encountered Porus 

 himfelf at the head of 4000 horfe, 30,000 foot, 300 chariots 

 and 200, or as Q. Curtius fays (lib. viii. 13.) 85 elephants. 

 The dilpute, though fhort, was vei-y bldidy. Porus be- 

 haved with finp;ular prudence and intrepidity ; but the In- 

 dians were completely routed after a great flaughter. Porus, 

 compelled tolubmit, was conduftcd to Alexander, who re- 

 ceived him with refpe61,and treated him with kindnefs. t^Hien 

 he was allied " how he wifhed to be treated ?" Porus re- 

 plied, " as a king." " Tliat for my own fake," faid Alex- 

 ander, " I {hall do." " And therein," rejoined Poms, " is 

 comprehended all that I can a(li." Alexander gave him his 

 liberty, rellored his kingdom with additional provinces ; and 

 Porus, in return, became his true friend and conftant ally. 

 For perpetuating the remembrance of this vidory two cities 

 were built ; one caHtd Niccea, and the other Bucephala. 

 Paffing the river Acetines, he entered the territories of an- 

 other Porus, and in purfuit of him cro.Ted the Hydraotes ; 

 and having conquered the whole kingdom of this prince, he 

 gave it to Porus his ally. In the midft of this fuccefs 

 Alexander received advice, that the Cathei, Oxydracx, and 

 Malli, the mod warlike nations in India, were confederated 

 againll him, and had afTembkd a great army. He determined 

 immediately to att:ick them ; and though they made a vi- 

 gorous defence, they were put to flight ; and foon after, their 

 city of Sangala was taken by ftorm and razed. He then 

 prepared to pafs the Hyphalis, having nothing in view, as 

 Anian fays, but to feck new enemies. Here he was told 

 that after paffing this river, he muR travel ii days through 

 ielertf, and that he wo.ild then arrive at the Ganges, the 



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largcft river m India ; and that farther in the country were 

 the Gangarids and I'rafii, who were colleding a great force 

 in order to oppole his entering into their dominions, Ru» 

 mours of this kind were fpread through the army, and pro- 

 duced no inconfiderable degree of difcontent and murmur. 

 Unable to allay the ferment that vas prevailing among the 

 troops and to fotisfy them, that they had any object in view 

 which could warrant their being led on to new difhculties and 

 toils, he was conlh-ained to terminate his progrcfi, and to 

 prepare for his return. When his purpofe was madeknowii 

 to the army, be was faluted with loud acclamations and re- 

 ceived the thanks of his followers ; " becaule," they laid, 

 " he who was invincible had fuffered himfelf to be overcome 

 by their prayers." On the banks of the Hyphalis, the mo- 

 dern Beyah, which were the limits (M his conquefts, he 

 caufed to be ereCled 12 altars, on which facritices were of- 

 fered. Tiiefe altars, if we may believe the biographer of 

 Apollonius Tyaiisus, were ftill remaining,, with legible in- 

 fcriptions, when that fantaftic fophill vii'ited India, 373 

 years after Alexander's expedition. Philoftrat. vita Apol- 

 ion. lib. ii. c. 43. ed. Olearii. 



Having exhibited pubhc {hows in the Grecian manner, he 

 added all the conquered country to the dominions of Porus, 

 and began his retrograde march towards the river Hydraotes. 

 Prom thence he proceeded to the Acefmes, and marched on 

 to the Hydafpes, propollng to emb?-.k on the river Indus, 

 and to pafs by this river to the ocean. Whilft he was march- 

 ing near thefe rivers, he obferved many crocodiles, and that 

 the country produced beans like thofe of Egj-pt ; and hence 

 he inferred, that he had difcovercd the fource of the Nile, 

 and prepared a fleet to fail down the Hvdafpes to Egypt. 

 Strabo. Geog. lib. xv. p. 1020. This circumllance {liews, 

 that the knowledge of the Greeks, in his age, did not extentj 

 beyond the limits of the Mediterranean. The breadth of the 

 Panjab, as it is now called, through which Alexander pafTed, 

 from Ludhana on the Setlege to Attock on the Indus, is 

 computed to be 259 geographical miles, in a flraight line ; 

 and his march, computed in the fame manner, did not exceed 

 above 200 miles. But in his advance and return, his troops 

 were fo fpread over the country, and all his movements were 

 fo exactly meafured and delineated by men of fcience, whoiT* 

 he kept in pay for the purpofe, that he acquired a very ex- 

 tenfive and accurate knowledge of that part of India. 



Having prepared a fleet, conlifting of 80 velTcls of three 

 banks of oars, and about 2000 klTer Ihips and tranfports, 

 and having offered facrifices to the gods, he embarked, and 

 at the fignal of the found of a trumpet the fleet began to 

 move. Having arrived at the confluence of the Acefines 

 with the Hydafpes, where thefe united ftreams roll with 

 great rapidity into tlie Indus, many of his vefTels were lo{f, 

 he himfelf was in danger, and Nearchus, the commander of 

 the fleet, not a little perplexed. When the danger was part, 

 and the fleet and amiy were joined, Alexander went on fliore y 

 and began his march through a defert coimtry, in order to 

 reduce the Malli and Oxydracx, who were railing forces to 

 oppofe him. He fiirprifed them, unprepared and unex- 

 pefting his arrival ; many of them were flain in the field, and 

 the refl fled into the city and fliut the gates. In ftomiing- 

 their principal city, Alexander, with a romantic valour,, 

 which approached to fool-hardinefs, fcaled the walls, and 

 leaped down into the city, accompanied by only three of his 

 guards. Whdft he perionally encountered a fevere attack, 

 he was wounded, and fainted tiirough lofs of blood ; twot 

 of his guards, who were themfelves wounded, covered him 

 with their fhields ; till the foldiers from without afcended 

 the walls, tiirew ihetnitlves into ths city, and by an aft of 



the 



