The knowledge about the battle of Hydaspes

1. BATTLE OF HYDASPES
COMPILED
BY
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2. INTRODUCTION
 The Battle of Hydaspes was a decisive battle fought
between the armies of Alexander the Great and the
King Porus (also known as Poru, Paurava) in 326 BC
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3. Alexander the Great
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4. King Porus
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5. MAP
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6. MAP
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7.  The Battle of Hydaspes took place on the banks of the
Jhelum River (referred to by the old Greeks as
Hydaspes) in the Punjab region of the Indian
subcontinent (modern-day Punjab, Pakistan)
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9.  It ended in a victory for Alexander’s Macedonian Army
 The battle is significant for opening up the Indian
subcontinent to Ancient Greek political and social
influences
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10. AIM
 To give you the great knowledge on the Battle of
Hydaspes
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11. SCOPE
 INRODUCTION
 BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE OF HYDASPES
 TIMING OF THE BATTLE
 CAUSES OF THE BATTLE OF HYDASPES
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12.  EVENTS OF THE BATTLE OF HYDASPES
 PORUS CAPTURED
 BATTLE OF HYDASPES - HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT
 CONCLUSION
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13. BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE
 After Alexander defeated the last of the Achaemenid
Empire’s forces in 328 BC, he began a new campaign to
further extend his empire towards India in 327 BC
 Alexander's initial march across India went relatively
unchallenged, gaining a number of allies along the way
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14.  With the hope of avoiding a battle with the Indian
king, he sent an agent to Porus seeking a peaceful
resolution, but the proud king refused to pay tribute,
telling Alexander that he would meet him in battle
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15.  He felt confident, believing his greatest defense lay in
the river itself - over a mile wide, deep, and fast moving
 By the time of Alexander's arrival it would be further
swollen by the monsoon season and the melting snow
of the Himalayas
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16. TIMING OF THE BATTLE
 Porus believed and hoped Alexander would have to
either wait for the monsoon season to end before
crossing or simply abandon his quest and leave
 In preparation for the Macedonians' arrival, he
stationed his army in a defensive position along the
river and waited
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17.  While exact numbers vary, estimates place Porus with
20-50,000 infantry, over 2,000 cavalry, upwards to 200
elephants and more than 300 chariots
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 As in previous battles, Alexander would be facing an
army that outnumbered him, something that never
seemed to worry him
 Unfortunately for Porus, he had underestimated the
brilliance of the young Macedonian king

20.  As Porus had anticipated, Alexander made camp
directly across from him on the west side of the
Hydaspes and gave every indication he would wait for
the monsoon season to end
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22.  But, in reality, he had no intention of waiting
 In order to prepare for the inevitable battle, he had
gathered support from many of the local rajahs
including Taxila - a move Alexander had hoped would
anger Porus
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23.  Alexander had also arrived at the Hydaspes well-
prepared
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24.  Before marching into India, he had recruited
additional troops from many of the Persian territories he
had conquered, training them in the Macedonian style
of fighting - a move that had angered the veteran
Macedonian soldiers
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25.  Lastly, anticipating Porus' use of elephants, he added
Scythian horse-archers
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27. CAUSES OF THE BATTLE OF HYDASPES
 Alexander dreamt of ruling the world and was very
close to achieving that dream
 He established the largest empire in the world with his
unmatched military skills, and after conquering the
Persian Empire, he focused on probing into Northern
India
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28.  As Alexander was walking through India, King Porus
flanked him.
 Alexander knew that he couldn't leave this risky
adversary stowing away in the wilderness of India and
ready for a conflict
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29.  So Alexander set up his camp close to the right bank
of the river Jhelum
 Porus drew upon the south bank of the Jhelum River
to deter Alexander from it
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30.  Both sides realized that an immediate intersection of
the river would cost them the conflict
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31. EVENTS OF THE BATTLE OF HYDASPES
 The battlefield of this remarkable war was the east
bank of the Hydaspes River (also known as Jhelum, a
tributary of the Indus River)
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33.  Alexander isolated his military, leaving a little power
with Craterus confronting Porus on the portage while
taking the vast majority of the military to cross a
second passage 17 miles (27 km) away
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34. Porus battle line
 When Porus discovered that Alexander had progressed
over the stream, he proceeded to assault.
 The battle ground suited Porus
 Porus exerted his mounted force on the flanks and
infantry in the middle, with the elephants in front
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35.  The cavalry was placed on the wings behind the
chariots
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36. • Elephants
• Chariots
• Cavalry
• Infantry
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37. Alexanders battle line
 Wanted to eliminate Porus cavalry first, then the
infantry
 Placed most of cavalry on his right hand side
 But he hid the remainder of his cavalry on the left
under the command of Coenus
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38.  His orders were to ride around the Indian line and
attack from the rear
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39. Phalanx
• Cavalry
• Light troops
• Infantry
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40.  In the middle, the Macedonian phalanx was nearly
broken by the charging elephants; however, in the end,
they drove them off just to confront the Indian infantry
 Alexander went after on the right yet neglected to
track down a hole to take advantage of with his
horsemen
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41.  At the point when Coenus got back to the front line at the
back of the Indians, Alexander had the option to overcome
the Indian rangers and surround the infantry
 Porus shifts all of his cavalry to his left
 Alexander is first to attack when he sends his visible
cavalry against Porus cavalry
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42.  Porus takes the bait and sends in all his cavalry, just as
Alexander had hoped
 Alexander hidden cavalry on his left move in behind Porus
cavalry
 Surrounded the Indian cavalry retreats behind elephants
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43.  Alexander gives the orders for his infantry to advance
 Porus sends his elephants who charge through
Alexander infantry
 Seeing this the Indian cavalry are encouraged charge
again but forced back again
 Alexander encircles Indian cavalry
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44.  The Indian elephants become confused and begin to
attack their own, killing many
 Some Indians begin to flee through a gap in the Greeks
line
 Craterus and his men now in position behind the Indian
and they clean up the fleeing Indians
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45.  Porus remains with his army and fights bravely until
he is wounded
 Porus retires from the battlefield on his elephant and
then reluctantly surrenders
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46. PORUS CAPTURED
 Throughout the battle, King Porus remained on his
elephant, despite suffering severe wounds, shocked to
see his army flee but still reluctant to admit defeat and
surrender
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48.  Alexander approached the proud, defeated king and
asked him how he wanted to be treated - to which
Porus responded that he wanted to be treated as a king
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 Alexander respected this and told Porus he would
remain king, owing allegiance to Alexander
 From Hydaspes Alexander continued on towards the
Indian Ocean. Sadly, this final march would be without
his beloved Bucephalus

50.  The great horse who he had been with him since his
youth had died - reportedly either from old age (he was
over thirty) or battle wounds. Alexander would build a
city in his honor, Bucephalia
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51.  Alexander would return to Babylon where he would
die in 323 BCE
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52.  Following his death, his vast empire would be the
scene of a series of Successor Wars for the next three
decades
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53. CONCLUSION
 One of the main reasons behind Alexander's win was
his clever tactics
 Plus, the Macedonians' superior discipline and
technology made winning the battle a lot easier for the
great military mind, Alexander
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54.  In fact, the lessons from the Battle of Hydaspes is that
the requirement for military preparation before battles
is very important
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55. REFERENCES
 https://www.worldhistory.org/article/660/battle-of-
hydaspes/
 https://WWW.Battle of Hydaspes - History, Cause, Events,
Significance (byjusexamprep.com)
 https://WWW.Battle of Hydaspes 326 BC - Background
and Legacy [UPSC Ancient History Notes] (byjus.com)
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