Of these, the source that is generally considered the most reliable is the Anabasis of Alexander, written by the Greek historian Arrianos of Nikomedia (lived c. There are five main surviving written sources that provide us with most of our information on Alexander the Great’s campaigns in general and the Battle of the Hydaspes in particular. Our written sources for the Battle of the Hydaspes The Indian and Pakistani nationalists typically claim that the accepted history in which Alexander won the battle is just propaganda made up by Greek historians to make Alexander look good. Now, here is more-or-less the revised history that some Indian and Pakistani nationalists are promoting: Alexander not only lost to King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes, but he was utterly whupped and forced to flee into retreat and leave India forever. I have already told you the account of the outcome of the battle that is accepted by historians. I doubt I will convince any hardcore Indian or Pakistani nationalists, but I am not writing this answer for them I am writing it for those who are genuinely interested in knowing what really happened. In the answer, I intend to examine the historical evidence supporting the historical consensus that Alexander really did win the Battle of the Hydaspes. Nonetheless, since I started writing answers on Quora around a year ago, I have discovered that there seems to be something of an obsession among Indian and Pakistani nationalists with “proving” that Alexander really lost and that the accepted narrative is a fabrication by the Greek historians who idolized Alexander. We have nothing in our sources to suggest that and, as I shall explain in a moment, we have very good reason to doubt this assertion. Until I started writing answers on Quora, I had never heard anyone try to argue that Porus actually defeated Alexander in battle.

Alexander therefore appointed Porus as satrap of his own kingdom and the lands to the southeast as well. Porus replied that he wished to be treated the way Alexander would have wanted Porus to have treated him. The Battle of the Hydaspes was the closest one Alexander ever came to losing and he was reportedly so impressed by Porus’s valor that he asked him how he wished to be treated. According to all surviving ancient historical sources, King Alexandros III of Makedonia (most commonly known in English as “Alexander the Great”) defeated King Porus (whose name is conjectured to have been Puru in his native tongue) of the Indian kingdom of Paurava in the Battle of the Hydaspes in May 326 BC.Īlthough Alexander was ultimately victorious, Porus and his men fought valiantly.

What is porus