Porus

History glossary

Also called: Puru · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires"

Meaning

Porus (Greek form of Paurava, "the ruler of the Puru tribe") was the king of the Pauravas. His land lay between the Jhelum (Hydaspes) and Chenab (Acesines) rivers in Punjab [3]. Alexander defeated him at the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BCE [2]. Alexander then left him to rule his own land as a satrap (a governor who rules under an overlord).

Porus matters because the Greek story of his fight against Alexander is one of our clearest pictures of northwest India just before the Mauryas. It shows that the region resisted Alexander hard, and that Alexander's conquest changed very little in political terms.

Explanation

Background: the northwest and the Pauravas

  • The northwest was not one big kingdom. It held many smaller kingdoms and tribes.
  • It sat on an old trade route to the Mediterranean. This made it rich, and it was the first part of India that outside armies reached.
  • The Pauravas, ruled by Porus, were one of these kingdoms.
  • "Porus" is probably the Greek way of saying Paurava, the ruler of the Puru tribe. Old Indian texts of the region name this tribe [3].

  • His land lay between the Jhelum (Greek: Hydaspes) and the Chenab (Greek: Acesines) [3].

  • Northwestern rulers did not all act alike. Taxiles of Taxila ruled in the same period but did not fight Alexander [3]. Porus did.

The Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BCE)

  • Alexander of Macedon had already beaten the Persian empire. He wanted to reach the "end of the world", which he believed lay just past India.
  • He met Porus on the banks of the Jhelum in 326 BCE. This was the last great battle of Alexander's Asian campaign [2].
  • The two armies:
  • Alexander had about 40,000 men [2].
  • Porus had about 30,000 men, plus chariots and war elephants [2].

  • The elephants were new to the Macedonians. They had never fought them before [2].

  • How Alexander won:

  • He crossed the river under cover of a storm [2].
  • He attacked from two sides and hit the flanks (the sides of the army), so the elephants could not charge straight ahead [2].

  • The sarissa (a very long Macedonian spear, about 5-6 m) helped push the elephants back [2].

  • After the battle Alexander founded two cities: Alexandria Nicaea ("Nicaea" means victory) and Bucephala, named after his horse Bucephalus, which died there [2].

"Like a King": Porus restored

  • Alexander asked the defeated Porus how he wished to be treated.
  • Porus replied: "Like a King."
  • Alexander was impressed. He left Porus ruling his own land as a satrap.
  • Satrap (exam term): the governor of a province in the Persian, and later the Greek, empire.

  • A satrap had wide powers. He collected taxes, kept an army and ran the province, but he owed loyalty to the overlord.

  • So Porus was not a free king any more. He was a Macedonian under-ruler and stayed a supporter of Alexander.

What happened next

  • Winning against Porus did not make the rest of the march easy. Alexander met fierce resistance from local tribes and rulers.
  • Greek records say that in some battles "women fought side by side with their men".

  • Alexander himself was seriously wounded.

  • His tired soldiers refused to march towards the Ganga. Alexander never entered the Ganga valley.

  • He went back by the southern coast and the deserts of Iran, and lost many men to thirst, hunger and disease.
  • He died at Babylon, aged 32 (324-323 BCE). His empire was divided among his generals and satraps.
  • After Alexander's death, Porus was killed by Eudemus, one of Alexander's generals, sometime between 321 and 315 BCE [3].

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: Alexander's campaign in the northwest, c. 327-325 BCE. This was just before the rise of the Mauryan Empire.
  • Place: Punjab, in the land between the Jhelum and the Chenab [3]. The battle was fought on the Jhelum (Hydaspes) [2].
  • Key people:
  • Porus (Paurava)
  • Alexander of Macedon
  • Taxiles of Taxila [3]

  • Eudemus, the Macedonian general who later killed Porus [3]

  • How we know:

  • Almost everything comes from Greek accounts, written by Greek authors who came with Alexander or wrote after him.
  • Even the name "Porus" is Greek. Indian texts only name the Puru tribe of that region [3].

  • This means our picture comes mostly from one side's writing. Historians check it against archaeology and later Indian evidence.

  • NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires". The Class 12 timeline (Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns") places Alexander in India for about two years, c. 327-325 BCE.

Don't confuse with

  • Taxiles (ruler of Taxila): Taxiles also ruled in the northwest at the same time, but he did not fight Alexander. Porus fought him at the Hydaspes [3].
  • Hydaspes vs Acesines: the Hydaspes is the Jhelum, where the battle was fought. The Acesines is the Chenab, the other river that bordered Porus's land [3].
  • Bucephala vs Alexandria Nicaea: both were founded after the battle. Bucephala was named after Alexander's horse Bucephalus. Nicaea means "victory" [2].
  • Porus vs Chandragupta Maurya: Porus was a local king who became Alexander's satrap. Chandragupta built a new empire in the power gap left after Alexander's holdings broke up.

Prelims Hooks

  • Porus (Paurava), ruler of the Puru tribe, ruled the land between the Jhelum (Hydaspes) and the Chenab (Acesines) [3].
  • Battle of the Hydaspes, 326 BCE: Alexander defeated Porus on the Jhelum. It was the last great battle of Alexander's Asian campaign [2].
  • Porus's army had about 30,000 men plus chariots and war elephants. Alexander had about 40,000 [2].
  • Asked how he wished to be treated, Porus said "Like a King". He was left ruling his land as a satrap (provincial governor).
  • Trap: Porus was not killed by Alexander. He was killed by Eudemus, a Macedonian general, between 321 and 315 BCE [3].
  • After the battle Alexander founded Bucephala (after his horse Bucephalus) and Alexandria Nicaea [2].

Mains Points

  • A conquest that changed little. Alexander beat Porus but gave his kingdom back to him instead of replacing him.
  • Local rule mostly carried on.
  • Alexander stopped at the Beas, and his satrapies broke up soon after his death in 323 BCE.

  • What lasted was contact: Greek settlers in the northwest, and later Indo-Greek coins and art. This is a good example of the difference between conquest and contact.

  • Indian resistance, seen through Greek eyes. Porus fought with elephants and chariots, and the tribes that came after him fought fiercely, with women fighting beside men. Alexander was wounded, and his own troops refused to go on. All this counters the "unstoppable conqueror" story. Since Porus is known only from Greek accounts, a good answer should also note that we see him through one side's records.

  • Setting the stage for the Mauryas. The northwest was split into small kingdoms, and leaders like Porus became Macedonian under-rulers. Then Alexander's holdings collapsed and Porus was killed (321-315 BCE) [3]. This left a power gap in which Chandragupta Maurya built his empire.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires" (primary)
  2. 2Battle of the Hydaspesbritannica.com · tier 3
  3. 3Porus | Indian King, Battle of the Hydaspes, & Alexander the Greatbritannica.com · tier 3