Battles & Wars › Greece, Rome & Han › Conquests of Alexander the Great
Battle of the Hydaspes
May 326 BC· Battle· Asia & Pacific
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Alexander's hard-fought victory over King Porus on the Jhelum River in Punjab, his last major pitched battle.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Porus, a king in Punjab (now Pakistan), held the far bank of the monsoon-swollen Hydaspes (modern Jhelum) with an army that ancient accounts say included 85 to 200 war elephants. Alexander left troops in view at his camp, slipped upstream on a stormy night and crossed about 27 km (17 miles) away. His cavalry broke Porus's horsemen, then his phalanx fought the elephants, which in the end trampled both sides. Porus, wounded, surrendered, and Alexander kept him on as king and ally.
Why it matters
Soon after, his exhausted army refused to go farther east at the Hyphasis (Beas) River, so the battle marks the practical eastern limit of Alexander's conquests.
How we know
Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus and Curtius, written centuries later from lost eyewitness accounts; silver coins Alexander struck showing a horseman attacking an elephant rider, usually linked to this battle.
Still debated
Indian sources are silent, the exact site is unknown, and some historians think Greek writers inflated Porus's army; a few argue the result was closer than claimed.
Connections (2)
▸Battle of the Hydaspes was the last great battle of Conquests of Alexander the GreatWell documented
The connection
The Hydaspes was Alexander's last major pitched battle. It cost his army heavily, and soon after, at the Hyphasis (Beas) River, his soldiers refused to march farther into India. Alexander turned back down the Indus, crossed the Gedrosian desert, and died in Babylon in 323 BC without fighting another battle on this scale.
When and how
Punjab, in modern Pakistan, May 326 BC; the mutiny at the Hyphasis followed later that summer.
How we know
Arrian, Curtius and Plutarch all describe the battle, then the mutiny and the turn homeward.
Debates and open questions
How far the battle's cost, rather than exhaustion, monsoon rains or reports of bigger Indian armies ahead, drove the mutiny is debated.
▸Alexander the Great defeated King Porus at Battle of the HydaspesWell documented
The connection
Alexander kept Porus guessing for weeks with feints along the river, then crossed upstream on a stormy night. He drew Porus's cavalry into a fight, sent a cavalry wing around behind them, and let his phalanx wear down the elephants. Afterward he restored Porus as king over a larger realm, gaining a loyal ally.
When and how
The Hydaspes (Jhelum) River in Punjab, May 326 BC; Alexander, his cavalry commander Coenus, and King Porus of the Paurava.
How we know
Arrian, drawing on lost accounts by Ptolemy and Aristobulus, who served with Alexander, describes the battle in detail.
Debates and open questions
The crossing site is uncertain, and why Alexander rewarded Porus, admiration or practical need for a strong local ally, is debated.