General Knowledge - Indian History - Discussion

The river Jhelum is called Vitasta in the Rigveda and Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks. The Vitasta is mentioned as one of the major rivers by the holy scriptures of the Indo-Aryans - the Rigveda. It has been speculated that the Vitasta must have been one of the seven rivers (sapta-sindhu) mentioned so many times in the Rigveda. The name survives in the Kashmiri name for this river as Vyeth. According to the major religious work Srimad Bhagavatam, the Vitasta is one of the many transcendental rivers flowing through land of Bharata, or ancient India.

The River Jhelum below the bridge beside Jhelum City.

The river was regarded as a god by the ancient Greeks, as were most mountains and streams; the poet Nonnus in the Dionysiaca (section 26, line 350) makes the Hydaspes a titan-descended god, the son of the sea-god Thaumas and the cloud-goddess Elektra. He was the brother of Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, and half-brother to the Harpies, the snatching winds. Since the river is in a country foreign to the ancient Greeks, it is not clear whether they named the river after the god, or whether the god Hydaspes was named after the river. Alexander the Great and his army crossed the Jhelum in BC 326 at the Battle of the Hydaspes River where it is believed that he defeated the Indian king, Porus. According to Arrian (Anabasis, 29) , he built a city "on the spot whence he started to cross the river Hydaspes", which he named Bukephala (or Bucephala[disambiguation needed]) to honour his famous horse Bukephalus or Bucephalus which was buried in Jalalpur Sharif. It is thought that ancient Bukephala was near the site of modern Jhelum City. According to a historian of Gujrat district, Mansoor Behzad Butt, Bukephalus was buried in Jalalpur Sharif, but the people of Mandi Bahauddin, a district close to Jehlum, believed that their tehsil Phalia was named after Bucephalus, Alexander's dead horse. They say that the name Phalia was the distortion of the word Bucephala. The waters of the Jhelum are allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is working on a hydropower project on a tributary of Jhelum river to establish first-use rights on the river water over Pakistan as per the Indus waters Treaty.

The Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought by Alexander the Great in 326 BC against King Porus of the Hindu Paurava kingdom on the banks of the Hydaspes River (Jhelum River) in the Punjab near Bhera. This battle is considered as Alexander's most costly by many historians, Peter Connolly notable amongst them. The battle resulted in a complete Macedonian victory and the annexation of the Punjab, which lay beyond the confines of the defeated Persian empire, into the Alexandrian Empire.

Alexander's decision to cross the monsoon-swollen river despite close Indian surveillance, in order to catch Porus' army in the flank, has been referred as one of his "masterpieces". Although victorious, it was also the most costly battle fought by the Macedonians. The resistance put up by King Porus and his men won the respect of Alexander, who asked Porus to become a Macedonian satrap.

The battle is historically significant for opening up India to Greek political (Seleucid, Greco-bactrian Indo-Greek) and cultural influences (Greco-Buddhist art), which continued to have an impact for many centuries.

This area is currently consist upon the following cities of Pakistani Punjab (Mandi Bhauddin-Phalia -Gujrat-Jhelum-Sargodha.

Main battlefield of this war called "MONG" which is 8km in NW from Mandi Bhauddin. &5 km in SE from river Jhelum.

When Alexander got badly injured ، his dearest horse/mare (Bocephalous) bear and bring him away almost 30 Km from the battle yard. & Alex. Got another life but bocephalis got death by hanging with its own rope.

Alex was we sorrowful at the death of his beloved mare?

He formed a city and named it Bosephalos after the war and after many centuries the Punjabi speakings changed its name Bosephalos to Phalia because in Punjabi hanging with a rope called Phaa -Lia so this city is known as Phalia currently.

This location is also famous for the battle of Chillianwala (final Sikh-Anglo war 1849).

In BC 326 Alexander want to defeat poras. First he offered to come and accept my my rule. But porus refused his offer and become ready to fight. On the west bank of river they both are stayed.

Alexander have 30000 thousand warrior and Ambi produced 5000 warrior to Alexander. Porus have 30000 thousand warrior, 4000 thousand horse warrior, 200 hundred elephants and porus came to east bank of the river.

In this war porus was defeated by Alexander. After that Alexander gave his empire to porus.

King Porus was the Hindu King of Paurava, an ancient state within the territory of modern day Punjab, located between the Jhelum river and the Chenab river (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) rivers in modern day Punjab, Pakistan, and later of dominions extending to the Beas (in Greek, the Hyphasis). Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC (at the site of modern day Mong) and was defeated. He then served Alexander as a client king.

King of ancient punjab who had their realm from jhelum to chenab (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) , he came on the way of king Alexander the Great during south asia invasion, he defeated in the year 326 bc near Hydaspes river thats why called Battle of the Hydaspes that one. After the defeat alexander asked pours how to treat you he replied "treat me as a king" by hearing this alexander returned his kingdom back to pours.

King of ancient punjab who had their realm from jhelum to chenab (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) , he came on the way of king Alexander the Great during south asia invasion, he defeated in the year 326 bc near Hydaspes river thats why called Battle of the Hydaspes that one. After the defeat alexander asked pours how to treat you he replied"treat me as a king" by hearing this alexander returned his kingdom back to pours.

The bravery, war skills and princely attitude of Porus greatly impressed Alexander, who allowed him to rule Hydaspes in Alexander's name. Wounded in his shoulder, standing at over 2.1 m (7 feet) tall, he was asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated. "Treat me, O Alexander, like a king" Porus responded. Alexander would indeed treat him like a king, allowing him to retain his kingship.

King Porus was the ancient Hindu King of Paurava, an ancient Indian Kingdom located between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers in modern-day Punjab, Pakistan, and later of dominions extending to the Beas. Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC and was defeated. He then served Alexander as a client king.

Alexander returned because of Porus's shocking resistance in his way. Alexander's army was greatly afraid of elephant-army of indigenous king and they refused Alexander in his campaign according to Hollywood movie "Alexander-The great". They had to fight with Nanda dynasty which was huge and most powerful in south asia.