Porus: Difference between revisions

Porus
Porus
King;
	Porus (on elephant) fighting Alexander the Great, on a "victory coin" of Alexander (minted c. 324–322 BC)
Reign	before 326 – c. 317 BC
King of Hyphasis
Reign	326 – c. 321 BC
Died	c. 321 – c. 315 BC
Military career
Battles/wars	Alexander's Indian campaign Battle of Hydaspes;

VisualWikitext

Latest revision as of 12:29, 25 January 2026

Porus or Puru (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist. Pôros; fl. 326–321 BC) was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Jhelum River (Hydaspes) and Chenab River (Acesines) in the Punjab region.^[2] He is only mentioned in Greek sources. Said to be a warrior with exceptional skills, Porus fought against Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BC).^[3] Following the conflict, Porus retained his kingship. Alexander not only reinstated him as his satrap but also expanded his jurisdiction to include dominion over lands to the south-east extending as far as the Hyphasis (Beas).^[4]^[5]^[6] Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315 BC.^[7]

Sources[edit | edit source]

The only contemporary information available on Porus and his kingdom is from Greek sources, whereas Indian sources do not mention him.^[8] The Greek sources differ considerably among themselves.^[9]

Identification[edit | edit source]

Purus[edit | edit source]

Michael Witzel conjectures that Porus was a king of the Pūrus, a Vedic tribe, who existed as a marginal power in Punjab after their defeat in the Battle of the Ten Kings.^[10]^[11]^[12] Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri largely agreed with this identification.^[9]

Saurasenis[edit | edit source]

Quintus Curtius Rufus mentions Porus' vanguard soldiers carrying a banner of "Herakles" during the face-off with Alexander.^[13] Accordingly, Ishwari Prasad and a few other scholars argue that Porus was a Shurasena.^[14]^{[lower-alpha 1]} This identification is based on the fact that multiple Greek histories — Indica by Arrian, Geographica by Strabo, and Bibliotheca historica by Diodorus Siculus — note Megasthenes^{[lower-alpha 2]} to have described an Indian tribe called Sourasenoi who worshiped one "Herakles" and originated from the lands of Mathura and Yamuna.^[13]^[16]^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Rule[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

A detailed physical map of the Punjab region. The major rivers of the region including the Jhelum (Hydaspes) and Chenab (Acesines) are visible.

Porus ruled over the tracts between the rivers Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab); Strabo noted the territory to contain almost 300 cities.^[17] He had a hostile relationship with the neighboring polity of Taxila, having assassinated their erstwhile ruler Ambhiraj, his maternal uncle.^[17]

When Alexander crossed the Indus in their eastward invasion, probably in Udabhandapura, he was greeted by the then-ruler of Taxila, Omphis, son of Ambhiraj.^[17] Years ago, he had visited Alexander in Sogdiana and was treated as an ally; Omphis' rule was confirmed and gifts lavished, but a Macedonian satrap was installed.^[17] Omphis hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission, leveraging the might of Alexander's forces, and dispatched diplomatic missions to this effect.^[17]

In response, Abisares offered submission but Porus refused, leading Alexander to seek a face-off on the bank of Jhelum.^[17] Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown and the exact strength of the armies cannot be determined either, due to major discrepancies between sources.^[17]

Battle of the Hydaspes[edit | edit source]

A painting by Charles Le Brun depicting Alexander and Porus during the Battle of the Hydaspes

Alexander re-used the same vessels which were used for crossing the Indus, the first time, some 300 km away at Udabhandapura.^[17] His forces frequently mounted intrusion-attempts and even before the battle had started, skirmishes were reported in the riverine islands.^[17]

A few months later, Alexander decided to accompany a strike force across the densely forested headlands and besiege Porus' defense; the base camp with substantial cavalry and infantry units was left under Craterus, who was advised to follow Alexander upon a successful passage whilst the remaining forces were distributed along the river under three phalanx officers to distract Porus' forces.^[17] The strategy was successful and they crossed the Jhelum unobstructed, on a stormy night, just before dawn.^[17] A band of horsemen on chariots led by Porus' son did detect the intrusion and mount a charge but was repelled by Alexander's superior cavalry.^[17]

Informed of Alexander's passage, Porus became concerned with tackling those who had already crossed, rather than preventing passage of the remaining majority.^[17] He took a defensive position in the plains, interspersing infantry units with elephants^{[lower-alpha 4]} on the front lines and stationing the cavalry and chariots in the wings.^[17]^[18] Alexander chose to shield his infantry and instead led a devastating cavalry charge on Porus' left wing, forcing reinforcements from the right; however, this rear-transit came under attack by Coenus' cavalry and Porus' cavalry was compelled to take refuge within the infantry frontlines, causing confusion.^[17]

This led to an all-out attack from both sides, but Porus' plans proved futile.^[17] According to Heckle (2014), Porus is believed to have had around 30,000 infantry. However, Porus only had 4,000 mounted troops.^[19] Not only were Porus' cavalry charges repelled but the mahouts were killed using sarissas and the elephants were pushed back into Porus' columns, wreaking havoc on the rear, Alexander's cavalry kept charging and inflicting disorder.^[17] Soon Porus' army was surrounded on all sides, and became easy fodder for Alexander's forces with the cavalry exterminated and most of the elephants captured.^[17] Still, Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.^[17] A fraction of the infantry successfully escaped and probably planned to regroup but Craterus pursued them to their deaths.^[17]

Result[edit | edit source]

The battle resulted in a decisive Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources, who obviously exaggerated.^[17] Alexander held athletic and gymnastic games at the site, and even commissioned two cities in commemoration: Nicaea at the site of his victory and Bucephalous at the battle-ground, in memory of his horse.^[17]^{[lower-alpha 5]} Later, decadrachms were minted by the Babylonian mint depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a sarissa and attacking a pair of Indian soldiers atop an elephant.^[17]^[20]

Surrender of Porus to Alexander, 1865 engraving by Alonzo Chappel.

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

Alexander the Great and King Poros – Opera From Antonio Cesti Burnacini – 1750

Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose not to depose him.^[21]^[22] His territory was not only restored, but also expanded, with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.^[21] Further, Omphis was reconciled with Porus.^[21]

A joint expedition was then mounted against a territory east of the Chenab, ruled by an enemy cousin of Porus; he had earlier submitted to Alexander but, suspicious of Porus' rise in rank, chose to flee with his army.^[21] The date of this battle remains disputed; Alexander's forces overran his lands before meeting stiff resistance at a walled Sangala on the other side of the Ravi.^[21] Siege warfare was executed to brilliant effect and the full-fledged attack began once Porus had joined with his elephants.^[21] As Sangala and allied cities were razed, Porus was allowed to station his garrisons.^[21]

Thereafter, Alexander proceeded unopposed to the Beas and even intended to cross it towards the Gangetic Plain; however, the monsoon was at its peak and his weary troops remained stubborn despite his cajoling and threats.^[21] A reluctant Alexander had to renounce his plans and turn back.^[21] Porus was thus ratified as the de facto ruler of the entire territory east of the Jhelum, with no European satrap to co-rule with, unlike Ambhi and Abisares.^[21] The crossing-back of the Jhelum was a prolonged affair; filled with festivities, it attracted thousands.^[21]

Death[edit | edit source]

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Perdiccas became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas' murder in 321 BC, Antipater became the new regent.^[23] According to Diodorus, Antipater recognized Porus' authority over the territories along the Indus River. However, Eudemus, who had served as Alexander's satrap in the Punjab region, killed Porus.^[24]

Cultural depictions of Porus[edit | edit source]

Porus is defeated by Alexander in single combat in the premodern text, the Alexander Romance.^[25]
Sohrab Modi portrayed Porus in the 1941 movie Sikandar
Prithviraj Kapoor portrayed Porus in the 1965 movie Sikandar-e-Azam
Porus is played by Arun Bali in the 1991 TV series Chanakya.^[26]
Porus appears in the 1999 animated series Reign: The Conqueror^{[citation needed]}
Porus is portrayed by the Thai actor, Bin Bunluerit, in Alexander (2004)^[27]
Porus appears in the 2011 TV series Chandragupta Maurya.^[28]
SET launched Siddharth Kumar Tewary's serial titled Porus on the Battle of Hydaspes^[29] in Nov 2017, in which Porus is portrayed by Laksh Lalwani.
Porus appears in the Historical Battle campaign of Rome: Total War: Alexander.
Porus appears in the video game Ancient Battle: Alexander, in which he is a playable character, as well as an enemy.
Porus appears in the Chronicles: Alexander the Great expansion of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as a playable character as well as an enemy player.

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ Iswhari Prashad and others following his lead, found further support for this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shurasenas were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new kingdoms there.^[15]
↑ He had traveled to India, after Porus had been already supplanted by Chandragupta Maurya.
↑ The Greeks often chronicled foreign gods in terms of their own divinities; multiple scholars have argued "Herakles" to mean "Hari-Krishna", the closest mythological equivalent.^[13]^[16] This identification also fits with the geography, Mathura being the epicenter of the Krshna cult. However, there is no evidence of Krishna worship as early as the 4th century BC.^[16] Some modern scholars equate "Herakles" to Indra but this identification is not widely accepted either.^[16]
↑ Porus had expected the elephant units to negate charges by Alexander's well-trained cavalry.
↑ Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.

References[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

↑ See Keyne Cheshire, Alexander the Great Archived 17 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine (Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.139: "Alexander charges Porus, who hurls a javelin from atop his elephant"
↑ Jones, T. T. (1964). "The Genesis of Military River Operations: Alexander the Great at the Hydaspes River". The Military Engineer. 56 (374): 424–426. ISSN 0026-3982. JSTOR 44571479.
↑ Fuller, pg 198
"While the battle raged, Craterus forced his way over the Haranpur ford. When he saw that Alexander was winning a brilliant victory he pressed on and, as his men were fresh, took over the pursuit."
↑ p. xl, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare, J. Woronoff & I. Spence
↑ Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, V.29.2
↑ "Battle of the Hydaspes | Alexander the Great, Map, Tactics, & Significance | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
↑ "Porus", Encyclopædia Britannica, archived from the original on 14 September 2015, retrieved 8 September 2015
↑ Asoke Kumar Majumdar (1977). Concise History of Ancient India: Political history. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 136. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2021. Nothing is known of Porus from Indian sources
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 H. C. Raychaudhuri (1988) [1967]. "India in the Age of the Nandas". In K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (ed.). Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Second ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 147. ISBN 978-81-208-0466-1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
↑ Witzel, Michael (1997). "The development of the Vedic canon and its schools: the social and political milieu". crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de: 263, 267, 320. doi:10.11588/xarep.00000110. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
↑ Witzel, Michael (1995). "4. Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres". In Erdosy, George (ed.). The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. Indian Philology and South Asian Studies. De Gruyter. pp. 85–125. doi:10.1515/9783110816433-009. ISBN 978-3-11-081643-3. S2CID 238465491. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
↑ Brereton, Joel P.; Jamison, Stephanie W., eds. (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. pp. 880, 902–905, 923–925, 1015–1016. ISBN 9780199370184.
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 Krishna: a Sourcebook, p. 5, Edwin Francis Bryant, Oxford University Press US, 2007
↑ A Comprehensive History of India: The Mauryas & Satavahanas, p. 383, edited by K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Bharatiya Itihas Parishad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1992, Original from the University of California
↑ "Actually, the legend reports a westward march of the Yadus (MBh. 1.13.49, 65) from Mathura, while the route from Mathura to Dvaraka southward through a desert. This part of the Krsna legend could be brought to earth by digging at Dvaraka, but also digging at Darwaz in Afghanistan, whose name means the same thing and which is the more probable destination of refugees from Mathura..." Introduction to the Study of Indian History, p. 125, D D Kosambi, Publisher: [S.l.] : Popular Prakashan, 1999
↑ ^16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 ^16.3 Puskás, Ildikó (1990). "Megasthenes and the "Indian Gods" Herakles and Dionysos". Mediterranean Studies. 2: 39–47. ISSN 1074-164X. JSTOR 41163978. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
↑ ^17.00 ^17.01 ^17.02 ^17.03 ^17.04 ^17.05 ^17.06 ^17.07 ^17.08 ^17.09 ^17.10 ^17.11 ^17.12 ^17.13 ^17.14 ^17.15 ^17.16 ^17.17 ^17.18 ^17.19 ^17.20 ^17.21 ^17.22 Bosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "The Campaign of the Hydaspes". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press. pp. 125–130.
↑ Hamilton, J. R. (1956). "The Cavalry Battle at the Hydaspes". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 76: 26–31. doi:10.2307/629551. ISSN 0075-4269. JSTOR 629551. S2CID 163435999. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
↑ Heckel, W. (2012). “Conquest of the Punjab” in The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Canto Classics, pp. 112–125). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139197076.011
↑ Holt, Frank Lee (2003). Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions. University of California Press.
↑ ^21.00 ^21.01 ^21.02 ^21.03 ^21.04 ^21.05 ^21.06 ^21.07 ^21.08 ^21.09 ^21.10 Bosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press.
↑ Anson, Edward M. (2013). Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Bloomsbury. p. 151. ISBN 9781441193797.
↑ Heckel, Waldemar (2006). Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire. Wiley. ISBN 9781405112109.
↑ Irfan Habib; Vivekanand Jha (2004). Mauryan India. A People's History of India. Aligarh Historians Society / Tulika Books. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-85229-92-8.
↑ Alexander, Scott. "Book Review: The Alexander Romance". www.astralcodexten.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
↑ DD National (6 August 2020). Chanakya Episode 12. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
↑ Porus on IMDb
↑ Old Serials Archive (19 July 2017). Chandragupta Maurya Episode 1.
↑ "Siddharth Kumar Tewary's next on Porus for Sony Entertainment Television". Times of India. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

Sources[edit | edit source]

Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1966), Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0433-3

External links[edit | edit source]

[16] Iswhari Prashad and others following his lead, found further support for this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shurasenas were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new kingdoms there.^[15]

[17] He had traveled to India, after Porus had been already supplanted by Chandragupta Maurya.

[19] The Greeks often chronicled foreign gods in terms of their own divinities; multiple scholars have argued "Herakles" to mean "Hari-Krishna", the closest mythological equivalent.^[13]^[16] This identification also fits with the geography, Mathura being the epicenter of the Krshna cult. However, there is no evidence of Krishna worship as early as the 4th century BC.^[16] Some modern scholars equate "Herakles" to Indra but this identification is not widely accepted either.^[16]

[21] Porus had expected the elephant units to negate charges by Alexander's well-trained cavalry.

[24] Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.

[1] See Keyne Cheshire, Alexander the Great Archived 17 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine (Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.139: "Alexander charges Porus, who hurls a javelin from atop his elephant"

[2] Jones, T. T. (1964). "The Genesis of Military River Operations: Alexander the Great at the Hydaspes River". The Military Engineer. 56 (374): 424–426. ISSN 0026-3982. JSTOR 44571479.

[Fuller_pg_198-3] Fuller, pg 198
"While the battle raged, Craterus forced his way over the Haranpur ford. When he saw that Alexander was winning a brilliant victory he pressed on and, as his men were fresh, took over the pursuit."

[ReferenceA-4] . xl, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare, J. Woronoff & I. Spence

[ReferenceB-5] Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, V.29.2

[6] "Battle of the Hydaspes | Alexander the Great, Map, Tactics, & Significance | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[eb-7] "Porus", Encyclopædia Britannica, archived from the original on 14 September 2015, retrieved 8 September 2015

[8] Asoke Kumar Majumdar (1977). Concise History of Ancient India: Political history. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 136. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2021. Nothing is known of Porus from Indian sources

[:1-9] 9.0 ^9.1 H. C. Raychaudhuri (1988) [1967]. "India in the Age of the Nandas". In K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (ed.). Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Second ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 147. ISBN 978-81-208-0466-1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2019.

[:4-10] Witzel, Michael (1997). "The development of the Vedic canon and its schools: the social and political milieu". crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de: 263, 267, 320. doi:10.11588/xarep.00000110. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.

[:0-11] Witzel, Michael (1995). "4. Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres". In Erdosy, George (ed.). The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. Indian Philology and South Asian Studies. De Gruyter. pp. 85–125. doi:10.1515/9783110816433-009. ISBN 978-3-11-081643-3. S2CID 238465491. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

[:3-12] Brereton, Joel P.; Jamison, Stephanie W., eds. (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. pp. 880, 902–905, 923–925, 1015–1016. ISBN 9780199370184.

[:2-13] 13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 Krishna: a Sourcebook, p. 5, Edwin Francis Bryant, Oxford University Press US, 2007

[14] A Comprehensive History of India: The Mauryas & Satavahanas, p. 383, edited by K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Bharatiya Itihas Parishad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1992, Original from the University of California

[15] "Actually, the legend reports a westward march of the Yadus (MBh. 1.13.49, 65) from Mathura, while the route from Mathura to Dvaraka southward through a desert. This part of the Krsna legend could be brought to earth by digging at Dvaraka, but also digging at Darwaz in Afghanistan, whose name means the same thing and which is the more probable destination of refugees from Mathura..." Introduction to the Study of Indian History, p. 125, D D Kosambi, Publisher: [S.l.] : Popular Prakashan, 1999

[:5-18] 16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 ^16.3 Puskás, Ildikó (1990). "Megasthenes and the "Indian Gods" Herakles and Dionysos". Mediterranean Studies. 2: 39–47. ISSN 1074-164X. JSTOR 41163978. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

[:6-20] 17.00 ^17.01 ^17.02 ^17.03 ^17.04 ^17.05 ^17.06 ^17.07 ^17.08 ^17.09 ^17.10 ^17.11 ^17.12 ^17.13 ^17.14 ^17.15 ^17.16 ^17.17 ^17.18 ^17.19 ^17.20 ^17.21 ^17.22 Bosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "The Campaign of the Hydaspes". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press. pp. 125–130.

[22] Hamilton, J. R. (1956). "The Cavalry Battle at the Hydaspes". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 76: 26–31. doi:10.2307/629551. ISSN 0075-4269. JSTOR 629551. S2CID 163435999. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

[23] Heckel, W. (2012). “Conquest of the Punjab” in The Conquests of Alexander the Great (Canto Classics, pp. 112–125). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139197076.011

[25] Holt, Frank Lee (2003). Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions. University of California Press.

[:7-26] 21.00 ^21.01 ^21.02 ^21.03 ^21.04 ^21.05 ^21.06 ^21.07 ^21.08 ^21.09 ^21.10 Bosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press.

[27] Anson, Edward M. (2013). Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Bloomsbury. p. 151. ISBN 9781441193797.

[28] Heckel, Waldemar (2006). Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire. Wiley. ISBN 9781405112109.

[29] Irfan Habib; Vivekanand Jha (2004). Mauryan India. A People's History of India. Aligarh Historians Society / Tulika Books. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-85229-92-8.

[30] Alexander, Scott. "Book Review: The Alexander Romance". www.astralcodexten.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.

[31] DD National (6 August 2020). Chanakya Episode 12. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

[32] Porus on IMDb

[33] Old Serials Archive (19 July 2017). Chandragupta Maurya Episode 1.

[34] "Siddharth Kumar Tewary's next on Porus for Sony Entertainment Television". Times of India. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Ruler of Hydaspes}}
+{{short description|4th century BC Indian ruler}}
 {{other uses|Porus (disambiguation)}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
 {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
 {{Infobox royalty
+| name         = Porus
 | image        = File:Porus alexander coin.png
-| name         = Porus
+| image_size   = 300
-| caption      = King Porus (on elephant) fighting [[Alexander the Great]], on a "victory coin" of Alexander (minted c. 324–322 BC)<ref>See Keyne Cheshire, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2-4R0sLEBPgC&pg=PA139#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Alexander the Great''] (Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.139: "Alexander charges Porus, who hurls a javelin from atop his elephant"</ref>
+| caption      = Porus (on elephant) fighting [[Alexander the Great]], on a "victory coin" of Alexander (minted c. 324–322 BC)<ref>See Keyne Cheshire, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2-4R0sLEBPgC&pg=PA139 ''Alexander the Great''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817145951/https://books.google.com/books?id=2-4R0sLEBPgC&pg=PA139 |date=17 August 2023 }} (Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.139: "Alexander charges Porus, who hurls a javelin from atop his elephant"</ref>
-| reign        = before 326 – {{circa}} 317 BC
+| title        = {{unbulleted list|[[King]]}}
-| birth_name   = Purushottam
+| regnal name  =
-| birth_date   =
+| reign        = {{nowrap|before 326 – {{circa}} 317 BC}}
-| birth_place  = [[Punjab region]]
+| reign1       = {{nowrap|326 – {{circa}} 321 BC}}
+| coronation   =
+| succession   =
+| succession1  = [[King]] of [[Hyphasis]]
+| predecessor  =
+| successor    =
+| predecessor1 =
+| successor1   =
 | death_date   = {{circa|321|315 BC}}
-| death_place  = [[Punjab region]], [[Indian subcontinent]]
+| module  = {{Infobox military person
-| father       =
+| embed = yes
-| mother       =
+| battles       =
+[[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|Alexander's Indian campaign]]
+*[[Battle of Hydaspes]]
+}}
 }}
+'''Porus''' or '''Puru''' ({{langx|grc|Πῶρος}} {{transliteration|grc|Pôros}}; {{floruit}} 326–321 BC) was an ancient [[Ancient India|India]]n king whose territory spanned the region between the [[Jhelum River]] (Hydaspes) and [[Chenab River]] (Acesines) in the [[Punjab]] region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=T. T. |date=1964 |title=The Genesis of Military River Operations: Alexander the Great at the Hydaspes River |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44571479 |journal=The Military Engineer |volume=56 |issue=374 |pages=424–426 |jstor=44571479 |issn=0026-3982}}</ref> He is only mentioned in Greek sources.
-'''Porus''' or '''Poros''' ({{lang-grc-gre|Πῶρος}} ''Pôros''; {{fl}} 326–321 BC) was an ancient [[Ancient India|India]]n king, whose territory spanned the region between the [[Jhelum River]] (Hydaspes) and [[Chenab River]] (Acesines), in the [[Punjab region]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. He is only mentioned in Greek sources.
+Said to be a warrior with exceptional skills, Porus fought against [[Alexander the Great]] in the [[Battle of the Hydaspes]] (326 BC).<ref name="Fuller pg 198">Fuller, pg 198 <br>{{blockquote|"While the battle raged, Craterus forced his way over the Haranpur ford. When he saw that Alexander was winning a brilliant victory he pressed on and, as his men were fresh, took over the pursuit."}}</ref> Following the conflict, Porus retained his kingship. Alexander not only reinstated him as his [[satrap]] but also expanded his jurisdiction to include dominion over lands to the south-east extending as far as the [[Alexandria Hyphasis|Hyphasis]] ([[Beas River|Beas]]).<ref name="ReferenceA">p. xl, ''Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare,'' J. Woronoff & I. Spence</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Arrian, ''Anabasis of Alexander,'' V.29.2</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of the Hydaspes {{!}} Alexander the Great, Map, Tactics, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Hydaspes |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315 BC.<ref name="eb">{{citation |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Porus |url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Porus |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=14 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914193048/http://www.britannica.com/biography/Porus |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Credited to have been a legendary warrior with exceptional skills, Porus unsuccessfully fought against [[Alexander the Great]] in the [[Battle of the Hydaspes]] (326 BC).<ref name="Fuller pg 198">Fuller, pg 198 <br>{{blockquote|"While the battle raged, Craterus forced his way over the Haranpur ford. When he saw that Alexander was winning a brilliant victory he pressed on and, as his men were fresh, took over the pursuit."}}</ref> In the aftermath, an impressed Alexander not only reinstated him as his [[satrap]] but also granted him dominion over lands to the south-east extending until the Hyphasis ([[Beas River|Beas]]).<ref name="ReferenceA">p. xl, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare, J, Woronoff & I. Spence</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Arrian Anabasis of Alexander, V.29.2</ref> Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315 BC.<ref name="eb">{{citation |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Porus |url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Porus |access-date=8 September 2015}}</ref>
 ==Sources==
-The only contemporary information available on Porus and his kingdom is from Greek sources, whereas [[India]]n sources do not mention him.<ref>{{cite book |author=Asoke Kumar Majumdar |title=Concise History of Ancient India: Political history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3VDAAAAYAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |page=136 |quote=Nothing is known of Porus from Indian sources}}</ref> These Greek sources differ considerably among themselves.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|author=H. C. Raychaudhuri|title=Age of the Nandas and Mauryas|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1988|isbn=978-81-208-0466-1|editor=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|editor-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|edition=Second|location=Delhi|page=147|chapter=India in the Age of the Nandas|author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|orig-year=1967|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoAwor58utYC&pg=PA11}}</ref>
+The only contemporary information available on Porus and his kingdom is from Greek sources, whereas [[ancient India|India]]n sources do not mention him.<ref>{{cite book |author=Asoke Kumar Majumdar |title=Concise History of Ancient India: Political history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3VDAAAAYAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |page=136 |quote=Nothing is known of Porus from Indian sources |access-date=14 January 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817150008/https://books.google.com/books?id=F3VDAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Greek sources differ considerably among themselves.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|author=H. C. Raychaudhuri|title=Age of the Nandas and Mauryas|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1988|isbn=978-81-208-0466-1|editor=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|editor-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|edition=Second|location=Delhi|page=147|chapter=India in the Age of the Nandas|author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|orig-date=1967|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoAwor58utYC&pg=PA11|access-date=23 April 2019|archive-date=17 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817145952/https://books.google.com/books?id=YoAwor58utYC&pg=PA11|url-status=live}}</ref>
 == Identification ==
 === Purus ===
-[[Michael Witzel]] conjectures Porus to have been a king of the Pūrus, who existed as a marginal power in Punjab since their defeat in the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]] notwithstanding (probable) political realignment with the Bharatas.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1997|title=The development of the Vedic canon and its schools: the social and political milieu|url=http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/110/|url-status=live|pages=263, 267, 320|doi=10.11588/xarep.00000110|access-date=2021-04-15|website=crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|url=|title=The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity|publisher=De Gruyter|year=1995|isbn=978-3-11-081643-3|editor-last=Erdosy|editor-first=George|series=Indian Philology and South Asian Studies|location=|pages=85–125|language=en|chapter=4. Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres|doi=10.1515/9783110816433-009|s2cid=238465491|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433-009/html}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199370184|editor-last=Brereton|editor-first=Joel P.|volume=I|pages=880, 902–905, 923–925, 1015–1016|editor-last2=Jamison|editor-first2=Stephanie W.}}</ref> [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri]] had largely agreed with this identification.<ref name=":1" />
+[[Michael Witzel]] conjectures that Porus was a king of the [[Puru (Vedic tribe)|Pūrus]], a Vedic tribe, who existed as a marginal power in Punjab after their defeat in the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1997|title=The development of the Vedic canon and its schools: the social and political milieu|url=http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/110/|url-status=live|pages=263, 267, 320|doi=10.11588/xarep.00000110|access-date=15 April 2021|website=crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812051418/http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/110/}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433-009/html|title=The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity|publisher=De Gruyter|year=1995|isbn=978-3-11-081643-3|editor-last=Erdosy|editor-first=George|series=Indian Philology and South Asian Studies|location=|pages=85–125|language=en|chapter=4. Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres|doi=10.1515/9783110816433-009|s2cid=238465491|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433-009/html|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812051405/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110816433-009/html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199370184|editor-last=Brereton|editor-first=Joel P.|volume=I|pages=880, 902–905, 923–925, 1015–1016|editor-last2=Jamison|editor-first2=Stephanie W.}}</ref> [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri]] largely agreed with this identification.<ref name=":1" />
-=== Sourasenis ===
-Multiple histories — [[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]] by [[Arrian]], [[Geographica]] by [[Strabo]], and [[Bibliotheca historica#Book II: Asia|Bibliotheca historica]] by [[Diodorus Siculus]] — mention [[Megasthenes]]{{efn|He had traveled to India, after Porus had been already supplanted by [[Chandragupta Maurya]].}} to have described an Indian tribe called Sourasenoi: they worshiped one "Herakles" and originated from a land having the city of [[Mathura]] and the river of [[Yamuna]].<ref name=":2">Krishna: a sourcebook, pp 5,  Edwin Francis Bryant, Oxford University Press US, 2007</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Puskás|first=Ildikó|date=1990|title=Magasthenes and the "Indian Gods" Herakles and Dionysos|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41163978|journal=Mediterranean Studies|volume=2|pages=39–47|jstor=41163978|issn=1074-164X}}</ref> The Greeks often chronicled foreign gods in terms of their [[Heracles|own divinities]]; thus multiple scholars have understood "Herakles" to mean "Hari-Krishna".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> That [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]] mentions Porus' vanguard soldiers to have carried a banner of "Heracles" during the face-off with Alexander,<ref name=":2" /> [[Ishwari Prasad]] argues Porus to be a [[Shurasena]].<ref>A Comprehensive History of India: The Mauryas & Satavahanas, pp 383, edited by K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Bharatiya Itihas Parishad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1992, Original from the University of California</ref>{{efn|Iswhari Prashad and others, following his lead, found further support of this conclusion in the fact that a section of [[Shurasena]]s were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern [[Afghanistan]] from Mathura and [[Dvārakā]], after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new kingdoms there.<ref>"Actually , the legend reports a westward march of the Yadus (MBh. 1.13.49, 65) from Mathura, while the route from Mathura to Dvaraka southward through a desert. This part of the Krsna legend could be brought to earth by digging at Dvaraka, but also digging at Darwaz in Afghanistan, whose name means the same thing and which is the more probable destination of refugees from Mathura..."  Introduction to the study of Indian history, pp 125,  D D Kosambi, Publisher: [S.l.] : Popular Prakashan, 1999</ref>}}
-However, the identification with "Hari-Krishna" is not well-settled; there is no evidence of Krishna worship as early as 4th century BC.<ref name=":5" /> Modern scholars increasingly equate "Herakles" to Indra but even this identification is not widely accepted.<ref name=":5" />
-=== Miscellaneous ===
+=== Saurasenis ===
-H. C. Seth had identified Porus with ''Parvataka'', a king mentioned in the Sanskrit play ''[[Mudrarakshasa]]'', the Jain text ''[[Parishishtaparvan]]'', and some other sources including royal genealogies of Nepal.<ref name=":1" /> However, there is little evidence in support: Parishishtaparvan assigns him the territory of Himavatkuta while Greek sources have Porus rule in the present-day Punjab region, and ''Mudrarakshasa'' attributes his death to poisoning planned by [[Chanakya]] while Greek sources state that Porus was killed by [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]] (or Alexander, himself).<ref name=":1" />
+[[Quintus Curtius Rufus]] mentions Porus' vanguard soldiers carrying a banner of "Herakles" during the face-off with Alexander.<ref name=":2" /> Accordingly, [[Ishwari Prasad]] and a few other scholars argue that Porus was a [[Shurasena]].<ref>''A Comprehensive History of India: The Mauryas & Satavahanas,'' p. 383, edited by K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Bharatiya Itihas Parishad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1992, Original from the University of California</ref>{{efn|Iswhari Prashad and others following his lead, found further support for this conclusion in the fact that a section of [[Shurasena]]s were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern [[Afghanistan]] from Mathura and [[Dvārakā]], after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new kingdoms there.<ref>"Actually, the legend reports a westward march of the Yadus (MBh. 1.13.49, 65) from Mathura, while the route from Mathura to Dvaraka southward through a desert. This part of the Krsna legend could be brought to earth by digging at Dvaraka, but also digging at Darwaz in Afghanistan, whose name means the same thing and which is the more probable destination of refugees from Mathura..." ''Introduction to the Study of Indian History,'' p. 125,  D D Kosambi, Publisher: [S.l.] : Popular Prakashan, 1999</ref>}} This identification is based on the fact that multiple Greek histories — [[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]] by [[Arrian]], [[Geographica]] by [[Strabo]], and [[Bibliotheca historica#Book II: Asia|Bibliotheca historica]] by [[Diodorus Siculus]] — note [[Megasthenes]]{{efn|He had traveled to India, after Porus had been already supplanted by [[Chandragupta Maurya]].}} to have described an Indian tribe called ''Sourasenoi'' who worshiped one "Herakles" and originated from the lands of [[Mathura]] and [[Yamuna]].<ref name=":2">''Krishna: a Sourcebook,'' p. 5, Edwin Francis Bryant, Oxford University Press US, 2007</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Puskás|first=Ildikó|date=1990|title=Megasthenes and the "Indian Gods" Herakles and Dionysos|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41163978|journal=Mediterranean Studies|volume=2|pages=39–47|jstor=41163978|issn=1074-164X|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812055059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41163978|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|The Greeks often chronicled foreign gods in terms of their own divinities; multiple scholars have argued "Herakles" to mean "Hari-Krishna", the closest mythological equivalent.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> This identification also fits with the geography, Mathura being the epicenter of the Krshna cult. However, there is no evidence of Krishna worship as early as the 4th century BC.<ref name=":5" /> Some modern scholars equate "Herakles" to [[Indra]] but this identification is not widely accepted either.<ref name=":5" />}}
 == Rule ==
 === Background ===
-Porus used to rule over the tracts between rivers Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab); Strabo had held the territory to contain almost 300 cities.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Albert Brian|title=Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|pages=125–130|chapter=The campaign of the Hydaspes}}</ref> He (alongside one [[Abisares]]) had a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of [[Taxila]] which was ruled by his extended family; Porus is noted to have had assassinated Ambhiraj, his maternal uncle and the erstwhile ruler of Taxila.<ref name=":6" />
+[[File:Physical Map of Punjab.jpg|thumb|A detailed physical map of the Punjab region. The major rivers of the region including the Jhelum (Hydaspes) and Chenab (Acesines) are visible.]]
+Porus ruled over the tracts between the rivers Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab); Strabo noted the territory to contain almost 300 cities.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Albert Brian|title=Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|pages=125–130|chapter=The Campaign of the Hydaspes}}</ref> He had a hostile relationship with the neighboring polity of [[Taxila]], having assassinated their erstwhile ruler Ambhiraj, his maternal uncle.<ref name=":6" />
-When the armies of Alexander crossed Indus in its eastward migration, prob. in [[Udabhandapura]], he was greeted by the-then ruler of Taxila, [[Taxiles|Omphis]]/Ambhi, son of Ambhiraj.<ref name=":6" /> Omphis had sent emissaries to Alexander long-back and was considered a friendly — in return, his rule was confirmed but under a Macedonian satrap and gifts were lavished.<ref name=":6" /> Omphis had hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission leveraging the might of Alexander's forces and diplomatic missions were mounted.<ref name=":6" /> But while Abisares offered a token submission, Porus refused.<ref name=":6" />
+When Alexander crossed the Indus in their eastward [[Wars of Alexander the Great|invasion]], probably in [[Udabhandapura]], he was greeted by the then-ruler of Taxila, [[Taxiles|Omphis]], son of Ambhiraj.<ref name=":6" /> Years ago, he had visited Alexander in [[Sogdiana]] and was treated as an ally; Omphis' rule was confirmed and gifts lavished, but a Macedonian [[satrap]] was installed.<ref name=":6" /> Omphis hoped to force both Porus and [[Abisares]] into submission, leveraging the might of Alexander's forces, and dispatched diplomatic missions to this effect.<ref name=":6" />
-This led Alexander to seek for a face-off with Porus.<ref name=":6" /> Despite being attracted to the exoticism of Taxila and Brahminic practices, he had to migrate for the bank of Jhelum, on the other bank of which, Porus had set up his main line of defense.<ref name=":6" /> Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown.<ref name=":6" />
+In response, Abisares offered submission but Porus refused, leading Alexander to seek a face-off on the bank of Jhelum.<ref name=":6" /> Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown and the exact strength of the armies cannot be determined either, due to major discrepancies between sources.<ref name=":6" />
 === Battle of the Hydaspes ===
 {{main| Battle of the Hydaspes}}
 [[File:Le Brun, Alexander and Porus.jpg|thumb|400px|right|A painting by [[Charles Le Brun]] depicting Alexander and Porus during the [[Battle of the Hydaspes]]]]
-Alexander dismantled and reused the same vessels which were used for crossing the Sind, some 300&nbsp;km away.<ref name=":6" /> Small scale intrusion-attempts were frequently mounted and even before the battle had started, there were skirmishes in river-islands with Porus' army who maintained guard.<ref name=":6" /> The exact strength of the armies might be never known, due to major discrepancies in sources.<ref name=":6" />
+Alexander re-used the same vessels which were used for crossing the Indus, the first time, some 300&nbsp;km away at [[Hund (village)|Udabhandapura]].<ref name=":6" /> His forces frequently mounted intrusion-attempts and even before the battle had started, skirmishes were reported in the riverine islands.<ref name=":6" />
-After some days, Alexander decided on crossing via the headlands which were forested and provided cover for transit; the base camp with cavalry and infantry was left under Craterus and Alexander accompanied the striking force.<ref name=":6" /> They were tasked with this crossing whilst mercenaries were distributed along the length of the river under three phalanx officers to distract Porus's forces.<ref name=":6" /> The strategy was successful and they crossed almost unobstructed, in a stormy night.<ref name=":6" /> After reaching the bank, Alexander's cavalry unit routed a band of advancing horsemen led by Porus' son (and even captured chariots) in what marked the commencement of the battle.<ref name=":6" />
+A few months later, Alexander decided to accompany a strike force across the densely forested headlands and besiege Porus' defense; the base camp with substantial cavalry and infantry units was left under [[Craterus]], who was advised to follow Alexander upon a successful passage whilst the remaining forces were distributed along the river under three phalanx officers to distract Porus' forces.<ref name=":6" /> The strategy was successful and they crossed the Jhelum unobstructed, on a stormy night, just before dawn.<ref name=":6" /> A band of horsemen on chariots led by Porus' son did detect the intrusion and mount a charge but was repelled by Alexander's superior cavalry.<ref name=":6" />
-Thereafter, Porus became primarily concerned with tackling Alexander's forces who have already crossed, rather than prevent passage of the remaining.<ref name=":6" /> Porus chose a sandy plain to take a defensive position — infantry units interspersed with elephants.<ref name=":6" />{{Efn|Porus had expected the elephant units to negate charges by Alexander's well-trained cavalry.}} Cavalry and chariots were stationed in the wings.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hamilton|first=J. R.|date=1956|title=The Cavalry Battle at the Hydaspes|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/629551|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=76|pages=26–31|doi=10.2307/629551|jstor=629551|issn=0075-4269}}</ref>
+Informed of Alexander's passage, Porus became concerned with tackling those who had already crossed, rather than preventing passage of the remaining majority.<ref name=":6" /> He took a defensive position in the plains, interspersing infantry units with elephants{{Efn|Porus had expected the elephant units to negate charges by Alexander's well-trained cavalry.}} on the front lines and stationing the cavalry and chariots in the wings.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hamilton|first=J. R.|date=1956|title=The Cavalry Battle at the Hydaspes|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/629551|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=76|pages=26–31|doi=10.2307/629551|jstor=629551|s2cid=163435999|issn=0075-4269|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813123119/https://www.jstor.org/stable/629551|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Alexander chose to shield his infantry and instead led a devastating cavalry charge on Porus' left wing, forcing reinforcements from the right; however, this rear-transit came under attack by [[Coenus (general)|Coenus]]' cavalry and Porus' cavalry was compelled to take refuge within the infantry frontlines, causing confusion.<ref name=":6" />
-Encircled from all sides and trampled by their ''mahout''-less elephants, Porus' army was easy fodder for Alexander's forces.<ref name=":6" /> A fraction of infantry escaped while most of the elephants were captured and the cavalry exterminated.<ref name=":6" /> Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.<ref name=":6" /> In the meanwhile, Craterus crossed along with the mercenaries and pursued the escapees to death.<ref name=":6" />
+This led to an all-out attack from both sides, but Porus' plans proved futile.<ref name=":6" /> According to Heckle (2014), Porus is believed to have had around 30,000 infantry. However, Porus only had 4,000 mounted troops.<ref>Heckel, W. (2012). “Conquest of the Punjab” in ''The Conquests of Alexander the Great'' (Canto Classics, pp. 112–125). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139197076.011</ref> Not only were Porus' cavalry charges repelled but the [[Mahout|''mahouts'']] were killed using ''[[sarissa]]s'' and the elephants were pushed back into Porus' columns, wreaking havoc on the rear, Alexander's cavalry kept charging and inflicting disorder.<ref name=":6" /> Soon Porus' army was surrounded  on all sides, and became easy fodder for Alexander's forces with the cavalry exterminated and most of the elephants captured.<ref name=":6" /> Still, Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.<ref name=":6" /> A fraction of the infantry successfully escaped and probably planned to regroup but [[Craterus]] pursued them to their deaths.<ref name=":6" />
 ==== Result ====
-The battle resulted in a decisive [[Greeks|Greek]] victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative.<ref name=":6" /> Alexander held athletic and gymnastic games at the site, and even commissioned two cities—''[[Nicaea, Punjab|Nicaea]]'' at the site of victory and [[Alexandria Bucephalous|''Bucephalous'']] at the battle-ground (in memory of [[Bucephalus|his horse]])—in commemoration.<ref name=":6" />{{Efn|Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.}} Later, [[tetradrachm]]s would be minted by the Babylonian mint depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a ''sarissa'' and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Holt|first=Frank Lee|title=Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions|publisher=University of California Press|year=2003}}</ref>[[File:Surrender of Porus to the Emperor Alexander.jpg|Surrender of Porus to Alexander, 1865 engraving by [[Alonzo Chappel]].|thumb]]
+The battle resulted in a decisive [[Greeks|Greek]] victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources, who obviously exaggerated.<ref name=":6" /> Alexander held athletic and gymnastic games at the site, and even commissioned two cities in commemoration: [[Nicaea, Punjab|Nicaea]] at the site of his victory and [[Alexandria Bucephalous|''Bucephalous'']] at the battle-ground, in memory of [[Bucephalus|his horse]].<ref name=":6" />{{Efn|Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.}} Later, decadrachms were minted by the Babylonian mint depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a ''[[sarissa]]'' and attacking a pair of Indian soldiers atop an elephant.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Holt|first=Frank Lee|title=Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions|publisher=University of California Press|year=2003}}</ref>[[File:Surrender of Porus to the Emperor Alexander.jpg|Surrender of Porus to Alexander, 1865 engraving by [[Alonzo Chappel]].|thumb]]
 ===Aftermath===
-Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Albert Brian|title=Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|chapter=From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Anson|first=Edward M.|title=Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2013|isbn=9781441193797|pages=151}}</ref> Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.<ref name=":7" /> Further, Omphis was reconciled with Porus and sent back to Taxila; Bosworth argues that he won't have been particularly happy with Porus having displaced him as the main beneficiary of Alexander's campaigns.<ref name=":7" />
+[[File:Alexander the Great And King Poros - Opera From Antonio Cesti Burnacini - 1750.jpg|left|thumb|Alexander the Great and King Poros – Opera From Antonio Cesti Burnacini – 1750]]
+Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose not to depose him.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Albert Brian|title=Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|chapter=From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Anson|first=Edward M.|title=Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2013|isbn=9781441193797|pages=151}}</ref> His territory was not only restored, but also expanded, with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of [[Glausaes]], who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.<ref name=":7" /> Further, Omphis was reconciled with Porus.<ref name=":7" />
-A joint expedition was then mounted against a territory east of Chenab, which was ruled by an enemy-cousin of Porus; he had earlier submitted to Alexander but suspicious of Porus' rise in ranks, chose to flee with his army.<ref name=":7" /> The date of this battle remains disputed; Alexander's forces overran his lands before meeting stiff resistance at a walled Sangala on the other side of Ravi.<ref name=":7" /> Siege warfare was executed to brilliant effect and the full-fledged attack began, once Porus had joined with his elephants.<ref name=":7" /> As Sangala and allying cities were razed, Porus was allowed to station his garrisons.<ref name=":7" />
+A [[Expedition of Chenab by Alexander the Great and Porous|joint expedition]] was then mounted against a territory east of the [[Chenab River|Chenab]], ruled by an enemy cousin of Porus; he had earlier submitted to Alexander but, suspicious of Porus' rise in rank, chose to flee with his army.<ref name=":7" /> The date of this battle remains disputed; Alexander's forces overran his lands before meeting stiff resistance at a walled Sangala on the other side of the [[Ravi River|Ravi]].<ref name=":7" /> Siege warfare was executed to brilliant effect and the full-fledged attack began once Porus had joined with his elephants.<ref name=":7" /> As Sangala and allied cities were razed, Porus was allowed to station his garrisons.<ref name=":7" />
-Thereafter, Alexander proceeded unopposed to Beas and even intended to cross it towards mainland India; however, the monsoon was in its peak and the much-weary troops remained stubborn despite a variety of cajoling and threats.<ref name=":7" /> An unwilling Alexander had to renounce his plans and turn back.<ref name=":7" /> Porus was thus ratified as the de facto ruler of the entire territory east of Jhelum — he was given no European ''satrap'' to co-rule with unlike Ambhi and Abisares.<ref name=":7" /> The crossing-back of Jhelum was a prolonged affair; filled with festivities, it attracted thousands.<ref name=":7" />
+Thereafter, Alexander proceeded unopposed to the [[Beas]] and even intended to cross it towards the [[Gangetic Plain]]; however, the [[monsoon]] was at its peak and his weary troops remained stubborn despite his cajoling and threats.<ref name=":7" /> A reluctant Alexander had to renounce his plans and turn back.<ref name=":7" /> Porus was thus ratified as the ''de facto'' ruler of the entire territory east of the Jhelum, with no European ''satrap'' to co-rule with, unlike Ambhi and Abisares.<ref name=":7" /> The crossing-back of the Jhelum was a prolonged affair; filled with festivities, it attracted thousands.<ref name=":7" />
 ===Death===
-After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, [[Perdiccas]] became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas's murder in 321 BCE, [[Antipater]] became the new regent.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heckel|first=Waldemar|title=Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire|publisher=Wiley|year=2006|isbn=9781405112109}}</ref> According to [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]], Antipater recognized Porus's authority over the territories along the [[Indus River]]. However, [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]], who had served as Alexander's [[satrap]] in the Punjab region, treacherously killed Porus.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Irfan Habib |author1-link=Irfan Habib |author2=Vivekanand Jha |title=Mauryan India |series=A People's History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nUvGQgAACAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Aligarh Historians Society / [[Tulika Books]] |isbn=978-81-85229-92-8 |page=16 }}</ref>
+After [[Death of Alexander the Great|the death of Alexander the Great]] in 323 BC, [[Perdiccas]] became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas' murder in 321 BC, [[Antipater]] became the new regent.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heckel|first=Waldemar|title=Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire|publisher=Wiley|year=2006|isbn=9781405112109}}</ref> According to [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]], Antipater recognized Porus' authority over the territories along the [[Indus River]]. However, [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]], who had served as Alexander's [[satrap]] in the Punjab region, killed Porus.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Irfan Habib |author1-link=Irfan Habib |author2=Vivekanand Jha |title=Mauryan India |series=A People's History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nUvGQgAACAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Aligarh Historians Society / [[Tulika Books]] |isbn=978-81-85229-92-8 |page=16 }}</ref>
-==In popular culture==
+== Cultural depictions of Porus ==
-*[[Sohrab Modi]] portrayed as Porus in [[Sikandar (1941 film)|Sikandar]] movie in 1941
+* Porus is defeated by Alexander in single combat in the premodern text, the [[Alexander Romance]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Scott |title=Book Review: The Alexander Romance |url=https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/book-review-the-alexander-romance |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.astralcodexten.com |language=en}}</ref>
-*[[Prithviraj Kapoor]] portrayed as Porus in movie [[Sikandar-e-Azam]] in 1965.
+* [[Sohrab Modi]] portrayed Porus in the 1941 movie [[Sikandar (1941 film)|''Sikandar'']]
-* Porus is played by [[Arun Bali]] in the 1991 [[Chanakya (TV series)|''Chanakya'']].<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOuN-tUKRU&list=PL96GW8XIIETXFhLcvfKgeihjmLEdiY0jQ&index=12 |url-status=dead|title=Chanakya Episode 12|date=6 August 2020|author=DD National}}</ref>
+* [[Prithviraj Kapoor]] portrayed Porus in the 1965 movie ''[[Sikandar-e-Azam]]''
-* Porus appears in the 1999 animated series [[Reign: The Conqueror]]{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
+* Porus is played by [[Arun Bali]] in the 1991 TV series [[Chanakya (TV series)|''Chanakya'']].<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOuN-tUKRU&list=PL96GW8XIIETXFhLcvfKgeihjmLEdiY0jQ&index=12 |title=Chanakya Episode 12 |date=6 August 2020 |author=DD National |url-status=dead |access-date=17 January 2021 |archive-date=15 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315023918/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOuN-tUKRU&list=PL96GW8XIIETXFhLcvfKgeihjmLEdiY0jQ&index=12 }}</ref>
-* Porus is portrayed by the Thai actor, [[Bin Bunluerit]], in ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'' (2004){{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
+* Porus appears in the 1999 animated series ''[[Reign: The Conqueror]]''{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
-* Porus appears in the 2011 ''[[Chandragupta Maurya (2011 TV series)|Chandragupta Maurya]]''.<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5u2xef|title=Chandragupta Maurya Episode 1|date=19 July 2017|author=Old Serials Archive}}</ref>
+* Porus is portrayed by the Thai actor, [[Bin Bunluerit]], in ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'' (2004)<ref>{{IMDb title|0346491}}</ref>
-* [[Sony Entertainment Television (India)|SET]] launched [[Siddharth Kumar Tewary]]'s serial titled ''[[Porus (TV series)|Porus]]'' on the [[Battle of the Hydaspes|Battle of Hydaspes]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Siddharth-Kumar-Tewarys-next-on-Porus-for-Sony-Entertainment-Television/articleshow/54607760.cms|title=Siddharth Kumar Tewary's next on Porus for Sony Entertainment Television|publisher=[[Times of India]]|access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> in Nov 2017, in which Porus is portrayed by [[Laksh Lalwani]].
+* Porus appears in the 2011 TV series ''[[Chandragupta Maurya (2011 TV series)|Chandragupta Maurya]]''.<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5u2xef |title=Chandragupta Maurya Episode 1 |date=19 July 2017 |author=Old Serials Archive}}</ref>
-*Porus appears in the Historical Battle campaign of [[Rome: Total War: Alexander|''Rome: Total War:'' Alexander]].
+* [[Sony Entertainment Television (India)|SET]] launched [[Siddharth Kumar Tewary]]'s serial titled ''[[Porus (TV series)|Porus]]'' on the [[Battle of the Hydaspes|Battle of Hydaspes]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Siddharth Kumar Tewary's next on Porus for Sony Entertainment Television |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Siddharth-Kumar-Tewarys-next-on-Porus-for-Sony-Entertainment-Television/articleshow/54607760.cms |access-date=23 July 2017 |newspaper=[[Times of India]] |date=4 October 2016 |archive-date=27 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727124529/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Siddharth-Kumar-Tewarys-next-on-Porus-for-Sony-Entertainment-Television/articleshow/54607760.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> in Nov 2017, in which Porus is portrayed by [[Laksh Lalwani]].
-*Porus appears in the video game Ancient Battle: Alexander, in which he is a playable character, as well as an enemy.
+* Porus appears in the Historical Battle campaign of [[Rome: Total War: Alexander|''Rome: Total War:'' Alexander]].
+* Porus appears in the video game Ancient Battle: Alexander, in which he is a playable character, as well as an enemy.
+* Porus appears in the ''Chronicles: Alexander the Great'' expansion of ''[[Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition]]'' as a playable character as well as an enemy player.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 101: / Line 110: @@
 ==Further reading==
+{{refbegin}}
 * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Porus |volume= 22 }}
 * Lendring, Jona. ''Alexander de Grote - De ondergang van het Perzische rijk'' (Alexander the Great. The demise of the Persian empire), Amsterdam: Athenaeum - Polak & Van Gennep, 2004.  {{ISBN|90-253-3144-0}}
 * Holt, Frank L. ''Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions'', California: University of California Press, 2003, 217pgs. {{ISBN|0-520-24483-4}}
+* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Hemchandra |author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri |date=1953 |title=Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of Gupta Dynasty |url= |location= |publisher=[[University of Calcutta]] |isbn=}}
+{{refend}}
 ==External links==
@@ Line 117: / Line 129: @@
 [[Category:4th-century BC Indian monarchs]]
 [[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
-[[Category:Yadava kingdoms]]

v t e Hellenistic satraps
Satraps under Alexander the Great (334-323 BC)	Ada (Queen of Caria) Asander, Menander (Lydia) Calas, Demarchus (Hellespontine Phrygia) Antigonus (Greater Phrygia) Balakros, Menes (Cilicia) Abistamenes (Cappadocia) Abdalonymus (Sidon) Mithrenes (Armenia) Mazaeus, Stamenes (Babylon) Mazakes (Mesopotamia) Abulites (Susiana) Oxydates, Atropates (Media) Phrasaortes, Oxines, Peucestas (Persis) Cleomenes of Naucratis (Egypt) Satibarzanes (Aria) Sibyrtius (Carmania) Autophradates (Tapuri, Mardi) Andragoras (Parthia) Amminapes, Phrataphernes, Pharismanes (Hyrcania and Parthia) Artabazos, Cleitus the Black, Amyntas (Bactria) Oxyartes (Paropamisia) Philip, Eudemus (India) Peithon, son of Agenor (Gandhara) Taxiles (Punjab) Porus (Indus)
Satraps at the Partition of Babylon (323 BC)	Antipater (Macedon and Greece) Philo (Illyria) Lysimachus (Thrace) Leonnatus (Hellespontine Phrygia) Antigonus (Phrygia) Asander (Caria) Nearchus (Lycia and Pamphylia) Menander (Lydia) Philotas (Cilicia) Eumenes (Cappadocia and Paphlagonia) Ptolemy (Egypt) Laomedon of Mytilene (Syria) Neoptolemus (Armenia) Peucestas (Persis) Arcesilaus (Mesopotamia) Peithon (Greater Media) Atropates (Lesser Media) Scynus (Susiana) Tlepolemus (Persia) Nicanor (Parthia) Phrataphernes (Armenia, Parthia) Antigenes (Susiana) Archon (Pelasgia) Philip (Hyrcania) Stasanor (Aria and Drangiana) Sibyrtius (Arachosia and Gedrosia) Amyntas (Bactria) Scythaeus (Sogdiana) Oxyartes (Paropamisia) Taxiles (Punjab) Peithon, son of Agenor (Gandhara) Porus (Indus)
Satraps at the Partition of Triparadisus (321 BC)	Antipater (Macedon and Greece) Lysimachus (Thrace) Arrhidaeus (Hellespontine Phrygia) Antigonus (Phrygia, Lycia and Pamphylia) Cassander (Caria) Cleitus the White (Lydia) Philoxenus (Cilicia) Nicanor (Cappadocia and Paphlagonia) Ptolemy (Egypt) Laomedon of Mytilene (Syria) Peucestas (Persis) Amphimachus (Mesopotamia) Peithon (Media) Tlepolemus (Carmania) Philip (Parthia) Antigenes (Susiana) Seleucus (Babylonia) Stasanor (Bactria and Sogdiana) Stasander (Aria and Drangiana) Sibyrtius (Arachosia and Gedrosia) Oxyartes (Paropamisia) Taxiles (Punjab) Peithon, son of Agenor (Gandhara) Porus (Indus)
Later Satraps	Peithon, son of Agenor (Babylon) Sibyrtius (Arachosia, Drangiana) Eudemus (Indus) Bagadates, Ardakhshir I, Wahbarz, Vadfradad I, Vadfradad II, Alexander c. 220 BC (Persis) Andragoras (Parthia) Demodamas (Bactria, Sogdiana) Diodotus (Bactria) Alexander (Lydia) Molon c. 220 BC, Timarchus, c. 175 BC (Media) Apollodorus (Susiana) Ptolemaeus (Commagene) Noumenios, Hyspaosines c. 150 BC (Characene)
Hellenistic satraps were preceded by Achaemenid rulers, and followed or ruled by Hellenistic rulers

Porus: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:29, 25 January 2026

Contents

Sources[edit | edit source]

Identification[edit | edit source]

Purus[edit | edit source]

Saurasenis[edit | edit source]

Rule[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

Battle of the Hydaspes[edit | edit source]

Result[edit | edit source]

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Cultural depictions of Porus[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

Sources[edit | edit source]

Further reading[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Porus
King
Porus (on elephant) fighting Alexander the Great, on a "victory coin" of Alexander (minted c. 324–322 BC)^[1]
Reign	before 326 – c. 317 BC
King of Hyphasis
Reign	326 – c. 321 BC
Died	c. 321 – c. 315 BC

Military career
Battles/wars	Alexander's Indian campaign Battle of Hydaspes