Recently I got an assignment to make a motivational video presentation on Alexander and his progress. To do this I read few books on Alexander and watched movie 'Alexander' as well but everywhere its mentioned that finally Alexander was defeated in India and he decided to return home and putting and end to his ambition of capturing the world.
But nowhere its explained why such a strong Alexander couldn't enter India? is it because he and his army got traped in Himalayan Chillness, they couldn't manage with the cold air?
In those few books I read its written like he was tired and his army too so they decided to return home but Why only after a defeat? Why Alexander did not decide before the war with an not so strong Indian king.
Is this was a reason? simply Alexander did not know anything about Indian style of attacking. They have picturized well in the movie how Alexander meets the defeat.
But such an inspiring Alexander and a simple defeat in the end.. I am not clear about this part.
Can anyone explain this?
P.S: My presentation on Alexander was a success. People acknowledged me .. thanks to the great Alexander.
I was not aware of any catastrophic defeat that forced Alexander to turn back. Rather, it seems most historians agree that discontent troops on the verge of mutiny over a very long and bloody campaign, forced Alexander to turn back at the Indus instead of the Ganges River, his original plan. The Himalayas hardly played a role, monsoon rains and difficult to breach swamps and rivers were much more of an obstacle. In any case, Alexander spent most of his time in the Hindu-Kush and not in the Himalayas proper. The only defeats I recall offhand are the losses of some of the cities founded by Alexander which were razed after his army/navy exited the theatre via the Indus River and Persian Gulf.
By the way, India in those times was any region to the east of Persia, including todays eastern Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Alexander not entering India is only a true statement if measured by todays Indian borders. To be exact, there was no India anyway but rather a large number of kingdoms and states of all sizes.
Alexander did enter India. Before he did he got rid of most of his Persian booty as it slowed down his progress. He also got rid of some of his army. Completely reshaped it. Then followed one of his greatest battles on his travels with a powerful Indian leader called Porus. This was at the Jhelum River in what is now Pakistan. Alexander captured Porus, however like all the other rulers allowed Porus to carry on as chief. Sad part during the battle was that Alexander's horse Bucephalus was wounded and died. He had ridden the horse into all of his battles and was quite grief-stricken about it.
Alexander then wanted to continue to the Ganges River, which at the time he had thought had been an outer Ocean. At this point his troops, after the big battle with Porus, refused to go further East. They had been away friom Macedonia for too long and Alexander had promised them repeatedly that they would return, and at this point they refused to go further. It is said that he and his army had reached the mouth of the Indus (near what is now Hyderabad in Pakistan) and then returned westward for home.
Think all of that was in the movie as well.
I read somewhere that Alexander contracted Malaria.. Not sure if it happened while returning or if it was the reason for turning back?
I remember that he had a chest woound wich left his lungs in poor health later he died of some kind of fever. I could be wrong..
The Death of Alexander the Great
This is a tale about the life and death of Alexander the Great, the warlord and conqueror.
Not content with his own small kingdom, Alexander conquered and pillaged for most of his life. His empire was unprecedented in size.
King Alexander had been told by a renowned sage that he would not die until "the earth was made of steel and the sky of gold." Since neither of these things were thought possible, Alexander believed himself immortal, like the Olympian gods, and for a long time his adventures seemed to prove it. This lulled him into a false sense of security.
He was unable to conquer the whole of India, however, and on his return journey from that failed expedition he suddenly fell sick from a severe fever, in the deserts of Babylon.
His illness was so severe and swift that his men had to build a make-shift shelter for him. One of his generals spread his steel coat, lined with velvet, on the ground and helped him lie down. He offered a gold umbrella over the king's head to protect him from the scorching sun.
It was then that Alexander, the invincible conqueror, realized that his end was near, for he was lying on a ground of steel with a golden awning over him. Addressing the best of the physicians who were attending him, he begged them to do something, offering them half his kingdom.
He then felt great remorse, that all his life he had spent waging war, causing pain and suffering, and he had not even the time to enjoy it.
On the tenth day of his sickness, his generals one by one passed through his tent to give him their final respect. Alexander bade them goodbye and directed that, at the funeral, his hands should be kept outside of the shroud so that all could see that the great emperor was leaving the world empty-handed, the same way he had come into it.
