the battle at the hydaspes.

having thus arranged his army, he ordered the infantry to follow at a slow pace and in regular order, numbering as it did not much under 6,000 men; and because he thought he was superior in cavalry, he took only his horse-soldiers, who were 5,000 in number, and led them forward with speed. he also instructed tauron, the commander of the archers, to lead them on also with speed to back up the cavalry. he had come to the conclusion that if porus should engage him with all his forces, he would easily be able to overcome him by attacking with his cavalry, or to stand on the defensive until his infantry arrived in the course of the action; but if the indians should be alarmed at his extraordinary audacity in making the passage of the river and take to flight, he would be able to keep close to them in their flight, so that the slaughter of them in the retreat being greater, there would be only a slight work left for him. aristobulus says that the son of porus arrived with about sixty chariots, before alexander made his later passage from the large island, and that he could have hindered alexander’s crossing (for he made the passage with difficulty even when no one opposed him); if the indians had leaped down from their chariots and assaulted those who first emerged from the water. but he passed by with the chariots and thus made the passage quite safe for alexander; who on reaching the bank discharged his horse-archers against the indians in the chariots, and these were easily put to rout, many of them being288 wounded. other writers say that a battle took place between the indians who came with the son of porus and alexander at the head of his cavalry, that the son of porus came with a greater force, that alexander himself was wounded by him, and that his horse bucephalas, of which he was exceedingly fond, was killed, being wounded, like his master by the son of porus. but ptolemy, son of lagus, with whom i agree, gives a different account. this author also says that porus despatched his son, but not at the head of merely sixty chariots; nor is it indeed likely that porus hearing from his scouts that either alexander himself or at any rate a part of his army had effected the passage of the hydaspes, would despatch his son against him with only sixty chariots. these indeed were too many to be sent out as a reconnoitring party, and not adapted for speedy retreat; but they were by no means a sufficient force to keep back those of the enemy who had not yet got across, as well as to attack those who had already landed. ptolemy says that the son of porus arrived at the head of 2000 cavalry and 120 chariots; but that alexander had already made even the last passage from the island before he appeared.