Intro

Porus, (flourished 4th century BCE), Indian prince who ruled the region between the Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab) rivers at the time of Alexander the Great’s invasion (327–326 BCE) of the Punjab. Unlike his neighbour, Ambhi, the king of Taxila (Takshashila), Porus resisted Alexander. But with his elephants and slow-moving infantry bunched, he was outmatched by Alexander’s mobile cavalry and mounted archers in the battle of the Hydaspes. Impressed by his techniques and spirit, Alexander allowed him to retain his kingdom and perhaps even ceded some conquered areas to him

Porus fiercely battled Alexander the Great, and not only survived that battle but made an honorable peace with him and gained an even larger rule in Punjab in what is today Pakistan. Curiously, his story is written in numerous Greek sources (Plutarch, Arrian, Diodorus, and Ptolemy, among others) but barely mentioned in Indian sources, a fact which leads some historians to wonder about the "peaceful" ending.

Porus's troops helped Alexander crush the Kathaioi, and Porus was given control over much of the area to the east of his old kingdom. Alexander's advance stopped at the kingdom of Magadha, and he left the subcontinent, leaving Porus as the head of the satrapy in Punjab as far east as the Beas and Sutlej rivers. It didn't last long. Porus and his rival Chandragupta led a revolt against the remnants of Greek rule, and Porus himself was assassinated between 321 and 315 BCE. Chandragupta would go on to establish the Great Mauryan Empire.