Hydaspes, Battle of the

Battle 326 BC in which Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, defeated Porus, an Indian king, whose lands lay between the Indus and the Hydaspes.

Plutarch gives a graphic account of the battle, using details reported by Alexander in his letters. The River Hydaspes was between the opposed forces. Alexander, on a dark and stormy night, landed on an island in the river, advanced to the opposite bank, and easily defeated the cavalry and chariots of Porus. Porus was taken prisoner, but Alexander restored his territory to him, increased his domain and made him his deputy in the region.