Jalalpur Sharif

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Campaigns and landmarks of Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent

Jalalpur Sharif is a small town located in Jhelum, in Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil in Jhelum District, Punjab province, Pakistan.

Variants of name

Location

It is located at 32°39'34N 73°24'19E, making it approximately 42 km south west of the city of Jhelum.

History

Jalalpur modern name came from the renaming of its ancient name, Girjakh, by its king Malik Darwesh Khan Janjua who was also a high ranking General of the Imperial Mughal Army under Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar’s reign.

It is stated that Malik Darwesh ordered the renaming of Girjakh (part of his extended kingdom) to Jalalpur, when Emperor Akbar visited him.[1] This was done in honour of the Emperor and the Janjua family's relationship.[2] Jalalpur at this point was a flourishing centre of trade for the region.[3]

The history of the region dates back to 326 BC when Alexander the Great and his troops camped at Jalalpur Sharif, located on the right bank of Jhelum River, prior to the historic Battle of Jhelum against Raja Porus. During this battle, which was fought across the river, Alexander’s horse Bucephalus was killed but his remains were brought back and buried close to Jalalpur Sharif where subsequently Alexander built a city named after his horse. The ruins of an ancient city are spread across the hills towards the east of Jalalpur Sharif.

A notable landmark of the town is the Shrine of Pir Syed Ghulam Haidar Ali Shah, a prominent (Chishti) leader of the Punjab, Pakistan, (d. 1908).[4] It is this association with the shrine of one of the most well known Chishti spiritual leaders of the sub continent that the title of Sharif is pronounced together with Jalalpur. Pir Syed Ghulam Haidar Ali Shah and his descendants, notably including his grandson, who was given the title Amir-e-Hizbullah, Pir Syed Muhammad Fazal Shah were extremely influential in the spiritual development of the Muslims of Punjab, and also in the political movement that eventually led to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.[5]

The Khewra Salt Mines, the world's second largest salt mine, is located 37 km west of Jalalpur Sharif in Khewra. Before separation of India/Pakistan, Hindus used to live in this area. there are still some remains of their livings. it is at the bank of river Jhelum.

जलालपुर

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[6] ने लेख किया है ...जलालपुर (AS, p.360) को एक ऐतिहासिक स्थान के रूप में जाना जाता है। रामायण काल में केकय देश राजधानी गिरिव्रज में थी। इसका अभिज्ञान जनरल कनिंघम ने गिरजाक अथवा वर्तमान जलालपुर नामक कस्बे (पाकिस्तान) से किया है, जो झेलम नदी के तट पर बसा हुआ है। (दे. केकय, गिरजाक)) चीनी यात्री युवानच्वांग द्वारा उल्लिखित नगरहार भी जलालपुर के स्थान पर ही बसा था।

गिरिव्रज

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[7] ने लेख किया है ...1. गिरिव्रज (AS, p.288): गिरिव्रज रामायण काल में केकय देश की राजधानी थी। 'गिरिव्रज' का शाब्दिक अर्थ है- "पहाड़ियों का समूह"। इसे राजगृह भी कहा जाता था- ‘उभयौ भरतशत्रुघ्नौ केकयेषु परंतपौ, पुरे राजगृहे रम्ये मातामहनिवेशने’ वाल्मीकि रामायण, अयोध्या काण्ड 67, 7. ‘गिरिव्रजं पुरवरं शीघ्रमासेदुरंजसा’ वाल्मीकि रामायण, अयोध्या काण्ड 68, 22।

गिरिव्रज का अभिज्ञान जनरल कनिंघम ने झेलम नदी के तट पर बसे हुए 'गिरजाक' अथवा 'जलालपुर' नामक क़स्बा (जो अब पाकिस्तान में है) से किया है। जलालपुर का प्रचीन नाम 'नगरहार' भी था।

केकय

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[8] ने लेख किया है ...केकय (p.221) केकय रामायण तथा परवर्ती काल में पंजाब का एक जनपद था। केकय गंधार और विपाशा या बियास नदी के बीच का प्रदेश था। 'वाल्मीकि रामायण' से विदित होता है कि केकय जनपद की राजधानी 'राजगृह' या 'गिरिव्रज' में थी। राजा दशरथ की रानी कैकेयी, केकयराज की पुत्री थी और राम के राज्याभिषेक के पहले भरत और शत्रुघ्न राजगृह या गिरिव्रज में ही थे- ‘उभयौभरतशत्रुघ्नौ केकयेषु परंतपौ, पुरे राजगृहे रम्येमातामहनिवेशने’ (अयोध्या कांड 67, 7) तथा ‘गिरिव्रजपुरवरं [p.222]: शोघ्रमासेदुरंजसा’ (अयोध्या कांड 68, 21.)

अयोध्या के दूतों की केकय देश की यात्रा के वर्णन में उनके द्वारा विपाशा नदी को पार करके पश्चिम की ओर जाने का उल्लेख है-‘विष्णो: पदं प्रेक्षमाणा विपाशां चापि शाल्मलीम्... ’ अयोध्या कांड 68, 19.

कनिंघम ने गिरिव्रज का अभिज्ञान झेलम नदी (पाकिस्तान) के तट पर बसे 'गिरिजाक' नामक स्थान (वर्तमान जलालाबाद, प्राचीन 'नगरहार') से किया है। अलक्षेंद्र के भारत पर आक्रमण के समय 'पुरु' या 'पौरस' केकय देश का ही राजा था। उस समय उसकी पूर्वी सीमा रामायण काल के केकय जनपद की अपेक्षा संकुचित थी और इसका विस्तार झेलम और गुजरात के ज़िलों तक ही था। जैन लेखकों के अनुसार केकय देश का आधा भाग आर्य था (इंडियन ऐंटिक्वेरी 1891, पृ. 375.) परवर्ती काल में केकय के लोग शायद बिहार में जाकर बसे होंगे और वहाँ के प्रसिद्ध बौद्ध कालीन नगर गिरिव्रज या राजगृह का नामकरण उन्होंने अपने देश की राजधानी के नाम पर ही किया होगा।

राजगृह

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर [9] ने लेख किया है ... 2. राजगृह (AS, p.780) = गिरिव्रज. रामायण काल में केकय देश में स्थित गिरिव्रज का दूसरा नाम भी राजगृह था. (दे. गिरिव्रज) की राजधानी थी। 'गिरिव्रज' का शाब्दिक अर्थ है- "पहाड़ियों का समूह"। गिरिव्रज का अभिज्ञान जनरल कनिंघम ने झेलम नदी के तट पर बसे हुए 'गिरजाक' अथवा 'जलालपुर' (पाकिस्तान) से किया है। जलालपुर का प्रचीन नाम 'नगरहार' भी था। राजगृह का नमोललेख वाल्मीकि रामायण, अयोध्या काण्ड 67, 7 में इस प्रकार है-- ‘उभयौ भरतशत्रुघ्नौ केकयेषु परंतपौ, पुरे राजगृहे रम्ये मातामहनिवेशने’ (टि. यह तथ्य दृष्टव्य है कि बुद्धकाल तथा [पी.781]: उसके पीछे राजगृह मदद की राजधानी का भी नाम था. इस राजगृह का भी दूसरा नाम गिरिव्रज ही था). विद्वानों का अनुमान है कि केकयदेशीय राजगृह में अलेक्षेंद्र से युद्ध करने वाले प्रसिद्ध महाराज पुरु (ग्रीकभाषा में पोरस) की राजधानी थी.

Alexander Cunningham on Bukephala

Alexander Cunningham[10] writes about 3. Bukephala or Dilawar:

[p.169]: The scene of Alexander's battle with Porus has long engaged the attention, and exercised the ingenuity, of the learned. The judicious Elphinstone1 placed it opposite to Jalalpur ; but Burnes2 concluded that it must have been near Jhelam, because that place is on the great road from Tartary, which appears to have been followed by Alexander. In 1836 the subject was discussed by General Court,3 whose early military training, and unequalled opportunities for observation during a long residence in the Panjab, gave him the best possible means of forming a sound opinion. General Court fixed the site of Alexander's camp at Jhelam, his passage of the river at Khilipatam, 3 kos, or 6 miles, above Jhelam, the scene of his battle with Porus at Pattikoti on the Jaba Nadi, 8 miles to the east of Jhelam, and the position of Nikaea at Vessa, or Bhesa, which is 3 miles to the south-east of Pathi or Patti-koti. The late Lord Hardinge took great interest in the subject, and twice conversed with me about it in 1846 and 1847. His opinion agreed with mine that the camp of Alexander was most

1 Elphinstone's ' Kabul,' i. 109.

2 ' Travels in Panjab, Bokhara, etc.,' ii. 49.

3 'Journal of the Asiatic Society,' Bengal, 1836, pp. 472, 473.

[p.160]: probably near Jalalpur. In the following year, General Abbott1 published an elaborate disquisition on the battle-field of Alexander and Porus, in which he placed the camp of the former at Jhelam, and of the latter on the opposite bank near Norangabad. The passage of the river he fixed at Bhuna, about 10 miles above Jhelam, and the field of battle near Pakrāl, about 3 miles to the north of Sukchenpur. In this state the question remained until the end of 1863, when my tour through the Panjab gave me an opportunity of examining at leisure the banks of the Hydaspes from Jalalpur to Jhelam.

Before discussing Alexander's movements, I think it best to describe the different places on the line of the river, between Jhelam and Jalalpur, with the approaches to them from the westward. When we have thus ascertained the site that will best agree with the recorded descriptions of Bukephala, we shall then be in a better position for deciding the rival claims of Jhelam and Jalalpur as the site of Alexander's camp. The distances that I shall make use of in this discussion are all taken from actual measurements.1

The town of Jhelam is situated on the west bank of the river, 30 miles to the north-east of Jalalpur, and exactly 100 miles to the north-north-west of Lahor. The remains of the old town consist of a large ruined mound, to the west of the present city, about 1300 feet square and 30 feet high, which is surrounded by fields covered with broken bricks and pottery. The square mound I take to be the ruins of the citadel, which is said to have been called Puta. Numbers of

1 ' Journal of the Asiatic Society,' Bengal, 1848, part ii. p. 619.

2 See No. VII. Map of Alexander's Passage of the Hydaspes,'

[p.161]: old coins are still discovered in the mound after rain ; but those which I was able to collect were limited to the mintages of the later Indo-Scythians, the Kabul-Brahmans, and the princes of Kashmir. As similar and even earlier coins are described by Court and Abbott to have been found in great numbers in previous years, it is certain that the city must have been in existence as early as the first century before Christ. But the advantages of its situation, on one of the two principal lines of road across the North Panjab, are so great that it must, I think, have been occupied at a very early date. This opinion is confirmed by the numbers of large bricks that have been dug out of the old mound.

The ruined city near Dārāpur, which has been described by Burnes1 and Court,2 is situated on the west bank of the river, 20 miles below Jhelam, and 10 miles above Jalalpur. In their time, the old mound was unoccupied, but about 1832 A.D. the people of Dilawar abandoned their village on a hill to the west, and settled on the site of the ruined city. Before that time, the place was usually called Find, or " the mound," although its true name is said to have been Udamnagar, or Udinagar. The same name is also given by Burnes, but Court, who twice alludes to these ruins, mentions no name, unless he includes them under that of Gagirakhi, the ruins of which he describes as extending along the banks "of the Hydaspes from near Jalalpur to Darapur." According to this account, the ruins would not be less than 6 or 7 miles in length. I think it probable that there has

1 ' Travels in Panjab, Bokhara, etc.,' ii. 51. 2 Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1836, 472, 473.

[p.162]: been some confusion between two different places, which have here been joined together as one continuous extent of ruins. Girjhāk, which I take to be the original of Court's Gagirakhi, is an old ruined fort on the top of the hill to the north of Jalalpur, to which the people assign a fabulous extent ; but it is at least 8 miles from Dardpur, and is, besides, separated from it by the deep Kandar ravine, and by the precipitous range of hills at whose west foot Dilawar is situated. Burnes also describes the old city as extending "for three or four miles." But this is certainly an exaggeration, as I was unable to trace the ruins for more than one mile in length by half a mile in breadth. The ruins consist of two large mounds just half a mile apart, with two smaller mounds about midway between them. The south mound on which Dilawar is situated, is about 500 feet square at top, and 1100 or 1200 feet at base, with a height of 50 or 60 feet. The north mound, on which old Darapur stands, is 600 feet square, and from 20 to 30 feet in height. Between these mounds the fields are covered with broken bricks and pottery, and the whole place is said to be the ruins of a single city. The walls of the Dilawar houses are built of the large old bricks dug out of this mound, which are of two sizes, one of 11½ by 8¼ by 3 inches, and the other of only half this thickness. Old coins are found in great numbers in the Dilawar mound, from which the Jalalpur bazar is said to be supplied, just as Pind Dadan is supplied from the ruins of Jobnathnagar. The coins which I obtained belonged to the first Indo-Scythians, the Kabul-Brahmans, the kings of Kashmir, and the Karluki Hazara chiefs, Hasan and his son Muhammad. The site.

[p.163]: therefore, must have been occupied certainly as early as the second century before the Christian era. Its foundation is attributed to Raja Bharati, whose age is not known. I conclude, however, that the dominating position of Dilawar, which commands the passage of the Jhelam at the point where the lower road from the west leaves the hills, just below the mouth of the Bunhar river, must have led to its occupation at a very early period.

Position of Jalalpur : The town of Jalalpur is situated on the west bank of the Jhelam at the point where the Kandar ravine joins the old bed of the river. The stream is now 2 miles distant, but the intervening ground, though partially covered with small trees, is still very sandy. The town is said to have been named in honour of Akbar, in whose time it was most probably a very flourishing place. But since the desertion of the river, and more especially since the foundation of Pind Dadan, the place has been gradually decaying, until it now contains only 738 houses, with about 4000 inhabitants. From the appearance of the site, I estimated that the town might formerly have been about three or four times its present size. The houses are built on the last slope at the extreme east end of the salt range, which rises gradually to a height of 150 feet above the road. Its old Hindu name is said to have been Girjhak, and as this name is found in Abul Fazl's ' Ayin Akbari'1 as Kerchak (read Girjak) of Sindh Sagar, we have a proof that it was in use until the time of Akbar, when it was changed to Jalalpur. But the people still apply the name of Girjhak to the remains of walls on the top of the Mangal-De hill,

1 Gladwyn's Translation, ii. 263.

[p.164]: which rises 1100 feet above Jalalpur. According to tradition, Girjhak extended to the west-north-west as far as the old temple of Baghanwala, a distance of 11 miles. But this is only the usual exaggeration of ignorance that is told of all ancient sites. There is no doubt that the city did once extend to the westward for some considerable distance, as the ground on that side is thickly strewn with broken pottery for about half a mile.

Its antiquity is undoubted, as the coins which it yields reach back to the times of Alexander's successors. But I believe that it is much older, as its favourable position at the south-east end of the lower road would certainly have led to its occupation at a very early period. I think, therefore, that it may be identified with the Girivraja of the Ramayana. Tradition has preserved the name of only one king, named Kumkamarath, who is said to have been the sister's son of Moga, the founder of Mong. Mogal Beg1 writes the name Ghir-Jehak, and it is so written by some of the people of the place, as if it was derived from Giri-Zohak, or " Zohak's Hill." But the usual spelling, which accords with the pronunciation, is Jhak. From Jhelam to Jalapur the course of the river is from north-east to south-west, between two nearly parallel ranges of mountains, which are generally known as the Tila and Pabhi Hills. The Tila range, which is about thirty miles in length, occupies the west bank from the great east bend of the river below Mangala, to the bed of the Bunhar river, 12 miles to the north of Jalapur. Tila means simply a "peak or hill," and the full name is Gorakhnath-ka-Tila. The more ancient

1 Manuscript Map of the Panjab and Kabul Valley, by Wilford, from the surveys of Mirza Mogal Beg, in my possession.

[p.165]: name was Balnath-ka-Tila. Both of these are derived from the temple on the summit, which was formerly dedicated to the sun, as Balnath, but is now devoted to the worship of Gorakhnath, a form of Siva. The latter name, however, is very recent, as Mogal Beg, who surveyed the country between A.D. 1784 and 1794, calls the hill Jogion-di-Tibi, or tower of the Jogis, whose chief is called Bilnath. Abul Fazl1 also mentions the " Cell of Balnat," and the attendant Jogis, or devotees, from whom the hill is still sometimes called Jogi-tila. But the name of Balnath is most probably even older than the time of Alexander, as Plutarch2 relates that, when Porus was assembling his troops to oppose Alexander, the royal elephant rushed up a hill sacred to the Sun, and in human accents exclaimed,

" great king, who art descended from Gegasios, forbear all opposition to Alexander, for Gegasios himself was also of the race of Jove."

The " Hill of the Sun " is only a literal translation of Balnath-ka-Tila, but Plutarch goes on to say that it was afterwards called the " Hill of the Elephant," which I take to be another proof of its identity with Balnath, for as this name is commonly pronounced Bilnat by the people, and is so written by Mogal Beg, the Macedonians, who had just come through Persia, would almost certainly have mistaken it for Fil-nath, or Pil-nath, the "Elephant." But wherever Alexander's camp may have been, whether at Jhelam or Jalalpur, this remarkable hill, which is the most commanding object within fifty miles of the Hydaspes,

1 'Ayin Akbari,' ii. 110.

2 ' De Fluviis,' in voce " Hydaspes." Gegasios must be Yayati or Jajati in a Greek form.

[p.166]: must certainly have attracted the attention of the Macedonians. Its highest peak is 3242 feet above the sea, or about 2500 feet above the level of the river.

The Pabhi range of hills, on the east bank of the river, stretches from the neighbourhood of Bhimbar to Rasul, a length of 30 miles. This range is a very low one, as the highest point is not more than 1400 feet above the sea, and is less than 500 feet above the river; but the broken and difficult ground on both flanks of the hill presents a barrier quite as impassable as a much loftier range. Until the British occupation of the Panjab, the Pabhi hills were crossed by only one carriage-road through the Khori Pass, 5 miles to the north-east of Rasul, and by one foot-path through the Kharian Pass, 10 miles to the south-east of Jhelam. But though the main road has since been carried through the latter pass, it is still liable to interruption after heavy rain.

In approaching the Hydaspes from the westward, Alexander had the choice of two different lines, which are distinguished by Baber as the upper and lower roads. From the Indus to Hasan Abdal, or Shah-dheri, the two lines were the same. From the latter place, the upper road proceeded by the Margala Pass through Rawal Pindi and Manikyala to Dhamak and Bakrala, from which place it descended by the bed of the Kahan river, through a gap in the Tila range, to Rohtas, and from thence over an open plain to Jhelam. From Bakrala there was also a foot-path to Jhelam, which crossed the Tila range about 6 miles to the north-east of Rohtas, but this pass was always a dangerous one for horses and camels, and was difficult even for foot passengers. The length of this

[p.167]: upper road from Shah-dheri, via Rohtas, to Jhelam, was 94 miles ; but this has since been shortened to 87 miles by the new road, which avoids the two long detours by Rohtas and Dhamak.

From Taxila, or Shah-dheri, the lower road proceeds via the Margala Pass to Jangi, from whence it strikes off via Chaontra to Dudhial. From this point the road branches into two lines, that to the south proceeding by Chakowal and the salt mines to Pind Dadan and Ahmadabad, and that to the east proceeding via Asanot and the Bunhar river to Dilawar, opposite Rasul, or via Asanot and Vang to Jalalpur. From Shah-dheri to Dudhial the distance is 55 miles, from thence to Asanot 33 miles, and thence -to Dilawar, or Jalalpur, each 21 miles, the whole distance by this route being 118 miles. But this distance would be shortened to 114 miles by the traveller proceeding direct from the foot of the Salt Range to Jalalpur. There is also a third line, which branches off from the upper road at Mandra, 6 miles to the south of the Manikyala tope, and proceeds via Chakowal and Pind Dadan to Jalalpur. By this route the whole distance from Shah-dheri to Jalalpur is 116¾ miles, or only 112¾ by leaving the line at the foot of the Salt Range and proceeding direct to Jalalpur. The respective distances by these three different routes are 109, 114, and 112¾ miles, the mean distance being 112¼ miles.

Now, the distance from Taxila to the Hydaspes is given by Pliny,1 from the measurement by Alexander's surveyors, Diognetes and Beiton, at 120 Roman miles, which are equal to 110⅓ English miles, at the value of 0-9193 each, as fixed in Smith's

1 Hist. Nat.i vi. 21, "Ad Hydaspen fluvium clarum, cxx. mill."

[p.168]: 'Dictionary of Antiquities.' As all the copies of Pliny give the same number, we must accept it as the actual measurement of the route that was followed by Alexander from Taxila to his camp on the Hydaspes. In comparing this distance with those already given from Shah-dheri to Jhelam and Jalalpur, we must unhesitatingly reject Jhelam, which is no less than 16 miles short of the recorded distance, while Jalalpur differs from it by less than 2 miles. But there is another objection which is equally fatal to the claims of Jhelam. According to Strabo,1 "the direction of Alexander's march, as far as the Hydaspes, was, for the most part, towards the south ; after that, to the Hypanis, it was more towards the east." Now, if a line drawn on the map from Ohind on the Indus, through Taxila to Jhelam, be continued onwards, it will pass through Gujarat and Sodhra to Jalandhar and Sarhind. As this is the most northerly road to the Ganges that Alexander could possibly have taken, his route by Jhelam would have been in one continuous straight line, which is in direct opposition to the explicit statement of Strabo. But if we adopt Jalalpur this difficulty will be obviated, as the change in the direction would have been as much as 25° more easterly.2 There is also a third objection to Jhelam, which, though not entitled to the same weight as either of the preceding, is still valuable as an additional testimony on the same side. According to Arrian, the fleet, on descending the Hydaspes from Nikaea, reached the capital of Sopeithes on the third day. Now, I have already shown that the residence of Sopeithes must have been at Jobnathnagar,

1 Geogr., XV. 1, 32. 2 See Map No. V.

[p.169]:

or Ahmedabad, which is just three days' distance for a laden boat from Jalalpur, but is six days from Jhelam. As the evidence in each of these three separate tests is as directly in favour of Jalalpur as it is strongly opposed to Jhelam, I think that we are fully justified in accepting the latter as the most probable site of Alexander's camp.

We have now to examine how the river and the country about Jalalpur will agree with the recorded accounts of Alexander's operations in his passage of the Hydaspes and subsequent battle with Porus. According to Arrian1 " there was a high wooded promontory on the bank of the river, 150 stadia, or just 17¼ miles above the camp, and immediately opposite to it there was a thickly-wooded island." Curtius2 also mentions the wooded island as "well fitted for masking his operations." "There was also," he adds,"not far from the spot where he was encamped, a very deep ravine [fossa praealia), which not only screened the infantry but the cavalry too." We learn from Arrian3 that this ravine was not near the river because " Alexander marched at some distance from the bank, lest the enemy should discern that he was hastening towards the promontory and island." Now, there is a ravine to the north of Jalalpur which exactly suits the descriptions of both historians. This ravine is the bed of the Kandar Nala, which has a course of 6 miles from its source down to Jalalpur, where it is lost in a waste of sand. Up this ravine

1 ' Anabasis,' v.11. <greek>.

2 Vita Alez., viii. 13, " tegendis insidiis apta."

3 'Anabasis,' v. 12, <greek>.

[p.170]: there has always been a passable but difficult road towards Jhelam. From the head of the Kandar, which is 1080 feet above the sea, and 345 above the river, this road proceeds for 3 miles in a northerly direction down another ravine called the Kasi, which then turns suddenly to the east for 6½ miles, and then again 1½ mile to the south, where it joins the Jhelam immediately below Dilawar, the whole distance from Jalalpur being exactly 17 miles. I marched along this ravine road myself, for the purpose of testing the possibility of Alexander's march ; and I satisfied my-self that there was no difficulty in it except the fatigue of making many little ascents and descents in the first half, and of wading through much heavy sand in the latter half. The ravine lies " at some distance from the bank " as described by Arrian, as the bend in the Kasi is 7 miles from the Jhelam. It is also " a very deep ravine," as described by Curtius, as the hills on each hand rise from 100 to 250 and 300 feet in height. Therefore, in the three leading particulars which are recorded of it, this ravine agrees most precisely with the accounts of the ancient historians,1 Amongst the minor particulars, there is one which seems to me to be applicable only to that part of the river immediately above Jalalpur. Arrian2 records that Alexander placed running sentries along the bank of the river, at such distances that they could see each other, and communicate his orders. Now, I believe that this operation could not be carried out in the face of an observant enemy along any part of the river

1 See Map No. VII.

2 ' Anabasis,' v. ii. <greek>

[p.171]: bank, excepting only that one part which lies between Jalalpur and Dilawar. In all other parts, the west bank is open and exposed, but in this part alone the wooded and rocky hills slope down to the river, and offer sufficient cover for the concealment of single sentries. As the distance along the river bank is less than 10 miles, and was probably not more than 7 miles from the east end of the camp, it is easy to understand why Alexander placed them along this line instead of leaving them on the much longer route, which he was to march himself.

Another minor particular is the presence of a rock in the channel by the river, on which, according to Curtius, one of the boats was dashed by the stream. Now, rocks are still to be found in the river only at Kotera, Meriala, Malikpur, and Shah Kubir, all of which places are between Dilawar and Jalalpur. The village of Kotera is situated at the end of a long wooded spur, which juts out upon the river just one mile below Dilawar. This wooded jutting spur, with its adjacent rock, I would identify with the akρa, or promontory of Arrian, and the petra of Curtius.1 Beyond the rock there was a large wooded island which screened the foot of the promontory from the observation of the opposite bank. There are many islands in this part of the Jhelam, but when a single year is sufficient to destroy any one of these rapidly formed sandbanks, we can not, after the lapse of more than 2000 years, reasonably expect to find the island of Alexander. But in 1849, opposite Kotera, there was such an island,

1 Arrian, 'Anabasis,' v. ii., <greek> Curtius, Vita Alex., viii. 11, " Una ergo navi, quam petrae fluctus illi-serat, hserente Cceterse evadunt."

[p.172]: 2½ miles in length and half a mile in breadth, which still exists as a large sandbank. As the passage was made in the height of the rainy season, the island, or large sandbank, would naturally have been covered with tamarisk bushes, which would have been sufficiently high to screen the movements of infantry and dismounted cavalry.

The position of the two camps I believe to have been as follows :1 — Alexander, with about 50,000 men, including 5000 Indian auxiliaries under Mophis of Taxila, had his head-quarters at Jalalpur, and his camp probably extended for about 6 miles along the bank of the river, from Shah Kabir, 2 miles to the north-east of Jalalpur, down to Syadpur, 4 miles to the west-south-west. The head- quarters of Porus must have been about Muhabatpur, 4 miles to the west-south-west of Mong, and 3 miles to the south- east of Jalalpur. His army of nearly 50,000 men, including elephant-riders, archers, and charioteers, must have occupied about the same extent as the Macedonian army, and would, therefore, have extended about 2 miles above, and 4 miles below Muhabatpur. In these positions, the left flank of Alexander's camp would have been only 6 miles from the wooded promontory of Kotera, where he intended to steal his passage across the river, and the right flank of the Indian camp would have been 2 miles from Mong, and 6 miles from the point opposite Kotera.

Position of Bukephala

[p.177]:According to Strabo,1 the city of Bukephala was built on the west bank of the river, where Alexander had crossed it ; but Plutarch2 says that it was near the Hydaspes, in the place where Bukephalus was buried. Arrian,3 however, states that it was built on the site of his camp, and was named Bukephala in memory of his horse. Diodorus, Curtius, and Justin leave the exact position undecided ; but they all agree that it was on the opposite bank of the

1 Geogr., XV. 1, 29.

2 ' Life of Alexander.'

3 ' Anabasis,' v. 19.

[p.177]: river to Nikaea, which was certainly built on the field of battle. With these conflicting statements alone to guide us, it is diffcult to arrive at any positive conclusion. According as we follow Strabo or Arrian, we must place Bukephala at Dilawar, or at Jalalpur. Both places are equidistant from the battle-field of Mong, which I take without much hesitation to be the site of Nikaea. If the two cities were built on the same plan, which is not improbable, then Dilawar would have the preferable claim to represent Bukephala, as its ruined mound is of the same size and height as that of Mong. I have already noticed in another place the possibility that Bugiad, or Bugial, the name of the district in which Dilawar is situated, may be only an abbreviation of Bukephalia by the easy elision of the ph. But this is only a guess, and I have nothing else to offer on the subject, save the fact that the ancient name of Jalalpur was certainly Girjak, while that of Dilawar is quite uncertain, as Udinagar is applied to at least three different places. The claims of Dilawar and Jalalpur are perhaps equally balanced, excepting in the one important point of position, in which the latter has a most decided advantage ; and as this superiority would not have escaped the keen observation of the founder of Alexandria, I think that Jalalpur must be the site of the famous city of Bukephala.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Evaluation of District Council, Jhelum by Nasir Ahmad, Abdul Aziz Awan, Noor Mohammad, Pub.Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, 1989, p16
  2. ↑ Panjāb Under the Great Mughals, 1526-1707 Bakhshish Singh Nijjar, Thacker 1968, p191
  3. ↑ The Ancient Geography of India, Sir Alexander Cunningham, Adamant Media 1871, p.163
  4. ↑ Muslim Networks from Hajj to Hip Hop (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks), Miriam Cooke & Bruce B. Lawrence, University of North Carolina Press 2005, p235
  5. ↑ Religious Leadership and the Pakistan Movement in the Punjab, David Gilmartin, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1979), pp. 485-517
  6. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.360
  7. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.288-289
  8. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.221-222
  9. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.779-781
  10. ↑ The Ancient Geography of India/Taki,pp.159-172
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