Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror

 

By 326 BCE, Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror, had led his army an astonishing 12,500 miles across Persia, Egypt, and beyond, forging an empire from Greece to the edges of India in eight grueling years. His relentless campaign, marked by victories at Issus, Gaugamela, and the Hydaspes River, showcased his genius and the endurance of his phalanxes and Companion Cavalry. Yet, on the banks of the Hyphasis River (modern Beas) in India, his weary troops reached their breaking point. Exhausted by endless marches through scorching deserts, torrential monsoons, and brutal battles against King Porus’s war elephants, the Macedonian soldiers—some 20,000 strong—faced dwindling supplies, disease, and the alien terrain of the Punjab. Veterans who had left Greece in 334 BCE, dreaming of glory, now bore scars, worn armor, and fading hope, their morale sapped by rumors of vast, unconquered Indian kingdoms ahead. At a tense assembly, Coenus, a loyal general, voiced their plea: no more. The men, hardened by triumphs in Persepolis and the Gedrosian Desert, refused to push deeper into India, yearning for home, families, and the spoils they’d earned. Alexander, initially furious, secluded himself for days, hoping to sway them with visions of conquest. But the army’s resolve held firm, a rare defiance against their near-mythical leader. Reluctantly, in 326 BCE, Alexander ordered the return, marking altars at the Hyphasis as the easternmost boundary of his empire. The journey back was punishing—through the Indus River and the treacherous Gedrosian Desert, where heat and starvation claimed thousands. This turning point, chronicled by Arrian and Plutarch, revealed the limits of even Alexander’s ambition, as human endurance buckled under the weight of his dreams. His empire, stretching over 2 million square miles, began to fray, with mutiny signaling the strain on loyalty. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE, at 32, leaving a fragmented legacy. The refusal at the Hyphasis not only halted his Indian campaign but exposed the fragility of conquest, shaping the Hellenistic world’s future as his generals carved up his realm.

Wars & Empires