Turning

During June and July, the army traveled through the Punjab (it means “land of five rivers”) region of India. The soldiers crossed four of the five rivers, and as they went, their difficulties worsened. Alexander did not often underestimate his human enemies, but in the summer of 326 B. C.E., he did underestimate nature. He had no idea how unbearable the experience of the Indian monsoons would be for his men. For more than two months, it was hellishly hot, and the unceasing rain was accompanied by thunder and lighting. Some of the rivers, swollen with the torrents, burst their banks and flooded the land around them. The tired soldiers marched through thick mud. Their clothing, never having a chance to dry out, began to rot and fall apart. To prevent rust, they were forced to scour all their iron equipment daily.

To cross the rivers, Alexander’s troops made rafts out of their tents by stuffing them with straw and piled their belongings on top. Some soldiers were swept away by the raging waters. Crocodiles that infested the rivers killed others. The rain also caused poisonous snakes to come out of their holes looking for higher ground. Many soldiers died of snake bites.

The relentless rain was not the only problem. The soldiers had believed India would be an easy land to conquer, but Porus warned them that ahead of them lay large and powerful kingdoms with huge armies and thousands of elephants. They also discovered that the Encircling Ocean was nowhere near. After eight hard years of nearly unending marching and combat, the soldiers had little will or energy to go on. Along with their patience, the hooves of their horses had been worn thin by steady marching. Even their armor had become nearly useless from wear.

When they reached the fifth and last of the Punjab rivers, the Hy-phasis (now the Beas) River, the soldiers had finally had enough. Alexander pressed to continue east across the river, but his troops refused. Now clearly aware that their leader was never going to willingly stop marching and fighting, they refused to carry on. The Macedonian army, traditionally democratic, was acting within its legal rights in mutinying. All troops had the right to suggest a plan of action and bring it up for a vote. The king was elected by the army and could also be removed by the army. Alexander had no choice but to go along with their wishes. Even so, for two days the king tried to change their minds. He threatened to continue on alone. When that failed, he closed himself off inside his tent and brooded in silence, much like Achilles in The Iliad. This tactic had worked before to sway his troops, but not this time.

A soldier named Coenus, who had been the hero of the battle at the Hydaspes, acted as the army’s spokesperson and clearly let Alexander know that his soldiers had had enough and did not want to go on. Finally, Alexander relented, managing to save face when his seers read the omens from the gods, which warned against continuing east. By emphasizing that the gods, not the soldiers, had forced him to return, Alexander was also able to maintain his authority. In September 326 B. C.E., for the first time in his military career, Alexander the Great turned back.