Keywords: Porus's elephant cavalry.jpg en Porus ™s elephant cavalry according to Munster ™s famous Cosmographia 1544 Source ebay Apr 2004 Woodcut leaf from Cosmographia 1544 by Sebastian Münster French edition; Basel printing house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1552 Book V pages 1329/30 This leaf from the early French edition of Cosmographia is devoted conquest of India by Alexander the Great It describes the greatest of Alexander's battles in India against Porus one of the most powerful Indian leaders - the rajah of the lands between the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers in the Punjab The battle took place in July 326 B C E at the river Hydaspes After facing the Indians for days across an unfordable river Alexander by using diversionary tactics managed to cross the stream above their camp More troublesome to Alexander than the numerical superiority of Porus' 34 000-man army were the 200 elephants that threatened the effectiveness of the Macedonian cavalry During the battle Alexander overwhelmed Porus' left wing forcing it back upon the elephants which panicked and plunged riderless into the Indian ranks The Macedonian phalanx then routed the enemy Alexander captured Porus and like the other local rulers he had defeated allowed him to continue to govern his territory Alexander even subdued an independent province and granted it to Porus as a gift The leaf contains one excellent woodcut picture 3 x 4 of a military unit consisting of an elephant carrying a group of soldiers 1544 http //www columbia edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_399_300/alexander/alexander html Munster Porus's elephant cavalry Cosmographia 1544 jpg PD-old-100 Cosmographia Elephant riding in art War elephants of India 16th-century woodcuts Porus 1540s works Uploaded with UploadWizard People with elephants in India |