  The likely location of Boukephala and Nikaia in modern-dayPakistan | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Builder | Craterus, on the order ofAlexander the Great |
| Founded | 326 BC |
| Periods | Hellenistic andMauryan |
Boukephala (Ancient Greek:Βουκεφάλα) andNikaia (Νίκαια) were twocities founded byAlexander the Great on either side of theHydaspes (modern-dayJhelum River,Pakistan) during hisinvasion of the Indian subcontinent. The cities, two ofmany founded by Alexander, were built shortly after his victory over the Indian kingPorus at theBattle of the Hydaspes in early 326 BC.
It is not certain which settlement had which name. Built on the site of the battlefield, the city on the eastern bank was most likely calledNikaia (fromnike,lit. 'victory'), while its western companion was probably named after Alexander's horseBucephalus, who died during or after the battle. Their construction was supervised byCraterus, one of Alexander'sleading generals. Both cities initially suffered from the rains of theSouth Asian monsoon. Boukephala seems to have had a more distinguished legacy than Nikaia: mentioned byPliny the Elder andPtolemy, it appears in the 1st-century ADPeriplus Maris Erythraei manuscript and on the laterTabula Peutingeriana map. The cities' precise locations are unknown, but it is considered likely that Boukephala was located in the vicinity of modernJalalpur and that Nikaia was across the river near present-dayMong.
Alexander the Great, king ofMacedon (r. 336–323 BC),invaded the PersianAchaemenid Empire in 334 BC. He decisively defeated the Persian kingDarius III (r. c. 380 – 330 BC) at the battles ofIssus (333 BC) andGaugamela (331 BC), taking control of much of West Asia. Alexander then campaigned successfully againstBessus, thesatrap ofBactria, who had murdered Darius and proclaimed himself Artaxerxes V of Persia. After Bessus' capture and execution, the Macedonian king moved southwards towards theIndus River to subdue local rulers. Capturing the fortress ofAornos, in present-daynorthern Pakistan, in April 326 BC, Alexander crossed the Indus to begin campaigning innorthern India, executing a series of manoeuvres to cross the Hydaspes river (the modern-dayJhelum) and defeat the Indian kingPorus at theBattle of the Hydaspes.[1]
Accounts of the founding of two cities after the battle appear in the records of all ofthe five major surviving accounts—Arrian,Plutarch,Diodorus,Curtius Rufus, andJustin. All five agree that Alexander founded two cities, one on each side of the Indus, naming oneNikaia and the otherBoukephala.[2]Craterus, one of Alexander's leading generals, was appointed to construct and fortify the new cities, a task he had performed a few months earlier at Arigaion (an ancient city possibly located under modernNawagai). Diodorus additionally records that the settlements were built quickly because many workers were available.[3] Before moving onwards to continue hisIndian campaign, Alexander celebrated his victory and foundations with what Arrian terms "a gymnastic and horse contest" near the western city.[4] He returned to the cities a few months later after the Macedonian army hadmutinied at the Hyphasis (modern-dayBeas River) and forced him to turn back. The troops were ordered to help repair damage caused by themonsoon, a phenomenon previously unknown to the Macedonians, whose buildings were not designed to withstand heavy rains.[5]
There is some dispute as to whether Alexander intended his foundations to be rapidly developing cities or military garrisons which would control the conquered territory; the historianN. G. L. Hammond theorised that Boukephala and Nikaia, founded on the banks of a major river, must have been established withtrade routes in mind.[6] According to Arrian, Alexander may have establisheddockyards at Boukephala, although Curtius Rufus states that these were located on the Acesines (modern-dayChenab River).[7] Boukephala and Nikaia were also unique among themany cities founded by Alexander in not being at or near an existing fortress or provincial capital.[8]
The sources are however unclear on the details of the foundation and naming of the cities. Arrian separates the clauses detailing the location and naming of the cities, so that although the reader knows that one of the two cities was called Nikaia and one named Boukephala, it is unclear which name corresponds to which city. Though critical opinion has tended towards Nikaia being the eastern city, the historian A. B. Bosworth noted that this conclusion is somewhat tentative due to the grammatical uncertainties.[9] None of the other sources give any more clarity to the situation, and it is possible that Arrian himself did not know which city was under which name.[2]
There is also confusion on the timing of the death ofBucephalus, Alexander's horse, after whom Boukephala was named. Justin writes that he fell at the beginning of the Battle of the Hydaspes.[10] Plutarch however mentions that Bucephalus died either from wounds or simple old age, "not at once, but some time afterwards".[11] Arrian also states that Bucephalus,being around thirty years old, died unwounded of old age.[12] As both Diodorus and Curtius Rufus separate the foundation of the cities from their naming, it is probable that the horse only died after Alexander's eastward departure, and that the settlements were named upon Alexander's return to the region.[2]
Boukephala appears to have survived for some centuries; it was probably under the rule of theMauryan Empire (existedc. 320–185 BC), while the later presence of theIndo-Greek kingdom (existedc. 170 BC–10 AD) in the area likely helped it to survive.[13] In the twentieth century, the British classicistWilliam Woodthorpe Tarn claimed that the settlement was the capital of the 1st-century BC Indo-Greek kingHippostratus, due to the presence of a symbol on hiscoinage which he claimed could only have beenminted at a Greek city; this theory is considered flawed as no such coins have been found near the Hydaspes.[14] Meanwhile, the Indian historianA. K. Narain questioned whether Boukephala still existed by the time ofMenander I (c.150 BC), but this uncertainty is dispelled by the city's presence in the 1st-century ADPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea, a guide forRoman merchant sailors.[15]
Boukephala appears in many otherGreco-Roman texts, including variousrecensions of theAlexander Romance and the writings ofPtolemy, andPliny the Elder, who names the city as the chief of three controlled by theAsini tribe. It also appears on theTabula Peutingeriana and in the writings ofYaqut al-Hamawi, a 13th-century ADIslamic scholar.[16] Nikaia appears far less frequently in the ancient sources: it is possible that the nameAlexandria for Porus, which is mentioned frequently, in fact refers to Nikaia.[17]
Ancient sources are generally consistent in the naming of the cities. Boukephala is less frequently named "Boukephalia", or "Alexandria Boukephalos" in theByzantine period.[2] Alexander, who often founded cities after winning military victories, had a short time previously founded another settlement named "Nikaia" to the east ofParopamisadae. Tarn suggested that all of Alexander's foundations were called "Alexandria" and that any other names were merely nicknames;[18] this conclusion is generally considered unfounded.[19]
According to the historian Getzel Cohen, the locations of Boukephala and Nikaia were already a matter of dispute in antiquity.[20] As the path of the Jhelum has shifted consistently since antiquity, creatingmarshlands on the eastern side, and as the Indianmonsoon was already damaging the cities in Alexander's time, it is unlikely that much of either city survives today, even at a great depth. Although some historians have placed Boukephala at the town ofJhelum or at atell nearDilawar, the prevailing view, as proposed by the archaeologistAurel Stein in 1932, is that it lies underneath the modern town ofJalalpur Sharif.[21] A monument to the life of Alexander was thus built between 1998 and 2011 near the town; funded by theGovernment of Pakistan, theGreek embassy in Islamabad, and by private donations, it had become dilapidated by 2023.[22]
As Boukephala was located across the river from Nikaia,[23] if the former was located at Jalalpur, the most likely site of the latter is the town ofMong, located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east across the river.[24] This hypothesis was suggested byAlexander Cunningham during the firstArchaeological Survey of India.[25] Others have suggested that the settlement is located near the present-day village of Sukchainpur. On the other hand, Stein considered it impossible to determine the site's location.[24]
A reference to the two cities may appear in theMulasarvastivada Vinaya, atripitaka text of anearly Buddhist school which likely dates from the time of theKushan emperorKanishka (r. c. 127 – 150 AD).[26] The vinaya, which details one of the journeys of theBuddha, refers to two cities called Ādirājya ("Place of the First Kingship") and Bhadrāśva ("Place of the Good Horse") located on the Vitastā (i.e., Hydaspes) River along the road fromGandhara toMathura. Although the Buddha connected these cities to the mythical kingMahāsammata, it is possible that they were in reality the cities of Boukephala and Nikaia.[7] Similarly, an old Hindu tradition at a shrine toMangla Devi at the site of Garjak above Jalalpur includes the story of the death of a magical horse.[27]
32°39′34″N73°24′19″E / 32.65944°N 73.40528°E /32.65944; 73.40528
