# Alexander's voyage down the Indus (late 326 – 325 BCE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/pakistan/timeline/-326-alexander-s-voyage-down-the-indus
Location: Indus valley, Punjab and Sindh
Themes: Taxila, Alexander

After his troops refused to march east beyond the Hyphasis (Beas) in 326 BCE, Alexander the Great turned south and travelled down the river system towards the ocean. The Macedonian fleet and army fought through the Malli country, where he was gravely wounded storming a town, then pushed through Sindh, putting down the revolt of Musicanus and accepting the submission of Porticanus of Patala. The expedition annexed the Indus lands and appointed Peithon as satrap of the region. Ancient writers describe the voyage as a campaign of conquest and exploration, with the army splitting into several columns. The identification of many tribes and towns is uncertain, because Greek names survive only through Arrian and other later writers. By 325 BCE the force reached the delta region. From there Alexander led part of his army home through the Gedrosian desert, while an admiral took the fleet along the coast. Macedonian rule in the Indus valley collapsed soon after his death, but the route he travelled stayed in memory. At this point in the timeline (326 BCE), the Macedonian realm was ruled by Alexander the Great, king of Macedon (330 – 323 BCE). Other contemporary rulers included Ambhi of Taxila, king of Taxila (327 – 318 BCE) and Porus, king of the Paurava territory (340 – 317 BCE).

## Why it matters
It carried Macedonian rule through the Punjab and Sindh to the delta and brought the first Greek eyewitness description of the lower Indus.

Ruler at the Time: [Alexander the Great](https://allhistories.com/pakistan/rulers/alexander-the-great)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Indian campaign of Alexander the Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_campaign_of_Alexander_the_Great)
- [Wikipedia — Nearchus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearchus)