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."

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Topics:
   + 1540s works
   + 16th-century woodcuts
   + Cosmographia
   + Cosmographia (Münster)
   + Elephant riding in art
   + People with elephants in India
   + Porus

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• Artist: Munster
• License: Public Domain

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• Original datetime: 1544
• Upload datetime: 2015-09-07T14:20:46Z
• Uploader: User:Cpt.a.haddock
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• Refreshed: 2018-09-03 17:38:25 UTC

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