Alexander the Great and the Kambojas

Greek historians refer to three warlike peoples - the Astakenoi, the Aspasioi and the Assakenoi, living to the northwest of the river Indus, whom Alexander encountered during his campaign from Kapisi through Gandhara. The Aspasioi were related to the Assakenoi and were a western branch of them. Both the Aspasioi and Assakenoi soldiers earned the admiration of the Greeks for their fighting ability. Alexander personally directed operations against these clans who stubbornly resisted from their mountain strongholds. The Greek names Aspasioi and Assakenoi derive from the Sanskrit Ashva (or Persian Aspa). They appear as Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi and Ashvakas in the Puranas. The Kambojas were famous for their excellent horse breeding as well as their riding skills,  hence they were also commonly known as Ashvakas. The Ashvayana and Ashvakayana clans fought the Macedonians fiercely with even the Ashvakayana Kamboj women taking up arms and fighting alongside their husbands, preferring "a glorious death to a life of dishonor".

Alexander crosses Hindu Kush
In the spring of 327 BCE Alexander set out on the road to the Indus. He invited the chieftains of the former Achaemenian Satrap of Gandhara to submit and join him. (Gandhara was the first kingdom of ancient India and is in the north of modern day Pakistan). Ambhi (Greek: Omphis), the ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Jhelum (Greek:Hydaspes) complied, as well as some others, Sangaeus (Sanjaya) of Peucalaotis (Pushkalavati), Cophaeus of the Kabul region and Assagetes (Ashvajit), chief of a part of west Gandhara, and Sicicottos (Shashigupta) from a hill state, south of the Hindu Kush. However most of the highland chieftains refused to submit - including the Astekenoi, Aspasioi and Assakenoi, known in Indian texts as Hastinayanas, Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas.

Alexander's campaign against the Kambojas
At Nikaia, near modern Jalalabad, Alexander divided his army into two parts, one under Hephaistion and Perdiccas was ordered to proceed through Kabul to Gandhara. Alexander personally took command of the second part, which included a select force of shield-bearing guards, foot-companions, archers, Agrianians and mounted javelin-men, marching against the Kamboja clans — the Aspasioi of the Kunar/Alishang valleys, the Guraeans of the Guraeus (Panjkora) valley and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner valleys. These highlanders, designated as "parvatiya Ayudhajivinah" in Pāṇini's Astadhyayi, were rebellious, fiercely independent clans who resisted subjugation by anyone. "It was indeed a hard work for Alexander to take their strongholds, of which Massaga and Aornus need special mention". "And it is also a tribute to the vision and sagacity of Alexander that he realised that without reducing these highlanders, his march into India would neither be secure nor effective".

Battle against the Ashvayanas (Aspasioi)

 * Ascending the Kunar valley, Alexander came into conflict with the Ashvayanas or Aspasioi. The modern remnants of these clans are the Pachai, the Asip or Isap or the Yusufzai in the Kabul valley between the rivers Kabul and Indus. They offered stubborn resistance to the invading army. Alexander was seriously wounded in the right shoulder by an arrow and his officers Ptolemy and Leonatos were also injured. Next morning however, Alexander succeeded in breaching one of the walls of the citadel. The Ashvayanas then fled from the gates and made for the hills, leaving the Macedonians to raze the city to the ground and move on to confront another clan of the Ashvayanas located in city of Andaka.
 * The Ashvayanas of Andaka put up some resistance but soon surrendered to the superior force.
 * Leaving Krateros in charge of Andaka citadel, Alexander proceeded along river Kunar against the Guraeans - the main branch of the Ashvayanas. The defenders however set fire to their city and fled to the mountains with the Macedonians in pursuit. Ptolemy and his contingent first chased them on horseback, but when the ascent became too steep, proceeded on foot till they were near the Ashvayanas. The Ashvayana chief turned back and hit Ptolemy in the chest with a long spear which pierced his cuirass but didn't enter his body. Ptolemy was able to retaliate and struck the Guraeus chief on the thigh, and as the man fell he managed to cut off his arms. With their chief dead, some of the Ashvayanas took to their heels, while others turned back to rescue the corpse and fought on grimly. Alexander arrived to reinforce Ptolemy's contingent and after a bitter struggle the Ashvayanas eventually vanished into the hills.
 * Alexander crossed the mountains and reached the city of Arigaon in the province of Bajaur. Here the story of the Guraeans was repeated. The Arigaonian Asvayanas set fire to their city and fled to the hills. Alexander then ordered that the citadel of Arigaon be developed into a strong military base for the Macedonians.
 * Alexander's scouts found that the fleeing Ashvayanas had assembled on a remote hill. Learning this, Alexander, accompanied by Ptolemy and Leonatos, moved towards them. Seeing the Macedonians approach, the Ashvayanas made a tactical mistake by descending onto plain ground on a small hill. A sharp conflict ensued. The Ashvayanas "the stoutest warriors of the neighborhood" (according to Arrian) were too confident of their numbers and underestimated the Macedonians. This complacency, coupled with the large number confined to a small place severely restricted their mobility, and determined attacks by Alexander, Ptolemy and Leonatos from different directions broke their ranks. The Macedonians captured 40,000 men and 230,000 bullocks which, even allowing for exaggeration, suggests that this was not really an army of trained soldiers but an agglomeration of whole tribes, including a large number of non-combatants.
 * It appears that the Ashvayanas were good farmers and cattle breeders. The large number of bullocks, 230,000 according to Arrian, were superior to what the Macedonians had known, and Alexander sent them back to farmers in Macedonia. This account agrees with Kautiliya's Arthashastra which attests that besides warfare, the Kambojas also practised cattle-breeding and agriculture.

Battle with Ashvakayanas (Assakenoi)

 * After defeating the Ashvayanas, Alexander engaged the Ashvakayanas, the Assakenoi of classical writings. The Assakenoi inhabited the Swat valley and had strongholds in Massaga, Ora, Bazira, and Aornos. Their modern remnants are the Aspins of Chitral and the Yashkuns of Gilgit. According to Arrian, they mustered an army of 30,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry and 30 elephants. Seven thousand soldiers joined from Abhisara as reinforcements. The Ashvakayanas resisted stubbornly in their strongholds and the fort of Massaga was only gained after several days of bloody fighting during which Alexander was seriously injured in the ankle by an arrow.
 * At the start, Alexander staged a tactical retreat to lure the Ashvakayanas out of their fort of Massaga. About seven thousand Ashvakayanas charged the Macedonians, whereupon Alexander suddenly wheeled around and attacked back. The tribesmen retired to the citadel with the loss of 200 men. Alexander pursued them and brought his famous Phalanx against the fortifications with the Ashvakaynas pouring arrows from the citadel, one of which injured Alexander.
 * The following day, Alexander attacked the wall of the fort with war engines (ballistas) and his soldiers tried to rush in through the breach they created. However the Ashvakayanas defenders managed to repel the attacks and forced Alexander to withdraw.
 * On day 3 the Macedonians renewed the assault from the ballistas, and setting up a huge wooden tower against the wall they shot from it at the tribesmen inside. Curtius recorded that it took the Macedonians nine days to complete the tower - but still the defenders held out.
 * On day 4, a bridge was deployed to reach the wall breach made on the second day, but it collapsed as the Macedonian troops ran onto it. Taking advantage of this, the defenders rained down arrows, stones and whatever articles they could find. Some Ashvakayanas came out and fought at close quarters forcing Alexander's forces to retreat.
 * On the fifth day, (eleventh according to Curtius), another effort was made to make a bridge from a war engine to the wall. As the Ashvakayana Chief (called Assakenos by Arrian) was supervising operations from the battlements, a missile from a ballista killed him. Command of the battle was then taken over by his mother Cleophis (q.v.) - determined to defend to the last. Cleophis' example rallied the local women to join the fight. Over the several days of the famous battle of Massaga both sides suffered heavy losses and in the end the tribesmen entered into a peace agreement with the Macedonians.

Arrian's account
According to Arrian (Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon') (circa 86–160 CE), Assakenos, the leader of the Assakenoi, fell on the fifth day of fighting and the Ashvakayanas sent an envoy to Alexander for peace talks. The two sides came to an agreement ensuring the safe exit of the tribesmen, provided they joined the Macedonians as mercenaries. The Ashvakayanas then left their citadel and camped on a hill facing the Macedonian camp. Arrian added however, "they had no wish to fight against their own countrymen and resolved to arise by midnight and flee to their homes". When Alexander was informed of this, he surrounded the hill that same night with all his troops and cut the tribesmen to pieces.

Curtius’ account
Curtius (Quintus Curtius Rufus), a Roman historian belonging to the latter half of the first century CE, does not refer to any such train of events. However, Curtius states that "Alexander not only massacred the entire population of Massaga, but also vented his rage upon the buildings" .

Diodorus’ account
Diodorus (Diodorus Siculus) (fl. 30–60 BCE), differs from Arrian in his account. He does not mention any agreement between tribesmen and Alexander and a later change of mind to flee in the dead of night. But he does state that the tribesmen evacuated the city, according to the terms of an agreement, and retired to a distance of 80 stadia, without harboring any thought of treachery. Alexander "who was actuated by an implacable enmity", and who " had kept his troops under arms ready for action", suddenly attacked the tribesmen and "made a great slaughter of their ranks". Baffled by this behavior, which flouted all rules of right and dignified conduct, the tribesmen loudly protested that they were being attacked in violation of sworn obligations, and also reminded Alexander of the Greek gods in whose names he had taken oaths to faithfully observe the terms of the agreement. But Alexander retorted: "His covenant merely bound him to let them depart from the city, and (was) by no means a league of perpetual amity between them and the Macedonians". Diodorus details the final encounter of the Ashvakayanas (Assakenoi) with Alexander - women taking over as their menfolk fell until all were overpowered and killed.

Plutarch's account
Plutarch (Mestrius Plutarchus) (46 c CE 127 c CE) gives a different version of the events. He says that Alexander "incurred serious losses and accordingly, concluded a treaty of peace with them but, afterwards, as they were going away, set upon them while they were on the road and killed them all". He clearly suggests that the peace proposal was initiated by Alexander, following five days of heavy fighting (nine days according to Curtius), where despite heavy losses he failed to take the Massaga citadel. After reaching a peace treaty with the Ashvakayanas that included them vacating the city, he then attacked them. Plutarch denounced Alexander, saving that "this rests as foul blot on his martial fame".

On the credibility of Arrian
The accuracy of Arrian's account of Alexander's campaigns has been questioned by scholars such as WW Tarn, Buddha Prakash and AB Bosworth. Writing some 400 years after the events they consider that Arrian was more concerned with creating a legend of Alexander than historical accuracy.

Battle of Ora and Bazira

 * After Massaga, Alexander dispatched Koinos to Bazira and Attlos, Alketas and Demetrios to Ora. The Ashvakayanas of Ora came out to fight Alketas but were beaten back behind the walls. The King of Abhisara sent a military contingent to relieve the Ashvakayanas at Ora. Hearing this, Alexander rushed to Ora and also recalled Koinos from Bazira to join him.  Their joint assault overran the citadel.
 * When the Ashvakayanas of Bazira heard that Koinos had left their city, they set out on the plain to attack the Macedonians that remained at Bazira. Arrian reports that a very sharp conflict followed at Bazira and 500 Ashvakayanas were slain and another 70 were captured (though characteristically he did not give casualty figures for the Macedonians).
 * After capturing Ora, Alexander moved on with all his forces to Bazira slaughtering the inhabitants and burning the city.

Battle of Aornos

 * After the fall of Ora and Bazira, many Assakenians fled to a high fortress called Aornos, which is Pāṇini's Varana. It has been identified with modern Una (Pushtu Urna). But before attacking Aornos, Alexander strengthened his defences of Massaga, Ora and Bazira and fortified the city of Orbatis, modern Arbutt, on the left bank of the river Landei near Naoshehra, reaching the city of Embolima which adjoined Aornos. Having made Embolima his base, Alexander advanced towards the most formidable and highly strategic rocky fortress of Aornos which even Dionysos, an earlier Greek conqueror (as per Greek traditions) could not defeat. Alexander was determined to surpass this predecessor in his military achievements.


 * Ptolemy was able to learn from a local old man and his two sons of the narrow and difficult passage to Aornos which he immediately occupied and fortified with a palisade and a trench. From there, Ptolemy gave Alexander the signal to advance, but the Ashvakayanas obstructed and pushed him back, then charged Ptolemy with full fury. Hard fighting ensued till night when the highlanders retired to the citadel.
 * Next day, Alexander again tried to break through to join Ptolemy and after more hard fighting, he succeeded in joining him in the afternoon. Together, they made a joint assault on the fortress but again failed to take it.


 * On the third day, Alexander ordered every soldier in his army to cut wood and pile it up in the form of a mound over a deep ravine so as to make it level with the rocky fort. This work went for three days (seven days according to Curtius) and finally, the Macedonian forces occupied a hill, which was on the level of the Aornos rock.
 * On the sixth day (10th day in Curtius accounts), a signal was given for the whole army to advance with Alexander at the head. In the words of Curtius "numerous perished by the dismal fate for they fell from shelving crags and were engulfed in the river flowing underneath--a piteous sight even for those who were not in danger". From above, the defenders "rolled down massive stones upon them while they climbed, such as were struck fell headlong from their insecure and slippery positions". Many, including General Charus and Alexander's namesake (Alexander), were killed. Hence, Alexander ordered a retreat having "resolved to abandon the enterprise", while the defenders devoted two days and nights to festivity and music. On the third night, the defenders retired from Aornos rock. Curtius assigns no reason for this retreat, but his accounts suggest that the defenders did so believing that they had beaten off their enemy. On this, Alexander ordered his men to capture the vacant fort, but Curtius says that "Alexander only conquered the position rather than the enemy, though he gave to this success the appearance of a great victory by offering sacrifices and worship to the gods". Arrian's accounts say that the strategic hill-fort was captured after the fourth day of bloody fighting. The story of Massaga was repeated here too. First, Alexander granted an amnesty and promised safe retreat then captured the citadel and attacked from behind with a similar massacre of the tribal-people. Alexander made Sicicottos the governor of the Aornos fort.

Writing on Alexander's campaign against the Assakenoi, Victor Hanson comments: "After promising the surrounded Assacenis (Ashvakayanas) their lives upon capitulation, he executed all their soldiers who had surrendered. Their strongholds at Ora and Aornus were also similarly stormed. (The) Garrisons were probably all slaughtered".

Tragedy of Afrikes and invasion of Dyrta
Alexander got the news that one of the three sons of Cleophis (and the brother of the deceased war leader, Assaeknos of Massaga), was hovering in the mountains with an army of 20,000 and a fleet of 15 war elephants waiting for the right opportunity for a showdown with the Macedonians. Didorus calls this Ashvakayana chieftain as Afrikes while Curtius refers to him as Erix. Scholars state that the name Afrikes seems to contain reference to Aprita or Afridi, thereby, linking the Afridis with the Ashvakayanas. Alexander proceeded against Afrikes. However, at the critical juncture, a dispute arose among Afrikes' followers and some deserters assassinated him and presented his head to Alexander and joined his ranks. After this tragic event, Alexander proceeded against the Ashvakayanas of Dyrta (Sanskrit Darteya or Dharteya), north of Mahaban, near the point of issue of the Indus from the mountains. This section of the Ashvakayanas is known as Dharteyas to Pāṇini and like other Ashvakayanas, have been styled as Ayudhajivin Samgha (Warlike republics) in the Ganapatha of Pāṇini. But the Dharteya Ashvakayas deserted their habitats and disappeared into the mountains. Alexander ordered the area to be combed and himself proceeded towards the Indus. Nothing more is known about the fate of the Dharteyas.

Aftermath of the war campaign
Arrian reports that Sicicottos, who had helped Alexander in this campaign against the Ashvaka Kshatriyas was made the governor of Aornos. Alexander's victory at Aornos was fleeting, with the Ashvakas defeated but not crushed. Only a few months later the Ashvakayanas revolted against their rulers - assassinating Nicanor, the Greek governor of Massaga. Sicicottos sent word to Alexander who  was still in north Punjab (at Glansai), asking for immediate assistance. Alexander sent Phillipos and Tyriaspes to quell the Ashvakayana rebellion - how far they succeeded is not known, but Tyriaspes was soon replaced by Alexander's father-in-law Oxyartes, which may indicate that things had not gone well.

Lack of confederacy led to debacle
It is obvious that although individually the former Kamboja constituents had offered stubborn resistance, they failed to create a united front against Alexander. It seems that the ancient custom of forming leagues or confederacies amongst the Kambojas had temporarily been abandoned after the disintegeration of the Kamboja and Gandhara Mahajanapadas following the Achaemenid occupations of Cyrus and Darius. Alexander's companions do not record the names of Kamboja and Gandhara and rather locate numerous small political units in their territories. No doubt Alexander easily conquered these isolated political units, most of which were Ganas or Samghas (republics) of free people. Each constituent did offer resistance, but disunity and dissension meant that one by one, all the units fell to a better organised and unified enemy with superior numbers.