According to popular literature, Russian Emperor Paul I was half tyrant, half crazy. As an example of his madness, the attempt to organize a hike is most often cited Russian troops to India. Indeed, what could Emperor Paul I forget in a country located “three seas” from Russia?
But if you take a closer look at the reasons for organizing the Indian campaign, it becomes clear that it is not at all a figment of the imagination of a mad emperor, but a carefully developed strategic operation.

For the sake of fighting together

The transfer of troops to capture India was conceived by Napoleon I and approved by Paul I. Both emperors wanted to compete with forces common enemy- England. The Mistress of the Seas was a natural opponent of the two states seeking to supplement their powerful land forces with sea ones. Therefore, it was necessary to undermine the economic power of England.

“Naturally, the idea of ​​a close rapprochement between the two states for the sake of a joint struggle to finally conquer India came to mind - main source wealth and military power of England. Thus arose a great plan, the first thought of which, without a doubt, belonged to Bonaparte, and the means for execution were studied and proposed by Paul I,” write French professors Ernest Lavisse and Alfred Rambaud in their “History of the 19th Century.”
The Egyptian campaign of the first consul can be considered the beginning of preparations for a campaign in India. On May 19, 1798, the army under the command of Bonaparte, which included 300 ships, 10 thousand people and a 35 thousand-strong expeditionary force, left Toulon, and on June 30 its landing in Alexandria began. What did the French need in Egypt? After the collapse of the first anti-French coalition, England alone continued the war against France. The Directory intended to organize a landing of troops on the British Isles, but this had to be abandoned due to the lack of necessary forces and means. Then a plan emerged to strike at communications connecting England with India, a plan to capture Egypt.
The famous Russian historian and writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky wrote with admiration in his biography novel “Napoleon”: “Through Egypt to India in order to deliver a mortal blow to the world dominion of England there - such is Bonaparte’s gigantic plan.”
But here’s what you can read in the book “Napoleon, or the Myth of the “Savior”” by the modern French historian Jean Tularave: “The occupation of Egypt made it possible to solve three strategic problems at once: to seize the Isthmus of Suez, thereby blocking one of the routes connecting India with England, to obtain a new colony... to take possession of an important bridgehead, opening access to the main source of England’s prosperity - India.”

Raking the heat with your bare hands

But let's return to Russia. The reign of Paul I was for the country a period of revaluation of enemies and friends. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Russia has become a decisive power in Europe. The Italian campaign of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov in three months crossed out all the victories and conquests of France.

It seemed that Napoleon would be finished, but... Russia unexpectedly went over to the side of France and confused all the European “political cards”.
Many historians accuse Paul I of being contradictory and inconsistent in his foreign policy. They explain the reason for this by the imbalance of his character. But that's not true. It is the real and effective policy, as opposed to the far-fetched and dogmatic one, that must take into account changing circumstances. That's why it looks contradictory and inconsistent from the outside.
The sharp change in Paul I's foreign policy was not accidental. Historians studying the period of Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power write about at least four reasons that contributed to the convergence of the interests of the Russian and French emperors.
The first reason can be called emotional. After the defeat of Korsakov’s corps in the fall of 1789, Napoleon informed Paul I that he wanted to release all Russian prisoners to their homeland. In December 1800, in Paris, Bonaparte not only ordered the release of 6,000 Russian prisoners, but also ordered that new uniforms be sewn for all of them at the expense of the French treasury, new shoes be issued, and weapons returned. Paul responded to Bonaparte with the message that he agreed to peace because he would like to return “peace and quiet” to Europe.
The second reason for the change in Paul I's policy was the desire of the allies in the anti-Napoleonic coalition to achieve their own benefits to the detriment of Russian interests. According to historian Anastasia Golovanchenko, Russia needed a Russian-French alliance: “We would get rid of the need to rake in the heat with our bare Russian hands for Austria.”

Path to the southeast

In September 1799, Suvorov made the famous crossing of the Alps. However, already in October of the same year, Russia broke the alliance with Austria due to the Austrians’ failure to fulfill allied obligations, and Russian troops were recalled from Europe.

But not only the treacherous behavior of the allies in the anti-French coalition influenced the decision of Paul I. The third and very serious reason was the long-standing close Russian-French relations that existed during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II.
The last reason was the organization of a joint Indian campaign, in the success of which both emperors were equally interested.
Here we need to remember that the rulers Russian Empire have already looked towards India more than once. Peter I began to “tread the road”. However, this attempt ended tragically. This is what Lieutenant General V.A. writes about her. Potto in the book “Caucasian War”: “Peter transferred his thoughts to the Caspian coast and decided to undertake an exploration of the eastern shores of this sea, from where he was going to look for a trade route to India. He chose Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky as the executor of this powerful thought. In 1716, Bekovich sailed from Astrakhan and began to concentrate a strong detachment near the very mouth of the Yaik. A five hundred horse regiment of Grebenskys and part of the Terek Cossacks were assigned to this campaign from the Caucasus.” But the detachment of Prince Cherkassy died in battles with the Khivans.
Russian rulers continued to “push” their way to the southeast. Catherine II tried to continue the work of Peter I.
Finally, it was the turn of Paul I, who, even before concluding an agreement with Napoleon on a joint campaign against India, tried to begin to “pave” his way there along the road outlined by the French emperor. The purpose of the occupation of Egypt by Napoleon's troops was to capture the Isthmus of Suez and block the shortest route to India for England. Paul I tried to get a sea fortress in the very center of the Mediterranean Sea, on one of the English routes to their richest colony, the East Indies. Some historians believe that the main reason that prompted the Russian Orthodox Tsar to become the Grand Master of the Catholic Maltese Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Maltese) was not so much romantic dreams of the revival of chivalry, but rather the acquisition of the island of Malta, an important strategic object in the Mediterranean, without war.

New information changes the overall picture

January 12 (24), 1801, ataman of the Don Army, cavalry general V.P. Orlov received an order from Emperor Paul I to move “straight through Bukharia and Khiva to the Indus River and to the English establishments along it.” V.P. Orlov didn't have much great forces: about 22 thousand Cossacks, 12 cannons, 41 regiments and 2 horse companies. The journey was not easy due to insufficient preparation, bad roads and weather conditions. According to the general opinion among pre-revolutionary historians, “the campaign resulted in incredible stupidity.”
But in our time, after finding out additional data about the real actions of Paul I and Napoleon I to organize a military campaign in India, the attitude towards the “stupidity” of the Indian campaign of the ataman of the Don army V.P. Orlova began to change. In his book Edge of Ages, historian Nathan Eidelman writes about the known plan conquest of India, from which it follows that the detachment of the ataman of the Don army was an insignificant part of the Russian-French troops: “35 thousand French infantry with artillery, led by one of the best French generals, Massen, should move along the Danube, through the Black Sea, Taganrog, Tsaritsyn , Astrakhan... At the mouth of the Volga, the French must unite with the 35,000-strong Russian army (of course, not counting the Cossack army that is marching its way through Bukharia). The combined Russian-French corps will then cross the Caspian Sea and land at Astrabad."
You can read about the reality of precisely this development of events in Central Asia in the book “Napoleon” by the famous historian E.V. Tarle: “Thoughts about India never left Napoleon, from the Egyptian campaign to recent years reign... After concluding peace with Russia, Napoleon considered a combination based on the campaign of French troops under his command in Southern Russia, where they would link up with the Russian army, and he would lead both armies through Central Asia to India."

Treacherous Plot

For England, unification at the end of the 17th century. Russia and France could have had a terrible result - the loss of India, which had made Foggy Albion a prosperous maritime power. Therefore, England did everything possible to ensure that plans to conquer India by Russian-French troops collapsed. The English ambassador financed the head of the conspiracy against Paul I - Count Palen - and gave him gold to organize the assassination attempt.
The assassination of the Russian Emperor occurred on the night of March 11-12, 1801.
IN historical literature it is proved that the campaign of Russian troops in India failed. In fact, Alexander I, having ascended the throne, immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops back.
The truth about the reign of Paul I is still distorted. Many believe in the madness of the emperor, who tried to increase the glory of Russia. Meanwhile, it is time to resurrect the forgotten events of the past and understand: who benefits from replacing the true pages of national history with fiction.

In Russia, it is still customary, even among historians, to portray the short period of the reign of Paul I (1796-1801) as a time of tyranny. The Emperor is portrayed as anything - a neurotic, an ignoramus, a martinet, but not statesman who laid down his life for the modernization of the country.

Paul I streamlined the system of succession to the throne, eliminating the appearance on the throne random people, as happened throughout the entire 18th century after the death of Peter I. He limited the rights of landowners to peasants - he prohibited their sale without land and even introduced a law according to which a peasant should not work for the owner more than three days a week (after the death of Paul I both of these laws were quietly buried). For the first time, he swore the oath to the Tsar of the peasants, showing that they too were citizens of the Russian state. The emperor extremely centralized government administration. Finally, by his example, he introduced the rule that the tsar is not just an autocrat (the highest feudal lord), but also a bureaucrat: during the four years of his reign, he issued 2,179 legislative acts (an average of 42 per month; under Catherine II, 12 were issued per month ). He opened the first state bank (State Auxiliary Bank, which was supposed to issue loans to industrialists and landowners on preferential terms). Under him, favoritism was eradicated, and the result became the measure of the activity of a bureaucrat or military man: during the short period of Paul’s reign, about two thousand officials were imprisoned, sent to hard labor or into exile for bribery, parochialism and other gross violations.

Militarily, his reforms were no less significant. Pavel sharply reduced the role of the guard (for which he later paid, since it became one of the participants in the conspiracy against him). He introduced a system of barracks housing for soldiers, abandoning billets (which both ruined the peasants in whose houses the soldiers lived and corrupted the latter). “Free work” of soldiers in the interests of officers was prohibited.

But one of the most significant steps of Paul I was an attempt to make foreign policy Russia is independent. Despite the fact that until the end of his life he remained a Germanophile (even, more precisely, a Prussophile), the emperor was aware that throughout the previous century the country had been a pawn in other people’s games, fighting for the interests of one or another great power. Paul I once said that Russia needs 20-25 years without wars in order to become the first among the great powers of the world. For the first time in a hundred years, under him, Russia stopped carrying out territorial expansion (only the assignment of Alaska to Russia, as well as the voluntary entry of Eastern Georgia into the empire, which, however, took place without wars). The emperor believed that during this time of respite the country should develop industry and trade, as well as science.

But later Paul I himself neglected this attitude and tried to get involved in one war, which cost him his life, and the country - severe tests in 1812. He decided to get involved in a war with England, the main action in which was to be the campaign of the Russian army in India.

Historians later tried to present this confrontation between Russia and England as another tyranny of the emperor. Paul I believed: England is the basis of instability in Europe, and until this country weakens, the life of not only the continent, but also the world will continue to take place in endless bloody wars. The next two centuries proved the Russian emperor right.

Unlike the vast majority of European monarchs, Paul I treated the Great french revolution as an internal matter of France. The historian Klyuchevsky writes: “Paul began his reign with a manifesto that proclaimed a peaceful policy; he abandoned the fight with France, declaring that since the beginning of the Seven Years' War the empire had been in continuous struggle, and that his subjects needed rest."

Nevertheless, English diplomacy in 1798 provoked him to aggravate relations with France. Russia entered the anti-French coalition, as a result of which the famous Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov and the Mediterranean campaign of the fleet under the leadership of Ushakov were carried out.

But very quickly Paul I realized that Russia was being used in English interests, and sharply changed his foreign policy course: in 1800, a rapprochement with France began. The finale of this cooperation between the two countries was the plan for the campaign of the Russian-French detachment in British India. The Emperor said about him: “Strike England in its very heart - in India.”

Painting by Jean-Leon Gerome "Napoleon Bonaparte in front of the Sphinx." Photo: artgalleryartist.com

Around this campaign, again, there are many myths, the conclusion from which follows the traditional: “Another madness of Paul I.” The Indian campaign is usually referred to in order to emphasize the military amateurism and adventurism of the emperor. But the plan for this campaign was developed by Napoleon personally, and Bonaparte first spoke about the Indian campaign back in 1797, before the expedition to Egypt.

Historians Dmitry Kalyuzhny and Yaroslav Kesler describe this plan in their book “Another History of the Russian Empire”.

Not a single country in the world at that time had a fleet capable of coping with the British. The combined fleet of France and Russia could not do this either. That is, there was no talk of an invasion of England from the continent. In addition to the blockade of England, the idea of ​​a military campaign in India arose, which then provided Britain with an economic advantage. But since Türkiye would not allow anyone's army to pass through its territory, Russia played a key role in Napoleon's plan.

Napoleon's plan was discussed with Paul I and received his approval. The essence of the expedition was as follows:

“The French army of 35 thousand infantry, with a full complement of light artillery, will move from the borders of France, with the consent of Austria, to Ulm, where it will board ships and sail on them along the Danube.

Upon her arrival in the Black Sea, the Russian fleet will transport her to Taganrog, from where she will go to Tsaritsyn on the Volga, where, equipped with ships, she will go down the river to Astrakhan. There, the Russian army of 35 thousand people (of which 15 thousand infantry, 10 thousand cavalry and 10 thousand Cossacks), with a reinforced set of artillery, will unite with the French army, which will be supplied with the horses it needs to transport artillery and heavy loads.

The united army will be transported by the Caspian Sea from Astrakhan to Astrabad (a city in Persia - RP), where warehouses for all kinds of supplies needed by the army will be established.

Painting by Antoine-Jean Gros "André Massena, Duke of Rivoli, Prince of Essling, Marshal of France." Photo: musee-armee.fr

This hike from the French borders to Astrabad is designed to last approximately 80 days; it will take another 50 days for the main forces of the army to reach the right bank of the Indus, heading towards Herat, Ferah and Kandahar; only 130 days of marching and transportation for the French troops, which, like the Russians, will be under the main command of General Massena (at the request definitely stated by Emperor Paul).”(“Russian Antiquity”, Volume 15, January 1876, pp. 216-217).

That is, we were talking about a joint Franco-Russian military expedition under the leadership of division general (from 1804 - marshal) Andre Massena into the very heart (or rather, wallet) of the British Empire. It was also assumed that the Russian fleet would arrive in India from Kamchatka and a separate campaign of the Russian Cossacks.

Could this unit have conquered India? French General Massena hoped that this could be done in a year. He was confident that in the semi-deserts bordering India (the territory now occupied by Pakistan), it would be possible to attract to the campaign the pastoral tribes of the Baluchis, Pashtuns, and Turkmens, who feared the strengthening of British influence in the region. Massena planned that up to 100 thousand native troops would join them.

It was assumed that in the event of victory, northern India would be under Russian protectorate, approximately along the line Bombay - the Nepal border (Bombay would be a Russian port).

Engraving of "Lord Charles Whitworth" by Thomas Lawrence. Photo: wikipedia.org

In January 1801, the Cossack ataman Orlov received an imperial decree, which explained the purpose of the military action:

“The British are preparing to attack me and my allies the Danes and Swedes. I am ready to accept them, but we need to attack them themselves, both where the blow may be more sensitive and where they are less expected. The establishment in India is the best for this. Go with artillery through Bukhara and Khiva to the Indus River. Send your scouts to prepare and inspect the roads. All the riches of India will be your reward for the expedition. I am enclosing the maps."

Fulfilling the decree, Orlov for short term mobilized 22 thousand Cossacks, which he informed the emperor about in a letter dated February 20, 1801. The campaign to India was led by Major General Platov, who had returned from imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Their path lay to Orenburg. Next we had to occupy Bukhara and release our prisoners in Khiva. “If Ataman Orlov and the Cossacks had time to fulfill this order, they would have glorified themselves more than Ermak,” wrote Cossack general Pyotr Krasnov in 1909.

After eleven days of the campaign, on the night of March 12, 1801, Paul I was killed by the conspirators. It is customary to name the St. Petersburg Governor-General Palen as the head of the conspirators (the total number of conspirators was about 60 people). But in fact, both the plan of the conspiracy and its implementation were in the hands of English Ambassador in Russia Whitworth. Paul I suspected about the conspiracy and the role of his sons Alexander and Constantine in it, and therefore demanded that they re-swear allegiance to the emperor on March 11 - literally a few hours before his assassination.

One of the first decrees of the new Emperor Alexander I was the recall of the Cossacks going to India, as well as the cancellation of the joint campaign with France in India. English diplomacy was able to change history with just one murder.

With the assassination of Paul I Russian society finally split into the people and the elite. The Tsar of all Russians was replaced by the Tsar of the Russian elite. On a March night in 1801, in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, it was not so much the emperor who was killed, but the policy of change in the state and society, a policy aimed at eliminating the omnipotence of the nobility, which was hindering the modernization of the country.

In the noble-bureaucratic Petersburg in March 1801, there was not enough champagne for those wishing to celebrate the murder of the legitimate sovereign. The joy of this murder is described in a letter from the English ambassador to Russia, Lord Whitworth, to the former Russian ambassador in London, the Anglophile Vorontsov:

“Please accept my most sincere congratulations. How can I express everything I feel about this happy occasion sent by Providence? The more I think about him, the more I thank heaven.”

"Indian Campaign" by Alexander the Great It’s usually presented to us as a kind of “surprise” - they say, look where Macedonia is and where India is - but a man has arrived, and with an army at that! The edge of the earth, the place where no “white” man has set foot! And in general, why does he need it, this India? You’ve done the job (read: conquered the Persians) and go home!

And all this would be so if not for two BUTs:

• Firstly, Alexander did not begin his campaign in India from Macedonia. Those who wish can take a look at the map themselves and see how far it is from Bactria, which had been conquered by the Macedonians by that time, to India.
• Secondly... it is known that the Persian king Darius I in 519 - 518. BC subjugated part of the territory along the Indus, and that Indian satrapy was part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It is also known that in armies Persian kings, who fought with the Greeks, there were also Indian warriors. Considering that Alexander the Great declared himself none other than the heir of the Achaemenids, why shouldn’t the heir of such a brilliant dynasty try to regain what was lost by his less fortunate predecessors?

As you can see, there was nothing fantastic, much less extravagant, in the Macedonians’ attempt to conquer India. Alexander the Great, in general, was an extremely prudent and rational person.

It was against this background, against his own person, and having finally conquered Bactria, in the late spring of 327 BC, Alexander began his campaign in India.

The trip was prepared very carefully. Having received new reinforcements from Macedonia and included Asian contingents in his army, Alexander had, according to the unanimous testimony of sources, 120 thousand soldiers. This was three times more than in the army with which Alexander landed in Asia Minor. The foot squad now consisted of 11 “regiments”.

Before the start of the expedition, Alexander carried out significant changes in his army: the number of individual military formations was increased; people who were promoted during the reprisal against aristocrats hostile to the tsar and thereby proved their loyalty were placed in command positions; formed military units, who acted independently on the orders of the king and carried out special tasks assigned to them.

The immediate reason for organizing a military campaign in India was the fact that its western regions in the Indus Valley were (or at least were considered) the eastern outskirts of the Achaemenid state. The Macedonian king had in mind to proclaim and strengthen his power there as the “king of Asia” and the legal successor of the Achaemenids.

Map of the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great. Please note - the names of states and localities are given as “indicative”, for example, there could not have been any “Seleucid Kingdom” during Alexander’s campaign in India - it would be formed much later, on the ruins of his empire

The army of Alexander the Great in Central Asia and Northern India

Setting out from Bakt, Alexander's troops overcame Hindu Kush; finding yourself in Paropamisade, Alexander moved to the river. Coffeen ( modern Kabul). At the same time, he sent an envoy to the rulers of the regions located on the right bank of the Indus (the most significant of them was Ambhi, the ruler of Taxila, whom Arrian calls Taxilom- the name given to him by Alexander in accordance with his title), inviting them to come forward and demonstrate recognition of the supreme power of the Macedonian king. They complied with Alexander's demand, brought him rich gifts and promised to give him 25 elephants. According to one version of the legend, Ambhi-Taxil offered his services to Alexander to fight against other Indian tribes even when he was in Sogdians. Obviously, he himself was interested in the destruction of left-bank Indian societies.

Without offering resistance, Ambhi-Taksil and other rulers who surrendered with him voluntarily opened the way for Alexander to Punjab.

Punjab, which in the spring of 326 BC. The first of the main Indian territories to be invaded, was at that time fragmented into many small states. The most important states were those whose kings were Taxil And Por , as the Greeks called them. Taxilus submitted to Alexander voluntarily, since he was at enmity with Porus and hoped to find support from Alexander in the fight against his rival.

Porus was defeated in a fierce battle on the banks of the Jhelama River(Hidaspes among the Greeks), wounded and captured.

Alexander, having received information from Porus and from a certain Chandragupta, who had fled from Magadhi, about the presence of a strong army of 200 thousand infantry, 20 thousand cavalry, 2 thousand chariots and 2 thousand elephants at the king of Magadha, nevertheless, he was confident in the final success of his campaign in the Ganges valley, since he knew that King Dhana Nanda is not very firmly on the throne. But Alexander’s army did not share his confidence in success and resolutely refused to continue the campaign beyond the Beas River (Giphasis among the Greeks).

Alexander divided his army into two parts. He entrusted one of them, which included three “regiments” of infantry, half of the warrior-horsemen and all the hired horsemen, to Hephaestion and Perdiccas; Allied Indian troops also joined them. Hephaestion and Perdiccas received orders to capture Pevkelaoditu(modern Yusafzai) and go to the Indus; there they had to build bridges to cross to the eastern bank.

The ruler of Pevkelaodita Ast was in hostile relations with Ambhi-Taxil. Alexander's troops, acting in alliance with the latter, were the natural enemies of Asta; This, as well as, of course, the desire to preserve independence, apparently explains the resistance that he offered to the invaders who invaded his country. Perdiccas and Hephaestion, after a 30-day siege, took and destroyed the main city of the country; Ast himself died, and power was transferred to Sangay.

At the head of the remaining troops, Alexander went north, to areas inhabited by tribes that the Greeks called Aspasii, Gurayi and Assakens; Aspasias and Assakens are identified with the Asavaks of Indian sources. Having crossed the Khoy River (modern Kunar) with great difficulty, he invaded Bajuar and learned that the locals (among the Greeks - aspasia) gather in the mountains and fortified cities, where they expect to organize defense. Expecting to immediately defeat this unexpected resistance, Alexander left the bulk of the infantry to follow the marching order, and he himself rushed at the head of the cavalry and 800 mounted Macedonian infantry into the interior of the country.

Approaching the first city that he encountered on his way, Alexander drove the Aspasians behind the walls. During the skirmish he was slightly wounded. The next day, his soldiers easily captured the city. Many of the defenders disappeared into the mountains; The Macedonians killed all the prisoners, and the city was destroyed by order of the king. Then Alexander led his troops to the city of Andaka, which surrendered without a fight. There he left Craterus, ordering him to suppress resistance and destroy cities that did not recognize the authority of the Macedonian “king of Asia.”

Alexander himself, building on his success, headed to the Evaspla River, where the ruler of the Aspasians was located. On the second day of his journey he approached a coastal city; residents set fire to their houses and fled to the mountains. During the persecution, many of them were killed; The ruler of the Aspasians also died, falling at the hands of Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Having crossed the mountains, Alexander approached the city of Arigeus (modern. Banjaur); here the inhabitants also set their homes on fire and disappeared. In Arigaea, Alexander united with Craterus, ordered him to restore the city, settling there the surrounding residents and soldiers who had become unfit for military service. New Arigey was supposed to become a stronghold of Macedonian power in the area.

Indian nobility greets the conqueror - Alexander the Great

Macedonian army on the way to the Indus

Meanwhile, the Aspasia concentrated in the mountains. Alexander attacked them in three columns: one led by himself, the other by Leonnatus, and the third by Ptolemy. In a fierce battle, the resistance of the Aspasians was suppressed. According to available information, more than 40 thousand prisoners and more than 230 thousand heads of cattle fell into the hands of the winner. Alexander ordered the best bulls to be sent to Macedonia.

From here Alexander went into the country Assakenov, passing the region of the Gurays and crossing the river with great difficulty. Guray (modern Landai) below the confluence of the Panj-kora and Swat rivers. The Assakenes also prepared to defend themselves from the “king of Asia,” but with the approach of Alexander they dispersed to their cities, hoping to sit out behind their walls. As a result, the initiative was in the hands of Alexander, and he approached Massage- the main political and administrative center of the Assakenes. In addition to the inhabitants, the city was defended by mercenaries collected from various parts of India.

Military operations began with a foray by the Assakens. Hoping to defeat them in open battle, Alexander ordered his soldiers to retreat. The Assakens rushed after them. When Alexander decided that they were already far enough away from the city walls, the phalanx turned around and went on the offensive. The Assakenes could not withstand her blow: 200 of their warriors died in hand-to-hand combat, the rest took refuge in the city. The next day, bringing up the siege engines, the Macedonians broke through the walls, but the resistance of the Assakenes forced Alexander to stop the assault. On the third day, the besieged were subjected to fire from the siege tower using bows and throwing machines. When the fourth day arrived, Alexander again led the phalanx to the walls and ordered a bridge to be thrown from the tower at the breach site. The hypaspists were supposed to use it to break into Massaga. The bridge collapsed under the weight of the bodies, and the attack failed. On the fifth day, Alexander was going to repeat it, but after the local ruler was killed by an arrow fired from a throwing machine, the defenders of Massaga decided to begin negotiations for surrender.

Judging by subsequent events, the main issue for Alexander was the fate of the Indian mercenaries defending Massaga. They agreed that they would join Alexander's army. The mercenaries left the city and camped nearby. At night the Macedonians attacked them and killed them all. Then Massaga was captured. Some time later, Alexander took the city of Ory (modern Udegram) by storm; residents of another city, Bazira (modern Birkot), after a fierce battle with the Macedonians, fled to the rock Aorn(Bar Sar in the Pir Sar mountain range). Residents of other surrounding towns also gathered there.

While in the region of Swat, Alexander took possession of another important point- Nisoi, at the foot of Kokhi-Nor. An embassy of 30 noble Niseans, led by a local ruler, came to Alexander Akoufis. Those who came found Alexander in the guise of a formidable warrior - who had not yet washed off the dust of the road, had not yet taken off his helmet and had not let go of his spear. The Niseans prostrated themselves before the king; in essence, this was the same privilege that Alexander strenuously sought from the Greeks and Macedonians, but official propaganda, of course, portrayed the matter in such a way that the warlike appearance of the conqueror of the universe filled the hearts of the ambassadors with horror.

Alexander's agreement with Akufis is striking in its gentleness. Alexander granted Nisa freedom and autonomy (use of her own laws), confirmed her laws and political system (aristocratic, according to the Greeks); Akufis retained his position, becoming, by order of Alexander, the ruler of the city. Alexander received 300 horsemen from Nisa; he demanded another hundred local aristocrats, but Akufis joked him into refusing it.

In Nisa, Alexander organized a noisy celebration in honor of Dionysus and took an active part in it. Alexander's behavior in this city is in good agreement with all his previous policies. As in the Middle East and Iran, he seeks to win over the local aristocracy. However, having made certain representatives of the aristocratic elite his followers, having pacified certain areas, the Macedonian king had not yet eliminated the resistance. Its center became Aorn.

Alexander began operations against him by confirming his power on the western bank of the Indus, including in Peucelaotis. Having occupied the city of Embolima near Aorn, Alexander set up a warehouse for food and equipment there. He entrusted the organization of Macedonian power here to Craterus, and he himself went to Aorn, who stood on the rock. Taking this natural fortification was a difficult task. Rumors spread that Hercules himself tried to take possession of the rock, but was forced to retreat. Talk about Hercules spurred Alexander on: he must and can do what the hero, his ancestor, failed to do, and surpass Hercules himself with his exploits.

When Alexander camped in the immediate vicinity of Aorn, local residents came to him, promising to show the way to where it was easiest and most convenient to take possession of this point. Alexander sent Ptolemy with them at the head of a detachment of lightly armed warriors and hypaspists. Having climbed a difficult road (in the Una-Sar mountain range, running parallel to Pir-Sar), the next day the king led his phalanx to storm the mountain stronghold. The Indians repulsed the attack. On the third day of fighting, it was decided to attack the defenders from two sides: Ptolemy’s detachment and the royal one. Alexander himself moved along the same path that Ptolemy had used, but he only managed to connect with the latter. The new assault on Aorn ended in vain: the Indians put up stubborn resistance and forced the Greek-Macedonian troops to retreat. Then Alexander decided to build an embankment in order to fire at the rock with bows and throwing weapons. On the fourth day of work, the Macedonians also captured a neighboring mountain, the same in height as Aorn. The successful continuation of the work made the defense of Aorn hopeless, and its defenders offered negotiations to Alexander, promising to surrender the rock. At night they began to disperse; Alexander did not interfere with them. He ascended the abandoned stronghold at the head of a detachment of approximately 700 bodyguards and hypaspists; at the sign given to them, they rushed at the Assakes and killed many.

Aorn was a strategically important stronghold in the country of the Assakes, and Alexander placed his garrison there. He entrusted the command of the detachment to the Indian Sisikott (Sasigupta), who had previously served with Bessus and then transferred to Alexander - an appointment that undoubtedly played as fundamental a role as the alliances with the rulers of Nisa and Taxila.

Macedonian Army in North-West India

The road to the Indus was open for Alexander; in his rear there were pacified territories. Having taken Dirthu- a city abandoned by the inhabitants, having taken part in an elephant hunt, cutting through dense thickets in an almost impenetrable jungle, he came ashore great river. There, the soldiers built ships from the timber, and the Greek-Macedonian army sailed downstream, to where, having built bridges, Hephaestion and Perdiccas were waiting for Alexander. Here he was again met by the envoys of Ambhi-Taksila with gifts and the news that the latter was giving him Mr. Taxila, one of the largest in North-West India. At dawn the next day, Alexander transported his troops to the eastern bank of the Indus.

Alexander's stay in Taxila was marked by the confirmation and consolidation of previously established allied relations (and, in fact, Macedonian dominance) with its ruler. With his power, Alexander annexed the possessions Ambhi-Taxila all the neighboring lands that he coveted. It seemed that contractual relations had also been established with the old enemy Abisar.

Alexander retained power in Taxila with Ambhi-Taxila, but left his garrison in the city and appointed Philip, the son of Mahata, as satrap. He himself moved on, heading to the Hydaspes River (modern Jhelum). On the eastern bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander was awaited by the troops of Porus (Paurava), who owned a vast kingdom on the plain between the Hydaspes and Akesina (modern river Chenab). Porus's political line was apparently determined by his hostile relations with Ambhi-Taxil and friendly relations with Abisar. Alexander sent his close associate Cleochares to Porus with a demand to pay tribute and meet him at the border. According to legend, Porus replied that he would fulfill only one of these demands: he would meet Alexander at the border, but armed. A collision was inevitable.

Having outposted Porus on the left bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander undertook a series of deceptive movements on the right bank. At night, his riders made such a noise as if they were starting a crossing, but that was where the matter ended. In the end, Porus stopped paying attention to the enemy. Having lulled Porus's vigilance, Alexander crossed to the other bank above the point where his camp was located. Once on the left bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander concentrated the cavalry and hypaspists on the right flank; placed horse archers in front of the line of horsemen; on both flanks - lightly armed infantry. Rushing at the head of the horsemen towards the enemy, he ordered the infantry to follow.

A detachment led by the son of Porus tried to prevent the crossing and further advancement of Alexandra. This operation ended in the defeat of the Indians and the death of their commander.

Now Porus himself moved towards Alexander. He had about 4 thousand horsemen, 300 war chariots, 200 elephants and 30 thousand infantry. War elephants were lined up in one line in front, infantry behind them, and cavalry and chariots on the flanks. Alexander decided to strike the enemy’s left flank with most of his cavalry; He sent the rest of the horsemen under the command of Kan against the enemy’s right flank with the task of going behind the Indians’ rear when the mounted battle began. The attacks of the Greco-Macedonian cavalry caused confusion in the army of Porus, and Alexander struck another blow deep into the center of the enemy formation. The Indians rushed towards the elephants. The elephant leaders drove the animals against Alexander's horsemen. And then he brought the infantry into battle. Elephants trampled Alexander's infantrymen, scattering the phalanx; Porus's cavalry attacked the Greco-Macedonian horsemen.

The latter again defeated the Indians, and they again rushed to the elephants. Meanwhile, Alexander's soldiers pushed the elephants into a bottleneck; wounding them with darts, they forced the animals to turn against the Indians themselves. The pursuit and beating of those running began. The Indians were attacked from the rear by troops under the command of Craterus, who had by that time crossed to the eastern bank of the Hydaspes. Porus himself, who showed exceptional energy and great personal courage in battle, was captured. The battle took place in April - May 326 BC. To commemorate the victory, Alexander ordered the issue of a commemorative dekadrachm coin with the image of a Macedonian horseman attacking the Indian king seated on an elephant.

Alexander used his victory to force Porus to enter into an alliance with the winner. What was said ultimately explains the courtesies addressed to Porus and the emphasized admiration for his courage.

Tradition remembers that in response to Alexander’s question: “How should I treat you?” - Porus replied: “Royally,” and when Alexander wanted to hear a more precise answer, he said: “This answer contains everything.” Alexander not only preserved Porus’s kingdom (of course, under his supreme authority), but also annexed other lands to his possessions. On this basis, an alliance was concluded between the winner and the vanquished.

Alexander founded two more cities on the banks of the Hydaspes: Nicaea(“victorious”; the name is given in honor of the victory over Porus) and Bucephalia(the city received its name in memory of the royal horse, which died shortly after the Battle of Hydaspes from wounds and old age).

The victory at Hydaspes made Alexander master of the Punjab. His power was recognized by the neighboring people, whom Aristobulus called glavganiki, and Ptolemy - chapters; Alexander subjugated this people to Porus. Ambassadors from Abisar and the heads of some other Indian societies appeared with expressions of submission.

Meanwhile, in Alexander’s rear, the Assakenes rebelled again. Having sent Philip and Tiriaspes to suppress the rebellion, the king went further east. Having crossed Akesina, he found himself embroiled in a war with yet another Porus; chasing him, Alexander approached the river. Hydraot (modern Ravi) and, having sent Hephaestion to fight the enemy, crossed it. On the eastern bank of Hydraot lived independent Indian tribes, of which the most powerful were Cathay. They were going to resist Alexander; the center of the struggle was to become the city of Sangaly.

Having occupied Pipramy (a city belonging to the Adraist tribe) without a fight, Alexander approached Sangal. The Cathays set up a camp on a hill in front of the city, surrounded by three rows of carts. The battle began with Macedonian horse archers. Then the king led his cavalry, which was on the left flank, against the enemy’s right flank. Very soon he had to make sure that his calculations were wrong and that the horsemen could not act here. Then, dismounting, he led the infantry into the attack. The Cathayan resistance on the first two rows of carts was crushed, and the survivors took refuge in the city. At night, the Cathays tried to leave Sangal, but they were intercepted by Alexander’s horsemen: those Cathays who did not die in the battle returned outside the city walls. Alexander began to besiege the city.

He blocked the exits from it with a double palisade, and placed reinforced guards and battering machines near the wall. During these preparations, defectors came to him and told him that the Cathays were going to once again try to escape from Sangal at a lake where there was no stockade. By order of Alexander, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, blocked their road with carts and piles of stakes; In a night battle, the Cathays were defeated and returned to the city again. Meanwhile, Porus came to Alexander with his troop and elephants. The Cathays abandoned their forays. The Macedonians built a tunnel under the walls, and battering machines began working. Finally, Sangal was taken by storm. During the battle, according to Arrian, 17 thousand Indians died and 70 thousand were captured. Residents of other cities fled, and Alexander destroyed Sangaly to the ground.

Home!

Having pacified the tribes living east of Hydraot, having received expressions of submission from the local kings, Alexander believed that he could now continue his movement to the east without hindrance. He went to the river. Hyphasis (modern Bias), hoping to cross it and invade the Ganges valley. Indian allies told Alexander that beyond Hyphasis lies richest country; this meant the state of the Nandas, which occupied the Ganges Valley and some regions of Western India and the Deccan. However, on his way, Alexander encountered an unexpected obstacle - the reluctance of his soldiers and even generals to go east.

The eight-year grueling campaign tired the people. They saw no point in exposing their lives to more and more dangers. The forces of the future enemy seemed incredibly large to them: thousands of elephants, tens of thousands of chariots, hundreds of thousands of infantry. Added to this were the most difficult, unusual natural conditions- thick tropical forests teeming with snakes and dangerous predators, continuous heavy rains and thunderstorms.

Alexander tried to destroy defeatist sentiments. At the gathering of warriors, he did everything to captivate them with the prospect of conquering the entire world - from one end of the World Ocean to the other; spoke about the untold riches with which he had already showered and would continue to shower his warriors. It was all in vain. Ken answered Alexander, and what he said fit into one short word: “Home!”

The next day, Alexander said that he would go east at the head of volunteers, but there were no such volunteers. For three days he sat in his tent, not allowing anyone to approach him, and finally was forced to announce that he would not lead his army further east. He understood well that it was impossible to fight without soldiers or against their wishes.

Thus, on the banks of the river. Hyphasis Alexander's campaign of conquest was over. It was 326 BC.

Return of Alexander the Great's troops from India

A little earlier, during the fighting in the territory between the Indus and Hyphasis, Alexander had a mature plan to turn his Macedonian-Asian power into a monarchy covering the entire civilized world. On the banks of the Hyphasis, Alexander suddenly realized that all his victories in India had been won in vain, that he did not have the strength not only to continue his campaigns, but also to retain what he had conquered.

They say that once Kalan - one of the Digambri (the Greeks called them “naked sages” - gymnosophists) demonstrated a parable to Alexander: having spread out a withered skin in front of him, he first stepped on one, then the other edge - and the opposite edges rose in turn, then stood in the middle, and the whole skin continued to lie on the ground. Alexander had to understand that he should be in the center of his kingdom, and not wander around the outskirts.

Be that as it may, Alexander made a decision.

He left India not of his own free will, but by the will of the gods. It was announced to the army: on the eve of the upcoming crossing of the Hyphasis, which opens the way to the Ganges valley, the king made sacrifices, and they turned out to be unfavorable; the will of the gods forced Alexander to cancel his intentions. By order of the king, 12 huge altars were erected on the banks of the Hyphasis and sacrifices were made to the gods; Around the camp at a great distance from it, the Macedonians built a deep ditch, and in the camp itself they allegedly built two-person tents with huge (5 cubits, i.e. approximately 2.5 m) boxes and stalls for horses, twice as large as usual; incredibly large weapons were scattered at the site of the camp and around it so that the Indians would understand who they were dealing with.

Retreating to the Hydaspes, Alexander transferred power over the entire territory between this river and the Hyphasis to Porus; he was forced to appoint his old enemy Abisar as ruler of the northern regions. However, although the latter was called a satrap, no significant changes occurred in his real power and actual independence. Alexander appointed Philip, the son of Mahata, as satrap of the province west of India to the borders of Bactria.

A large flotilla was waiting for Alexander on the Hydaspes, he was going to sail down this river and further along the Indus to the Indian Ocean, the army was supposed to go on foot: one part under the command of Craterus along the right bank of the river, and the other under the leadership of Hephaestion along the left. War elephants also went with the infantrymen. The flotilla was commanded by the outstanding Greek naval commander Nearchus, son of Androtim. Nearchus played a prominent role at Alexander's court. At one time, he supported Alexander when he wanted to marry the daughter of Pixodarus, and was expelled from Macedonia.

The army and fleet moved down the Hydaspes without initially encountering any serious difficulties. The surrounding tribes one way or another found themselves forced to recognize the power of the Macedonian king: some voluntarily and peacefully, others after skirmishes. At the confluence of Hydaspes and Akesina, Alexander's ships fell into powerful whirlpools. The “long” warships suffered heavy losses: the waves broke the oars of the lower row, two ships collided, many were seriously damaged, and many soldiers and sailors died. With difficulty reaching a quiet backwater, Nearchus began repair work; Alexander himself went on a raid on the surrounding tribes. When the repairs were completed, the fleet continued its voyage downstream. Ground forces three detachments, led by Hephaestion, Craterus and Ptolemy, moved in the same direction. At the confluence of Akesina and Hydraot, they had to wait for the king.

Meanwhile, Alexander, at the head of a detachment consisting of hypaspists, foot and horse warriors, horse and foot archers and Agrians, rushed through the waterless desert into the country of the Mallas (Mallawa). The prospect of new clashes with Indian tribes caused an explosion of discontent in the Greco-Macedonian army. However, Alexander managed to persuade his soldiers that this expedition was necessary. After a short time, he approached one of the enemy cities and took it by storm. The king sent Perdiccas to another city, but the latter, finding the city empty, began to pursue the fugitives; Only those who managed to escape into the swamps were saved.

After short rest Alexander moved to Hydraot at night and approached the river at dawn. Many Mallas had already crossed to the eastern bank, and Alexander led his troops after them. Those mallas who did not have time to hide were killed, but the majority hid in a seemingly impregnable fortress. The Macedonian infantry immediately took possession of it; everyone who defended it was made slaves.

The next city (according to Arrian - the Brahmans) was taken by storm, and almost all of its defenders died. Having subsequently captured several settlements left by the Mallas and defeated them in a battle on the eastern bank of Hydraot, the troops approached another city. During the assault, Alexander was the first to climb the wall; fired from bows and throwing weapons, showered with darts, he jumped inside the fortress. There, leaning against the wall, Alexander stubbornly repelled the attacks of the Malls and killed many, including their leader. Meanwhile, the ladder he was climbing broke. Only three managed to climb the wall with the king: Abreya, Peucest and Limnaeus. Abreus was immediately killed, Alexander was wounded in the chest. He became weak, having lost a lot of blood, and fell; Limnaeus and Peucestes defended him. Breaking ladders, the Macedonians, with great difficulty overcoming the earthen wall, went to the aid of Alexander. The fight became more and more tense. Finally, the Macedonians managed to break the bolt and open the gate. Having burst into the city, Alexander’s soldiers killed everyone, including women and children.

When the arrow was removed from Alexander's wound, blood gushed out and he lost consciousness.

The news of Alexander's wound reached the Macedonian camp, set up at the confluence of Akesina and Hydraotes, and caused great concern there. Alexander ordered to be urgently taken to the camp. Approaching the place where the army was stationed by ship, he ordered the tent to be removed so that everyone could see him. At first, the warriors thought that they were carrying a lifeless body, but when the ship docked, loud screams and joyful crying were heard all around. The hypaspists brought a stretcher, but Alexander demanded a horse; Greeted by the soldiers, he reached the tent. Everyone should have known that he, Alexander, was alive, healthy and fully combat-ready.

Alexander the Great on the shores of the Indian Ocean

Alexander's actions forced the survivors of the defeat of the Malls and Oxidrak (Shudrak) to recognize his power. The fleet sailed down the Akesina again; At its confluence with the Indus, Alexander united with Perdiccas. Moving south, he again had to establish his power over the surrounding tribes and rulers, either by peaceful means or by force. The regions of Musican, Oxican and Samba were under his hand. At the end of July 325 BC. Alexander arrived south to Patala (modern Bakhmanabad); when Macedonian troops entered this country, the population fled. By order of the king, Hephaestion began to build a fortress there; in the Indus delta, at the confluence of the river with the Indian Ocean, Alexander built a port and boathouses.

While construction was underway, a voyage was undertaken down the right branch of the Indus. Not knowing the river, the sailors found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. Moreover, the next day after sailing, a storm began: the wind blew against the current and drove the water back; many ships were seriously damaged, some were broken. The Macedonians hastily moored to the shore, and Alexander sent his men to search for pilots. Swimming resumed. Now the fleet was led by Indians who knew the area well. When the wind blew again from the Indian Ocean, they took the ships into the backwaters. Meanwhile, the tide came and Alexander's fleet found itself on land. The sailors, who had never encountered such phenomena before, were frightened; only the beginning of the tide calmed them down a little. The tide damaged a number of ships and had to be repaired. In the end, the difficult multi-day expedition ended: Alexander's ships dropped anchor off the island of Killuta at the mouth of the Indus. Alexander himself went out to the ocean on several ships. Having walked 200 stadia (about 37 km), he approached an island lying in the open sea, but decided not to sail further. Returning to the site, Alexander, allegedly at the behest of his “father” Ammon, staged a solemn sacrifice to Poseidon, throwing golden cups into the sea. He prayed to God to guide his fleet safely to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates.

Alexander spent several months in Patala and the Indus Delta. Summer trade winds prevented them from going out into the ocean, and Alexander used this time to gain a foothold in the lower reaches of the river. At the confluence of the Indus into the ocean (in the area of ​​modern Karachi), on his order, the construction of another port and boathouses began. At the head of units of hypaspists, cavalry and infantry, the king went to the nearby river. Arabian. At his approach, the Arabites who lived there fled; Alexander suppressed the resistance of the Orites. Some of the Orites, together with the Gedros, set out to defend the narrow passage to Gedrosia (modern Baluchistan), however, as soon as they learned about Alexander’s approach, they fled, and their leaders surrendered to the Macedonian king. Alexander appointed Apollophanes as satrap of the region of the Orites; the troops left in the new province were subjugated by Leonnata. The latter had to wait for the arrival of the fleet, found another city, a stronghold of Greco-Macedonian domination, and generally arrange the affairs and life of the Orites so that the satrap, their ruler, would enjoy the favor of the population.

In September 325 BC. a campaign began through Gedrosia and Carmania to Persida. Alexander entrusted part of his army to Craterus and sent it north to Arachosia; from there, through the country of the Ariaspes, she had to go south to connect with the king.

Alexander's soldiers walked near the ocean coast. At first, the road led through an area where myrtle grew abundantly. The aromatic resin produced by this plant - myrrh - was very highly valued in ancient times; trade in myrrh brought enormous profits. The Phoenician merchants accompanying Alexander's army did not fail to take advantage of the opportunity: they collected myrrh, loaded mules and donkeys with precious luggage, and transported it to the west. They also mined the fragrant roots of spikenard.

After some time, Alexander's army entered a dry, deserted desert. Having sent a certain Toant, the son of Mandrodor, to search for the inhabitants, Alexander learned that he had met only a few fishing families living in squalid huts made of shell rock and fish bones. They obtained water (not completely fresh) in pits that they dug on the seashore. There was nowhere to get food or drinking water; The soldiers endured the difficult road, the scorching sun, hunger and thirst. The heavy rains brought by the monsoons were no less dangerous. During one of these rains, the stream at which the halt was made overflowed its banks; Many people died, and things that belonged to Alexander also perished.

The army had to be provided with food, and Alexander devoted all his efforts to this. Finding with great difficulty a place where there was plenty of bread, he sent it to the soldiers, sealing the packs with his seal. The drivers and guards broke the seals without delivering the bread to the place, and the king did not dare to punish them. In order to feed and water the hungry, demoralized army at least at the end of the march, Alexander sent messengers to the surrounding satraps with orders to deliver food to the borders of the desert regions. The royal command was fulfilled.

The end of the Macedonian army's campaign in India

In November 325, Alexander arrived in Pura, the capital of Gedrosia. Thus, the difficult campaign was completed. However, by that time there was no expected peace in India. Alexander was informed that Philip, the satrap he had left in India, had been killed. True, the Macedonian guards caught and destroyed the murderers, but Alexander himself was forced to limit himself to letters to Eudemus and Ambhi-Taxilus, so that they would take over the administration of the province of Philip until the appointment of a new satrap.

Meanwhile, Nearchus and Onesicritus arrived to Alexander with a report on their voyage along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The expedition was commanded by Nearchus. He sailed from the mouth of the Indus when the trade winds stopped blowing, in late December 325 BC. He had at his disposal up to 150 ships with a crew of about 5 thousand people - Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks (mainly Cretans and other islanders).

Nearchus was supposed to explore the coastal sea route from the mouth of the Indus to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates into the Persian Gulf. Nearchus did not encounter any serious difficulties on the road. Day after day, the ships began their next journey in the morning, and the oarsmen worked with oars to the monotonous exclamations of the kelevsts. Going ashore, the sailors mined fresh water; sometimes you had to go deep into the mainland to get it. The naval commander carefully recorded where he happened to pass between steep cliffs, where - between coastal islands and the mainland, where there were underwater rocks, and especially - harbors convenient for anchorages.

The voyage was marked by a collision at the mouth of the river. Tomer with local residents armed with heavy spears with burnt tips. They did not know metal or metal tools, they used stone axes, and wore animal skins or fish skins. People overgrown with thick hair, tearing fish with their nails, made a strong impression on the sailors.

Further to the west, Nearchus sailed along the coasts inhabited by tribes of fishermen; the Greeks called them ichthyophages (fish eaters). Residents of one village - Kalama - presented Nearchus with sheep, accustomed to eat fish due to the lack of grass; the other - Kissa - fled when the Greek-Macedonian fleet appeared. Here the sailors captured the goats and also captured the pilot, the Gedrosian Hydracus, who led the expedition to the shores of Karmania.

Having left India, Nearchus reached the goal of his journey and arrived with a report to Alexander.

Thus, Alexander's campaign of conquest in India ended.

The stubborn resistance of the Indians, apparently, made a great impression on Alexander’s soldiers, and fatigue from the many years of campaigning also took its toll. Probably, a significant role was also played by the fact that India, at least its northwestern part, turned out to be far from being such a rich object of robbery and profit as expected at the beginning of the campaign (the notes of the participants in the campaign do not mention the seizure of gold and jewelry in India ). Alexander was forced to retreat.

From the subject territories of Sindh and Punjab (west of Jhelum), two satrapies were created by Alexander; In the rest of the territory, local rulers were left, who now found themselves dependent on the satraps. Immediately after the departure of Alexander's army, unrest among the Macedonians themselves and anti-Macedonian uprisings of the Indians began in India; the result of this was the rapid expulsion of the conquerors from the country.

Alexander's campaign was not as significant an event for India as it was for the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. The conquerors stayed in the country for only a few years and subjugated a relatively small part of it, which was also insignificant from a political and economic point of view. However, this campaign did not remain without a trace for India. Since that time, India has begun to play an increasingly important role in the system of international relations; overland trade between India and the Mediterranean countries increased; the exchange of embassies between Indian kings and the kings of the Hellenistic states, and later Rome, became increasingly common. The Mediterranean countries became better acquainted with India thanks to the stories, notes and memories of the participants in Alexander’s campaign.

Since ancient times, distant, fabulous India has attracted merchants, travelers and conquerors. And when it became an English colony, the entire power of the British Empire rested on it. The enemies of Foggy Albion reasonably believed that victory over Britain was possible only with the capture of its Indian colonies.

Two trips to India

Alliance of France and Russia

In 1800, the Russian emperor was seriously offended by his allies: the Austrians for betraying the interests of Suvorov’s army in the Alps and the British for their contemptuous treatment in Holland. I didn’t fail to take advantage of this, not only great commander, but also a talented politician and diplomat. He began to flatter and show attention to the Russian emperor in every possible way. He sent him the sword of the Order of Malta, whose grandmaster Pavel was considered, and voluntarily returned all the Russian prisoners of war, with new weapons and in excellent uniform, cut and sewn by skilled Lyon weavers.
This chivalrous attitude impressed me. Russia began to move closer and closer to France. The project of a joint expedition to British India was discussed between the Russian emperor and the first consul. It was planned to use two infantry corps (Russian and French) for the campaign, each consisting of 35 thousand people, not counting artillery and Cossack cavalry. At the insistence of Paul, the French general Andre Massena, who made a great impression on the Russian emperor with his skillful defense of Genoa, besieged by the Austrians, was to command the combined forces.
According to preliminary plans, French troops in May 1801 were supposed to descend on ships along the Danube to Izmail, cross, land in Taganrog, and quickly march through southern regions Russia and at the mouth of the Volga to connect with the Russian corps. The combined army was to disembark from ships in the Persian port of Astrabad. The entire movement from France to Astrabad was planned to take 80 days. Then 50 days were allotted for the passage of the combined forces through Kandahar and Herat to the coveted India, where it was planned to break into in September. This plan was proposed by Napoleon and required careful refinement.

Indian campaign of the Don Cossacks

But Emperor Paul I was an eccentric man. Instead of instructing his military to agree on joint actions with the French, he hastily launched a campaign against India in January 1801, ordering them to simultaneously, in passing, conquer the Khiva and Bukhara khanates.
Ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov loved to talk at the bivouac, with a glass of vodka, about how he went on a campaign against India.
« What? I'm sitting in the fortress. Petropavlovskaya, of course. For what - I don’t know... Okay. We are old people, accustomed to everything. Sitting! Suddenly the doors are wide open. They say - to the operator. And I’m wearing a shirt, like a louse. And they took us. Together with lice. They just threw on a sheepskin coat. I'm coming in. Pavel with regalia. The nose is red. He was already a healthy drinker back then. More than me! The operator asks: “Ataman, do you know the way to the Ganga?” This is the first time I've heard it, apparently. But who wants to sit in prison for nothing? I say: “Yes, ask any girl on the Don about the Ganges, she’ll show you the way right away...” Here I have a Maltese cross on my shirt - bam! My lice were stunned. They were ordered to go to India and grab the English by the cheeks. We should support Massena...".
In February, 22 thousand went on a campaign with artillery and convoys. Despite the difficulties - impassability, hunger, lack of fodder and the onset of scurvy - in March they crossed the ice of the Volga and reached the village of Mechetnaya (now the city of Pugachev Saratov region). And here, on March 23 (April 4), a messenger from St. Petersburg caught up with the news of Paul’s death and an order to return home.

In 1797, Paul I ordered the creation of the Grand Priory of the Order of Malta in Russia. As a summer residence for the Prior of the Order of the Prince of Condé, the architect N.A. Lvov built an earthen palace in Gatchina.

The Cossacks greeted this order with unprecedented delight. We set off on the return journey immediately. We reached the Volga when the ice had already moved down the river. Luckily for the Cossacks, a large ice field passed along the river and got stuck between the banks. We walked along it. The last one had barely crossed when the ice floes split and rushed in fragments to the Caspian Sea.
Many lovers alternative history They believe that they could get to India, and then the history of the world would take a different course. But the White Guard general, a military specialist and current commander, considered this task impossible. Without maps, without preparation, breaking away from supply bases, walking thousands of kilometers across steppes and deserts, crossing mountains and... Moreover, to pass through territory inhabited by hostile and warlike peoples. This is an unrealistic adventure doomed to failure.

Leon Trotsky's plan

The Bolsheviks were also haunted by the idea of ​​crushing the main imperialist on the path of world revolution - the British Empire. He was the first of the Bolshevik leaders to talk about this. Back in the summer of 1919, he announced the plan of “one prominent military man” (M.V. Frunze). Trotsky suggested that the Central Committee consider the issue of creating a cavalry corps of 30-40 thousand soldiers and “ to form a revolutionary academy somewhere in the Urals or Turkestan, the political and military headquarters of the Asian revolution", noting that " the route to Paris and London lies through the cities of Afghanistan, Punjab and Bengal" Such a corps, in Trotsky’s opinion, having moved from Tashkent to Afghanistan, would have broken into India and made a lot of noise there.
The idea was not bad. But the timing was wrong. In the summer and autumn of 1919 he was on the Volga, Denikin’s troops took Tsaritsyn, occupied Ukraine, approached Moscow, Yudenich was at the gates of Petrograd. I had to think not about going to India, but about how to survive and survive Soviet power. So the project was shelved. However, not for long.

Roy's failed campaign

In 1919, the Indian revolutionary Manabendra Roy (real name Narendranath Bhattacharya) appeared in Moscow. Radical revolutionary, founder communist party... Mexico (?!), according to the British intelligence services, he was “the most dangerous conspirator, ambitious, energetic and unscrupulous in his means.
Roy quickly became friends with the Bolshevik leaders, and especially with Nikolai Bukharin. Through him, the Indian contacted Lenin and proposed his plan for a campaign in India. No need large armies- it's too expensive and obvious. Moreover, the appearance large army in Afghanistan will be perceived by local tribes as a foreign invasion and will cause armed resistance. A small mobile detachment (1.5-2 thousand people), but well equipped and trained, is enough. Moreover, the core of the detachment will be made up of revolutionary-minded Indian emigrants, mostly Muslims. The top commanders will also be Indians, and the middle command staff, instructors and specialists will be Russian. The presence of Muslims in the detachment will help to establish friendly relations s, and, as Roy hoped, some of the tribes would join the party. And if the expedition reaches India, the support of the local population, who dreams of throwing off English rule, is guaranteed. Ordinary soldiers of the squad will turn into rebel commanders. And Russian specialists will create in India military base to train Indian rebels.
Roy's idea received the fundamental support of the head of the Comintern, Zinoviev. Tashkent was chosen as the base for the planned expedition. Roy formed the main backbone of the expeditionary force in Moscow. In the summer of 1920, the headquarters and basis of the expeditionary force were created. The expedition had a significant arsenal of weapons: rifles, grenades, machine guns, small-caliber artillery pieces, three disassembled aircraft, several trucks and cars. In addition, the expedition allocated a compact but superbly equipped printing house with Latin, Arabic and Persian fonts. In case of unforeseen expenses, the detachment was provided with a gold fund.
The expedition personnel consisted of military advisers, technicians, instructors, political workers and even Russian language teachers to train the natives. On September 14, 1920, the cargo and passenger train of the expedition left Moscow and arrived in Tashkent on October 1. A secret military school was created there, which was supposed to train fighters for the expeditionary force. Roy managed to successfully recruit personnel among anti-British Muslim Hindus located in Central Asia. In December 1920, two more trains with weapons, ten airplanes, gold coins and military instructors arrived from Moscow to Tashkent.
The campaign was planned to begin in the spring of 1921. It seemed that a little more, and the red banner of the revolution would rise above. But, despite all the secrecy and thorough checks, an English secret agent named Maulana turned out to be among the Indian cadets. He transmitted through Indian traders all the information about the upcoming expedition to the British intelligence services. He was identified and shot, but the British knew about the upcoming campaign. They put pressure on official Kabul to refuse to provide its territory for a military-revolutionary base. But the main thing is Britain’s threat to abandon the agreement it just signed. trade agreement and recognition of Soviet Russia. The British declared that if the Indian expedition were carried out, they would not only not withdraw their troops from Persia, but would also attack Transcaucasia and Russia.
Faced with such a threat, the Bolsheviks had to abandon their plan. An order was sent to Tashkent to stop preparations for the campaign and disband the expeditionary force.
The Indian campaign of the Red Army ended before it began. But everything could have turned out differently. And the red banner would flutter over the waters of the Ganges, and the tired would wash their horses in the Indian Ocean.

“Hindustan is ours!” and “a Russian soldier washing his boots in the Indian Ocean” - this could have become a reality back in 1801, when Paul I, together with Napoleon, attempted to conquer India.

Impenetrable Asia

As successful as Russia's exploration of the east was, it was just as unsuccessful in the south. In this direction, our state was constantly haunted by some kind of fate. The harsh steppes and ridges of the Pamirs always turned out to be an insurmountable obstacle for him. But it was probably not a matter of geographical obstacles, but a lack of clear goals.

By the end of the 18th century, Russia was firmly entrenched in the southern borders of the Ural range, but raids by nomads and intractable khanates hindered the empire’s advance to the south. Nevertheless, Russia looked not only at the still unconquered Emirate of Bukhara and the Khanate of Khiva, but also further - towards the unknown and mysterious India.

At the same time, Britain, whose American colony had fallen away like ripe fruit, concentrated its efforts on India, which occupied the most important strategic position in the Asian region. While Russia was stalling on its approach to Central Asia, England, moving further north, was seriously considering plans to conquer and populate the mountainous regions of India, favorable for farming. The interests of the two powers were about to collide.

"Napoleonic plans"

France also had its own plans for India. However, it was not so much interested in the territories as in the hated British, who were strengthening their rule there. The time was right to knock them out of India. Britain, torn by wars with the principalities of Hindustan, noticeably weakened its army in this region. Napoleon Bonaparte had only to find a suitable ally.

The First Consul turned his attention to Russia. “With your master, we will change the face of the world!” Napoleon flattered the Russian envoy. And he was right. Paul I, known for his grandiose plans to annex Malta to Russia or send a military expedition to Brazil, willingly agreed to a rapprochement with Bonaparte. The Russian Tsar was no less interested in French support. They had a common goal - weakening England.

However, it was Paul I who first proposed the idea of ​​a joint campaign against India, and Napoleon only supported this initiative. Paul, according to historian A. Katsura, was well aware “that the keys to mastery of the world are hidden somewhere in the center of the Eurasian space.” The eastern dreams of the rulers of two strong powers had every chance of coming true.

Indian blitzkrieg

Preparations for the campaign were carried out in secret, all information was mostly transmitted orally through couriers. The joint push to India was allotted a record time of 50 days. The Allies relied on the support of the Maharaja of Punjab, Tipu Said, who would speed up the expedition's progress. From the French side, a 35,000-strong corps was to march, led by the famous General Andre Massena, and from the Russian side, the same number of Cossacks led by the ataman of the Don Army, Vasily Orlov. In support of the already middle-aged ataman, Pavel ordered the appointment of officer Matvey Platov, the future ataman of the Don Army and a hero of the War of 1812. In a short time, 41 cavalry regiments and two companies of horse artillery were prepared for the campaign, which amounted to 27,500 people and 55,000 horses.

There were no signs of trouble, but the grandiose undertaking was still in jeopardy. The fault lies with the British officer John Malcolm, who, in the midst of preparations for the Russian-French campaign, first entered into an alliance with the Afghans, and then with the Persian Shah, who had recently sworn allegiance to France. Napoleon was clearly not happy with this turn of events and he temporarily “froze” the project.

But the ambitious Pavel was accustomed to completing his undertakings and on February 28, 1801 he sent the Don Army to conquer India. He outlined his grandiose and bold plan to Orlov in a parting letter, noting that where you are assigned, the British have “their own trading establishments, acquired either with money or with weapons. You need to ruin all this, liberate the oppressed owners and bring the land into Russia into the same dependence as the British have it.”

Back home

It was clear from the outset that the expedition to India had not been properly planned. Orlov failed to collect the necessary information about the route through Central Asia; he had to lead the army using the maps of the traveler F. Efremov, compiled in the 1770s - 1780s. The ataman was unable to gather an army of 35 thousand - at most 22 thousand people set out on the campaign.

Winter travel on horseback across the Kalmyk steppes was a severe test even for seasoned Cossacks. Their movement was hampered by burkas that were wet from the melted snow, and rivers that had just begun to free themselves from ice, and sandstorms. There was a shortage of bread and fodder. But the troops were ready to go further.

Everything changed with the assassination of Paul I on the night of March 11-12, 1801. “Where are the Cossacks?” was one of the first questions of the newly-crowned Emperor Alexander I to Count Lieven, who participated in the development of the route. The sent courier with the order personally written by Alexander to stop the campaign overtook Orlov’s expedition only on March 23 in the village of Machetny, Saratov province. The Cossacks were ordered to return to their homes.
It is curious that the story of five years ago repeated itself, when after the death of Catherine II the Dagestan expedition of Zubov-Tsitsianov, sent to the Caspian lands, was returned.

English trace

Back on October 24, 1800, an unsuccessful attempt was made on Napoleon's life, in which the British were involved. Most likely, this is how English officials reacted to Bonaparte’s plans, afraid of losing their millions that the East India Company brought them. But with the refusal to participate in Napoleon’s campaign, the activities of English agents were redirected to the Russian emperor. Many researchers, in particular the historian Kirill Serebrenitsky, see precisely English reasons in the death of Paul.

This is indirectly confirmed by facts. For example, one of the developers of the Indian campaign and the main conspirator, Count Palen, was noticed in connections with the British. In addition, the British Isles generously supplied money to the St. Petersburg mistress of the English ambassador Charles Whitward so that, according to researchers, she would prepare the ground for a conspiracy against Paul I. It is also interesting that Paul’s correspondence with Napoleon in 1800-1801 was bought in 1816 by a private individual from Great Britain and was subsequently burned.

New perspectives

After the death of Paul, Alexander I, to the surprise of many, continued to improve relations with Napoleon, but tried to build them from positions more advantageous for Russia. The young king was disgusted by the arrogance and gluttony of the French ruler.
In 1807, during a meeting in Tilsit, Napoleon tried to persuade Alexander to sign a partition agreement. Ottoman Empire and a new campaign against India. Later, on February 2, 1808, in a letter to him, Bonaparte outlined his plans as follows: “If an army of 50 thousand Russians, French, and perhaps even a few Austrians headed through Constantinople to Asia and appeared on the Euphrates, it would make England and would have brought the continent to its feet.”

It is not known for certain how the Russian emperor reacted to this idea, but he preferred that any initiative come not from France, but from Russia. In subsequent years, already without France, Russia begins to actively develop Central Asia and establish trade relations with India, eliminating any adventures in this matter.