The Hyphasis Mutiny: Assessing Alexander's Leadership and Legacy

This essay evaluates the Hyphasis Mutiny, a significant event in Alexander the Great's campaign in India. The essay explores the reasons behind the mutiny, including the troops' exhaustion, fear of the Indian army, and the prolonged campaign. It examines the historical context, the challenges Alexander faced in India, and the leadership decisions he made in response to the mutiny. The essay argues that the Hyphasis Mutiny was inevitable due to the circumstances and the toll the war took on the soldiers. It also analyzes Alexander's character, concluding that he demonstrated leadership by listening to his troops and adjusting his plans. The essay uses references to provide a comprehensive analysis of the event and its implications.

Running Head: EVALUATION OF ALEXANDER BASED ON HYPHASIS MUTINY
Evaluation of Alexander based on Hyphasis Mutiny
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1EVALUATION OF ALEXANDER BASED ON HYPHASIS MUTINY
Alexander entered the western part of India in the year 327. In his campaign to
expand Macedonia, India was the last part. The war in India was violent and the campaign
seemed endless. The violence resulted from his policy of no resistance. The war in India was
especially violent and brutal because of the conflicting beliefs between the Indians and
Alexander. The Indians believed in autonomy while Alexander wanted to capture their land
by killing the Brahmins (upper caste in the Indian caste system) (Rice 2014). Alexander’s
period in India was a success. He then took his troops to the bank of the river Hyphasis. He
wanted to fight further but because of the bloody and tiresome battle in India, his troops
opposed his authority and expressed their views of returning to Macedonia. Alexander after
giving the decisions of his troops a lot of thought decided to return to Macedonia, this
particular event is historically referred to as Hyphasis mutiny. This essay will talk about the
reasons that lead to the mutiny at Hyphasis and whether it was inevitable. The essay will
further evaluate the character of Alexander from this decision he took as a commander to
leave India and go to back Macedonia.
There are several reasons why Alexander’s troops wanted to discontinue their Asia
quest. One of the main reasons why the troops mutinied is they started their journey from
Greece in the year 334B.C. and by the time, they reached Hyphasis it was 326B.C, it was a
long time and the troops were exhausted. The battle in India was tiresome and stressful, the
troops had to go through extreme heat, cold and there was a perpetual monsoon rain. This
weather took a toll the troops, they had no energy left, and they wanted to go back to
Macedonia and rest. Another major reason why the troops of Alexander mutinied because the
troops were afraid to go ahead, they heard whispers about the infantry of the Indian army.
They were afraid when they heard that the Indians troops had hordes of elephant, they did not
want to fight any further. The army also mistook Hyphasis for river Ganges, which they
thought was 6km long and 200m deep. When the conquest of India was over, the troops did

2EVALUATION OF ALEXANDER BASED ON HYPHASIS MUTINY
not want to go Alexander’s adventure, they wanted to go home. Some scholars review the
Hyphasis mutiny as a disciplinary issue in the military, although both King Phillip and
Alexander had great military success, events like the Hyphasis mutiny does reflect some
disciplinary troubles with the military ( Brice 2015).
According to few scholars, Alexander faced his first defeat in the mutiny at Hyphasis,
and the worst part of this defeat was it was not from an outsider but from his own troop. The
men were weary, exhausted so they rejected Alexander’s plans to travel further. An officer
named Coenus, spoke on behalf of the army and asked Alexander to halt the journey and
head back home (Rice 2014). Otherwise considered a charismatic orator, Alexander failed
this time. The mutiny at Hyphasis was inevitable. The way that Alexander fought in India
posed some serious obstacles for the Macedonians. The territories in India were divided into
various tribes and dynasties, so he had to divide his troops to fight several battles instead of
one unified battle that was the common practice by the Greek. The Indian flee from one place
to another in order to escape Alexander’s army, these lead the troops to capture one part to
another, and this stalled their progressed and exhausted the army. The sieges in India were
numerous and took place more frequently than expected by the army. The sieges were so
consecutive that it injured the troop of Alexander (Gilley 2015). This goes on to show that
the mutiny at Hyphasis was inevitable. The war in India was not easy and it took a toll on the
life of the military. They knew they would not survive, if faced with the elephant infantry of
the Indian soldiers given the fact that they were already severely injured.
According to Howe and Mueller (2019), the events at Hyphasis reflect on the
leadership capabilities of Alexander. This was a major setback in the career of Alexander.
The traditional view presents a one-dimensional picture of Alexander, it only shows
Alexander as world conquering leader who was so ambitious that his men could not keep up
with him. Because of this idea that Alexander was a conqueror of lands, some scholars

3EVALUATION OF ALEXANDER BASED ON HYPHASIS MUTINY
compare him to the Persian kings who are protectors and master of their territory and always
focus on increasing the boundaries of their land (Taietti, 2016). According many scholars
Alexander was a great king but he failed to abide by customs and rules. This mutiny at
Hyphasis shows that although he was a great leader and conqueror but he did listen to his
troops, no matter how much he wanted to continue his adventures. It is said that when his
troops first admitted to him that they are tired and are unwilling to participate in his
adventures, Alexander dismissed the meeting. He then gave the troops a choice to continue in
the quest if they wanted to but none of them wanted to, so finally he ordered the army to
withdraw. This clearly shows that Alexander was not happy with the decisions of the army
but he did not proceed, he proved himself not only to be a good warrior but also a good leader
(Arrian, 2013). The traditional view that regards him as a despot is not completely true as
seen from this mutiny. He proved himself as kind and considering military general and a king
who listens to his subjects.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Hyphasis mutiny was an inevitable event, the
soldiers were tired and exhausted from the multiple sieges that took place in India. There
were major injuries among the troops and many of them had to shifted out, it was natural for
the troops to opt out of the further adventures that Alexander had planned. From this mutiny,
it can be deduced that the image that Alexander had of being a king who refused to follow
customs and an absentee king is not completely true. He listened to his army men when he
did not want to and showed exceptional leadership skills in judging the conditions of his
troops and sending them back to Macedonia.

4EVALUATION OF ALEXANDER BASED ON HYPHASIS MUTINY
References
Arrian, 2013. Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica. Oxford University Press.
Brice, L.L., 2015. Military unrest in the age of Philip and Alexander of Macedon: Defining
the terms of debate. Greece, Macedon and Persia, p.69.
Gilley, D.L., 2015. PHILIP AND ALEXANDER-I. Worthington By the Spear. Philip II,
Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire. Pp. xxii+ 388, ills,
maps. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Cased,£ 25, US $34.95. ISBN: 978-0-19-
992986-3. The Classical Review, 65(2), pp.506-508.
Howe, T. and Mueller, S. (2019). Mission Accomplished:1 Alexander at the Hyphasis.
[ebook]Availableat:https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32436102/
HoweMuellerCorrected.pdf_Tim_Howe_und_Sabine_Muller_Mission_Accom.pdf
[Accessed 22 May 2019].
Rice, J., 2014. " Just Rage": causes of the rise in violence in the eastern campaigns of
Alexander the Great (Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri--Columbia).
Taietti, 2016. G.D., Alexander the Great as a Herodotean Persian King.