King Porus (from Puru, the latinisation of the Greek Πῶρος - Porus, ultimately from Sanskrit: पुरुषोत्तम Purushottama) was the King of Paurava, an ancient state within the territory of modern day Punjab, located between the Jhelum river and the Chenab river (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) rivers in modern day Punjab, Pakistan, and later of dominions extending to the Beas (in Greek, the Hyphasis). Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC and this battle is known as one of the ultimate battles in history. Porus lost that fight but Alexander was impressed by his stature and willingness to fight till the death despite being severely injured in face of almost certain defeat and let him rule his land and subjects afterwards and as a result Porus became his ally. The bravery shown by Porus and his troops at this battle is said to have contributed to Alexander's army's refusal to go any further into the Indian heartland given that Porus was at the end of the day only a minor King of a small kingdom compared to what lay ahead.
Famous quotes containing the word king:
“This was the merriest old man that we had ever seen, and one of the best preserved. His style of conversation was coarse and plain enough to have suited Rabelais. He would have made a good Panurge. Or rather he was a sober Silenus, and we were the boys Chromis and Mnasilus, who listened to his story.... There was a strange mingling of past and present in his conversation, for he had lived under King George, and might have remembered when Napoleon and the moderns generally were born.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)