Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀνάβασις 4.24.4

4.24.4

ὁ δὲ ὡς πελάζοντα ἤδη κατεῖδε τὸν Πτολεμαῖον, αὐτός τε μεταβάλλει ἐς τὸ ἔμπαλιν καὶ οἱ ὑπασπισταὶ ξὺν αὐτῷ. καὶ ὁ μὲν Ἰνδὸς τοῦ Πτολεμαίου διὰ τοῦ θώρακος παίει ἐκ χειρὸς ἐς τὸ στῆθος ξυστῷ μακρῷ, καὶ ὁ θώραξ ἔσχε τὴν πληγήν· Πτολεμαῖος δὲ τὸν μηρὸν διαμπὰξ βαλὼν τοῦ Ἰνδοῦ καταβάλλει τε καὶ σκυλεύει αὐτόν.

In this expedition Alexander took with him the hypaspists, the archers, the Agrianians, the brigade of Koinos and Attalos, the cavalry guard, about four squadrons of the other companion cavalry, and one half of the mounted archers. After a long march he reached, on the second day, the city of the Aspasian chief. The barbarians on hearing of his approach set fire to their city and fled to the mountains. But Alexander's men followed close at the heels of the fugitives, as far as the mountains, and made a great slaughter of the barbarians before they could escape to rough and difficult ground. During the pursuit Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, descried the chief of the Indians of that country standing at the time on a small eminence, with some of his shield-bearing guards around him, and, although his own following was much smaller, he nevertheless continued the chase, being still on horseback. When the ascent, however, became so difficult that his charger could no longer mount it at a good pace, he left him there, and handing him over to one of the hypaspists to lead, he proceeded on foot, just as he was, to come up with the Indian. The latter on seeing that Ptolemy was now near at hand, turned round to face him, as did also his shield-bearing guards. The Indian, closing with his adversary, struck him on the breast with a long spear which pierced his cuirass, but the cuirass broke all the force of the blow.

Ptolemy, on the other hand, smote the Indian right through the thigh, laid him prone at his feet, and stripped him of his arms. When his men saw their leader lying dead they left the place, but the other Indians, when they saw on looking from the mountains that the dead body of their chief was being carried off by the enemy, were filled with grief and rage, and rushing down to the small eminence fought for the recovery of the corpse with the utmost determination; for by this time Alexander also was on the eminence, and had brought with him the infantry soldiers, who had now alighted from their horses. This reinforcement falling upon the Indians succeeded after a hard struggle in driving them off to the mountains and securing the possession of the dead body.