Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀνάβασις 6.2.3

6.2.3

Φιλίππῳ δὲ τῷ σατράπῃ τῆς ἐπέκεινα τοῦ Ἰνδοῦ ὡς ἐπὶ Βακτρίους γῆς διαλιπόντι τρεῖς ἡμέρας παρήγγελτο ἕπεσθαι ξὺν τοῖς ἀμφʼ αὐτόν. τοὺς ἱππέας δὲ τοὺς Νυσαίους ὀπίσω ἀποπέμπει ἐς τὴν Νῦσαν. τοῦ μὲν δὴ ναυτικοῦ παντὸς Νέαρχος αὐτῷ ἐξηγεῖτο, τῆς δὲ αὐτοῦ νεὼς κυβερνήτης ἦν Ὀνησίκριτος, ὃς ἐν τῇ ξυγγραφῇ, ἥντινα ὑπὲρ Ἀλεξάνδρου ξυνέγραψε, καὶ τοῦτο ἐψεύσατο, ναύαρχον ἑαυτὸν εἶναι γράψας, κυβερνήτην ὄντα.

At this time Koinos, who was one of Alexander's most faithful companions, took ill and died, and his master buried him with all the magnificence circumstances allowed. He then assembled the Companions and all the ambassadors of the Indians who had come to him, and in their presence appointed Poros king of all the Indian territories already subjugated — seven nations in all, containing more than 2000 cities. He then made the following distribution of his army. He took in the ships along with himself all the hypaspists, and the archers, and the Agrianians, and the corps of horse-guards. Krateros commanding a division of the infantry and cavalry, conducted it along the right bank of the Hydaspes, while Hephaistion on the opposite bank advanced in command of the largest and best division of the army, to which the elephants, now about 200 in number, were attached. These generals were instructed to march with all possible speed to where the palace of Sopeithes was situated. Philippos, the satrap of the province lying west of the Indus in the direction of the Baktrians, received orders to follow them with his troops after an interval of three days, but the cavalry of the Nysaians he now sent back to Nysa. The command of the whole naval squadron was entrusted to Nearchos, while the pilot of Alexander's own ship was Onesikritos, who, in the narrative which he composed about the wars of Alexander, among his other lies, described himself as the commander of the fleet, although he was in reality only a pilot. According to Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, whose authority I principally follow, the ships numbered collectively eighty thirty-oared galleys, but the whole fleet, including the horse-transports and the small craft and other river boats consisting of those that formerly plied on the rivers and those recently built for the present service, did not fall much short of 2000.