The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c25.106

v1.c25.106

There was no power in the north-west of India, after the battle on the Hydaspes, which could meet the Europeans in the open field, as the Paurava had done. The only chance lay in the fact that the intrusive power, although a far-reaching one—a camp on the move—could not be everywhere at once, and, if it could not be met, it could often be defied at a distance. The rapid conquest had been anything but secure. Even before Alexander had left Takshaçilā a rebellion in the Kandahār region, which had been joined by the chief of a neighbouring part of India², had been suppressed, and now, whilst Alexander was encamped among the rivers of the Punjab, the hill tribes of the Swāt Valley threw off fear and renounced allegiance. We may perhaps gather from a sentence in a Greek text³ that the satrap Nicanor was killed. The Indian Çaçigupta, who held the fortress of Aornus for Alexander, sent urgent messages to the Punjab. Macedonian forces came up in time to beat down the revolt, from the neighbouring satrapy on the west under the Irānian Tyriespes, and from the realm of Āmbhi under Philip¹. But even if this revolt was suppressed, it was an indication of disruptive forces below the surface.