The Greeks in Bactria and India c9.s1.85

c9.s1.85

The statements often found in late writers that some king had given its nickname to this or that city are merely ridiculous, with one possible exception—the name Bucephala given to Alexandria on the Jhelum (p. 245), traditionally founded by Alexander on the spot where Bucephalus died. Alexander certainly had much affection for the famous charger which had carried him across Asia,⁵ and it is conceivable that he did mean the city to be Bucephalus’ monument and gave the name himself, much as T’ai Tsong, the virtual founder of the T’ang dynasty, was to set up a monument in honour of the six chargers he had ridden in battle.