The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s4.t4: Nikæa, or Mong.
The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s4.t4
- Language
- English
Nikæa, or Mong.
c5.s4.t4.1
The position of Mong has already been described, but I may repeat that it is 6 miles to the east of Jalâlpur, and the same distance to the south of Dilâwar. The name is usually pronounced Mong, or Mung, but it is written without the nasal, and is said to have been founded by Raja *Moga*, or *Muga*. He is also called Raja *Sankhár*, which I take to mean king of the *Sakas*, or *Sacæ*. His brother Râma founded Râmpur, or Râmnagar, the modern Rasul, which is 6 miles to the north-east of Mong, and exactly opposite Dilâwar. His sister's son, named Kâmkamârath, was Raja of Girjâk or Jalâlpur. The old ruined mound on which Mong is situated, is 600 feet long by 400 feet broad and 50 feet high, and is visible for many miles on all sides. It contains 975 houses built of large old bricks and 5000 inhabitants, who are chiefly Jâts. The old wells are very numerous, their exact number, according to my informant, being 175.
c5.s4.t4.2
I have already stated that I take Mong to be the site of Nikæa, the city which Alexander built on the scene of his battle with Porus. The evidence on this point is, I think, as complete as could be wished; but I have still to explain how the name of Nikæa could have been changed to Mong. The tradition that the town was founded by Raja Moga is strongly corroborated by the fact that *Maharaja Moga* is mentioned in Mr. Roberts's Taxila inscription. Now, Moga is the same name as Moa, and the coins of Moa, or *Mauas* are still found in Mong. But the commonest Greek monogram on these coins forms the letters NIK, which I take to be the abbreviation of Nikæa, the place of mintage. If this inference be correct, as I believe it is, then *Nikæa* must have been the principal mint-city of the great king Moga, and therefore a place of considerable importance. As the town of Mong is traditionally attributed to Raja Moga as the founder, we may reasonably conclude that he must the Lacedaemonians, who had been waiting for the signal, now attacked the city. The Plataeans, seeing the enemy already inside and their own men falling, and knowing nothing of the plot, were seized with panic and, thinking that the Thebans were far more numerous than they really were, surrendered at discretion. But when they discovered that the Thebans were few, they took heart and, resolving to attack them, closed the gates and fell upon them.
c5.s4.t4.3
The Thebans, finding themselves in a trap, began to defend themselves. Twice or thrice they repelled the attacks of the Plataeans, but when the women and slaves began to shout and throw tiles and stones from the houses, and a heavy rain began to fall, the Thebans, confused and blinded, broke and fled through the city. Most of them, not knowing the way in the darkness and rain, fell into the drains or were killed by the Plataeans, who knew the streets. The gate through which they had entered had been shut by a Plataean who had found a javelin-head and used it as a bolt, so that there was no way out. Pursued through the city, some climbed the wall and jumped down, most of them perishing; others reached the gate and, finding it shut, were cut down by the women and slaves. A small party, seeing a large building with an open door, rushed in, thinking it was a gate, and were captured.
c5.s4.t4.4
Meanwhile, the main body of the Thebans, who were to have arrived at daybreak to support the first party, had been delayed by the rain and the swollen river Asopus. When they heard of the disaster, they hurried to the city, intending to seize any Plataeans who might be outside the walls. The Plataeans, suspecting their intention, sent a herald to them, warning them not to harm the prisoners they had taken, and threatening to kill them if they did not withdraw from their territory. The Thebans, upon this, retired.
c5.s4.t4.5
The Plataeans, having thus cleared the city, collected their dead and the prisoners. The prisoners, numbering about one hundred and eighty, were executed the next day, despite a message from the Thebans claiming that they had surrendered on terms. The Plataeans denied this, asserting that they had promised to spare them only if they did not commit further acts of violence.
c5.s4.t4.6
Thus ended the attempt of the Thebans upon Plataea, an event which was the immediate cause of the war between Athens and the Peloponnesians. The Plataeans, having secured their city, sent a messenger to Athens with the news, and the Athenians, fearing for the safety of the Plataeans, sent a garrison to their aid and removed the women and children to Athens.
c5.s4.t4.7
View from North.
c5.s4.t4.8
HILL OF SANGALA
c5.s4.t4.9
between the Rivers CHENAB AND RAVI.
c5.s4.t4.10
Map of the Hill of Sangala
c5.s4.t4.11
A. Peak 215 feet. B. Ridge 160 feet C. Hollow 32 feet W Brick Walls D. Isolated low hill E. Ruined Buildings.
c5.s4.t4.12
Scale of Feet
c5.s4.t4.13
View from South.
c5.s4.t4.14
have rebuilt or increased the place under the new name of *Moga-grama*, which, in the spoken dialects, would be shortened to *Mogaon* and *Mong*. Coins of all the Indo-Scythian princes are found at *Mong* in considerable numbers, and I see no reason to doubt that the place is as old as the time of Alexander. The copper coins of the Nameless Indo-Scythian king especially are found in such numbers at *Mong* that they are now commonly known in the neighbourhood as *Monga-sáhis*.