History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c37.s1.t4.3

v1.c37.s1.t4.3

Alexander crossed the river probably using his portable tents as boat, 23 miles up in a rainy night with his 12000 men and attacked. Elephants turned bad due to the heavy showers of arrow from behind. The slippery state of the ground prevented the Indian infantry from making full use of their formidable bows which they were customed to draw after resting one end upon the earth. Again due to the muddy ground, the heavy wheeled chariot could not move easily and many of these got fixed in the mud. In the confusion Porus lost control over the army and himself was taken prisoner. Alexander defeated Porus and his men because of his ingenuity in converting the tent into boat and crossing the river swiftly which could not be visualised in time by Porus. Alexander and his men might have contributed considerably during their stay in India for the development of leathercraft for defence purposes. Domesticated animals from the land he conquered were used by his army for meat and skins. The skins or the hides might have been processed by improved methods wherever he was camping with the available local materials and men to make processed parchment and leather products especially for defence uses.