Alexander's March: Pella, Greece, to Jalalpur Sharif Pakistan

By SAJ Shirazi

Alexander of Macedonia [Photo: Howard David Johnson Illustrator ]  

The Salt Range derives its name from extensive deposits of rock salt. The Range stands as remnant of forts with bastions and temples. Exceptionally, this region maintains an almost continuous record of history that can define the evolution of society. Forts and temples surviving along the range are a reminder of how untouched many of the ancient remnants are. Alexander from Macedon came to this Range twice; one from Taxila and later when his forces refused to go any further from the banks of the River Beas. From here he marched towards the Arabian Sea on his way to Babylon. 

And, now an NGO is constructing a monument of Alexander near Jalalpur town in the foot of the Salt Range in district Jhelum.

Map showing Alexander's March from Pella, Greece, to Jalalpur Sharif Pakistan - 326 BC

For those who take their first chance to the area, the landscape all along the Salt Range is rock-strewn, lacking in softness and loveliness. In many parts, it becomes barren and uninviting. But, in truth the range is dotted with historical wonders, romantic legends, archaeological remains, and varying geological formations. Surroundings are very quiet. Urial is also found in the Range though facing extinction. A journey along the range is exiting as well as informative.

After crossing the River Jhelum from Rasul Barrage, one passes through Rasul Barrage Wildlife Sanctuary. Environs are green and the wetland is full of lotus. Flocks of Siberians Cranes and Strokes and local black winged Stilts are the common sights in the area. Though at the dawn of a hot June day, I was able to see only few Tobas perching over their morning catch and a few flocks of Murghabis (wild ducks).

Turn west along the Range from Mishri Mor bus stop in the beautiful 'bela' of the River Jhelum and the road will take you to the town of Jalalpur. One could come on this road from Jhelum side but these days the Jhelum-Pind Dadan Khan Road is closed due to want of bridges on the torrents coming down the range to join River Jhelum so you can only come through Rasul Barrage. The River Jhelum used to flow full to the capacity but now it remains mostly dry. Water of the River Jhelum is transferred from Rasul Barrage to the River Chenab for strategic water management in the country.

Jalalpur Sharif, as the town is called, is opposite village Mong where the conflict between Alexander and Porus took place. Mong used to be the garrison of King Porus who had assembled 30,000 men, 2000 cavalry, and 200 elephant to fight against the Macedonians.

Right on the Jhelum-Pind Dadan Khan Road, tucked inside the Salt Range, is ancient Jalalpur that was built by Alexander in the memory of his general who was killed in the battle with Porus. Coins found among the ruins date back to the period of Graeco-Bactrian kings. Remains of the ancient walls are still there at the summit of the hill, which rise 1000 feet above the present-day Jalalpur.

It is at Jalalpur that in the absence of any route marking or sign posting, we started asking for the monument that is being made in the memory of Alexander. An old driver came up to help and gave us some directions to go onto a road leading to village Wagh inside the range where we were to find the unfinished monument structure.

The structure of the monument stands on the bank of a torrent, which flows during rainy seasons. The towering pedestal is very graceful and on the platform stands a room. On the roof of the wide room, and flanked by Grecian style arches, is painted a map of Alexander's empire from Greece to South Asia showing the route (Hund - Taxila - Jalalpur - Beas - back to Jalalpur and to the Arabian sea along River Jhelum) he followed in this part of the world.

There is no doubt that this scenic place could be turned into a lucrative and busy tourist attraction and may be a research facility. Presently, not much is going on and thorny bushes are placed on the stairs to stop any one going up on the roof to see the map. The colors of the map are already peeling. The pits all around the monument suggest that some trees were also planted but only a couple of them have survived. Names of the donors have been written in different colors (along with the legend for the color code) on the wall facing road. There was no one, not even a janitor, who could tell us about the current state of affairs or why the construction work has been stopped. Why? Lack of funds, lack of interest, or both!?

Alexander was undoubtedly a man of great substance: "He was an illustrious soldier who always followed the rules of war. He brought disciplines of medicine (Tibb-e-Yunani) and philosophy to what is now Pakistan. More than two thousand years ago he recognized the enormous potential in terms of commerce and trade of the immediate hinterland of Karachi. He called this place the bridge between east and west," reads a report of Wildlife and Environment Quarterly. Not always. Travel writer and researcher Salman Rashid says Alexander did not only get away with murdering 7,000 soldiers from the central subcontinent who had joined the Pakhtoons in an attempt to defend the Masaga Fort, he also gives him a lenient title of a daghabaaz (at its most mundane a fraud, at worst a cheat). And, "we all by now know that it takes a general more than this to conquer the world," adds Ashaar Rahman.

People with time and will to explore are constantly looking for quiet and new destinations. Locally, if nothing else, this monument could give a boost to rural tourism and economy.

Tags: Travel. Places, Greece, Alexander, Jalalpur Sharif, Pella, Pakistan, King Porus, Jhelum, 

Shared from: Logic is Variable
Related:
Multan - Since Alexander of Macedonia (Pakistanpaedia)
Bhera - A historical city lost in obscurity (Pakistanpaedia) 

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Rohtas, a Lion's Fort - a Comprehensive Research on this Formidable Fort

Dr. Nayyar Hashmey explores how a formidable fort was constructed on the orders of a mighty emperor Sher Shah Suri or the Lion King of Sur. Sher Shah Suri had a flare for building roads, rest houses, water wells and forts. His famous marvel of a road from Afghanistan to India, now known as the Grand Trunk Road was a feat of its own kind, keeping in view its length, studded with rest houses along with wells for the caravans travelling on the road.

He also built a massive fort near the city of Jhelum, a city famous for the historic crossing of the River Jhelum by Alexander the Great. The Rohtas Fort, a fort with massive bastions and double lined high rising walls still stands the test of centuries due to its superior architecture and construction. 

Rohtas Fort as photographed by me (Pakistanpaedia)

I as an ordinary student of history visited Rohtas sometime back and wrote my own account of the fort " Rohtas - 0 kilometer" in my website on Pakistan. The post carries photographs taken by me of its various architectural angles that were awe inspiring.

For those who want a comprehensive survey and study of the fort, I would urge them to read the one by Dr Nayyer Hashmey, which accidantly caught my eye.

Link for the study: Rohtas - a Lion's Fort

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Bhera, Talhi Wali Masjid and Alexander of Macedonia

Bhera ? Oh you mean some place on the interchange of Lahore Islamabad Motorway M-2 and rest station - this is all most Pakistanis know about Bhera. But surprisingly Bhera is much more than that. What Alexander of Macedonia had to do with Bhera, I will talk about it a little later. But first Bhera and the Talhi Wali Masjid.

The childhood of mother was partly spent in Bhera and her elder sister was also married in Bhera – so obviously we brothers heard lot about it from our mother. One day, when I was around 10, my mother told me that the next day she was going to Bhera with her brothers and I would be accompanying the entourage as well. This news completely took me off guard and I remember could not sleep the whole night. The next morning, two of my paternal uncles, an aunt and her younger daughter arrived and myself and my mother joined in. My uncle’s newly bought Volkswagen started rolling in on the almost empty road and the trees running away with us, but couldn’t catch up with us and every tree that I saw lagged behind in the twinkle of an eye. I don’t remember what all I saw en’route, but I vividly  remember the hills around Chiniot and the twin bridge made of steel girders over River Chenab (the bridge has since been replaced by a new concrete one).

We reached Bhera (located in Tehsil Bhalwal of District Sargodha) and remember entering a huge gate and a paved alley with small shops on its both side. Our car then stopped in front of a mosque known as Talhi Wali Masjid (so given the name for a Sheesham tree in its courtyard). On its opposite side, was an old house with finely carved projected wooden windows – our destination. We were heartily greeted by our aunt, uncle, their four sons and a daughter. After being served with tea and sweets, myself and my aunts daughter were taken out for “familiarization visit”. One of the shop sold “Pateesa and Pehnian” made of “desi ghee”. We were offered Pateesa as part of the Bherian hospitality. Since my uncle had lot of land in the suburbs of Bhera, he had a horse too – something the land owners possessed instead of Pajeros and Land Cruisers then. So we had a ride in the alleys of Bhera and then finally returned. Then we had a yummy lunch and after some rest, we bade farewell and headed towards Lahore. I was later to visit Bhera many years from then and took my wife and son to show them the grand house and the Masjid. To my utter dismay the paved alley had been heavily encroached and could not afford our car inside. Another surprise came when I found that the upper story of my aunt’s house had vanished. Upon inquiry I was told that the 1992 floods had devastated the city and because of the 4-5 feet water standing in the city, the upper story gave in. That was a big jolt to my childhood memories of Bhera.

Now comes in the Alexander of Macedonia. He had fought his famous battle with Hindu ruler Porus as far back as 326 BC and it was during this battle that Alexander's famous horse Bucephalus was killed. Alexander had ridden Bucephalus into every one of his battles in Greece and Asia, so when it died, he was grief-stricken and founded a city in his horse's name. Alexander stayed for four days at Bhera before crossing the river Jhelum for the fateful battle. Chinese Buddhist traveler Fahien who traveled through India from 399 AD to 414 AD, mentions Bhera in his book. He crossed the river Jhelum from Bhera which was great state at that time. Bhera also emerged as an important place during the Mughal rule. Mughal emperor , Zaheer Ud Din Babar mentioned about this town in his famous book "Tuzk - e - Babri".

The name Bhera has many origins.  The most commonly agreed upon "Bhera " is a Sanskrit word which means a place where there is no fear. The ancient Bhera mounds were known as Barrian, which once flourished on the west bank of River Jhelum. Old Bhera was situated on the right bank of the River Jhelum, on the opposite side new Bhera is located. There are heaps of ruins. Its markets and streets can be seen on the other bank of the River Jhelum. The new Bhera is located on the left bank of river Jhelum near southern Salt Range. River is located about one kilometre from the town. Bhera was almost destroyed in 1545 because of the disputes among the Pathans. Realizing its strategic importance and location being the left bank of the Jhelum, it was none other than Sher Shah Suri who rebuilt it. He camped at the left bank of river Jhelum, near Qaimnath's hut, and constructed the first building there. He also constructed the onion-domed Shahi Jamia Mosque, which exists even today and rivals the Shahi Jamia mosques of Delhi, Agra and Lahore in beauty. During Sikh regime 1799, the mosque was used as a stable by Sikhs. The mosque consists of 3 large domes, one central and two on sides. Small bricks have been used in the construction.

Like all old cities,  Bhera was also built as a fortified city with eight gates around the city namely Multani Gate, Lahori Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Kabuli Gate, Peeranwala Gate, Chinioti Gate, Loharanwala Gate and Hajji Gulab Gate. Only four gates have been able to survive to date, Peeranwala Gate, Hajji Gulab Gate, Loharanwala Gate and Qabli Gate are damaged now. During the excavation of the Greek city of Bhera by Dr M Salim of the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, many a artifacts of iron age, Achaemenian, Greek and Maurayan period have been found. Painted pottery dating from 800-600 BC and a terracotta elephant have also been found. Soak wells, 10-feet high, were found in Bhir mound.

Bhera was once a place of learning and people from other areas came here to learn about medicine and geography. Besides many Muslim saints passed by Bhera which became famous in the whole of Asia. Hazrat Meeran Sahib was one such saint, who worked for the transmission of Islam in the area. His shrine is located in the western part of the town near river Jhelum. Businessmen and scholars arrived first and then Gaznavi, Ghori, Aibak, Babur and Ahmed Shah Abdali passed by the city to attack the great Rajas and Marathas. During Mughal period, caravans from Central Asia, Kabul, Qandahar and Peshawar used to cross the river to go to Lahore, Delhi and other parts of India. Caravans from Kashmir used to reach Bhera along with the river. During the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, Bhera had a royal mint for minting gold and silver coins. Bhera remained famous in handicrafts and cottage industry , daggers , sword , cutlery , walking sticks , wooden furniture , carved doors , cotton blankets , silk loin cloth, hand fans , earth pottery and edible delicacies. During English period , Bhera was so renowned for wood carving that carpenters from here were taken to England to carve some of the doors of Buckingham Palace. Today Bhera is known for its Mehndi (Lawsonia Alba) , Phainian and Pateesa.

Today, this once thriving city lies in shambles and has been utterly neglected. The old buildings have been dilapidated, specially after the 1992 floods, when the whole city was submerged under many feet of water that eroded walls and roofs of havelis. It is a misfortune that there is no official or public awareness about the treasure of the past.

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