Alexandria Bucephalous, was a city founded by Alexander the Great in memory of his beloved horseBucephalus. Founded in May 326 BC, the town was located on the Hydaspes, east of the Indus River. Bucephalus had died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. The garrison was settled with Greek and Iranian veterans and Pauravas locals. It had large dockyards, suggesting it was intended as a center of commerce. Alexandria Bucephalous remained a significant centre for some time, as it is mentioned in the Metz Epitome and shown on the late RomanPeutinger Table. The 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea reads: Around 17 cities were named with the pre-name "Alexandria" during the period. Across the river, the nearby town of Alexandria Nicaea was also founded on the battle site at that time. Alexander founded nearly 20 towns, but also renamed others for a total of about 70 towns reportedly named by him. A reference to Alexandria Bucephalus may appear in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a Buddhist text of the early centuries CE. This text refers to two cities called Ādirājya and Bhadrāśva located on the Vitastā River along the road from Gandhāra to Mathurā. The Buddhists attributed these two cities to the mythical kingMahāsammata, but some modern scholars propose to identify them as the two cities founded by Alexander the Great, Nicaea and Bucephala.
Location
The exact site of the city is still unknown but several locations have been proposed:
The historian and BBC presenter Michael Wood supports Stein's claims for Nicaea at Mong, but proposes Garjak rather than Phalia for the location of Bucephala. Phalia is significantly distant at 17km and located east of the River when ancient sources agree it was on the west bank opposite Nicaea. Furthermore, archaeological finds at Garjak include Greek coins and ruins of an ancient Hindu temple with a burial stone in the shape of a horse. There is also a legend associated with Garjak regarding a magical horse.
Another less likely proposed site is near modern Jalalpur south of these sites where there are extensive but still un-excavated ruins. Tarn profits this site, which is not to be confused with the Jalalpur nearby on the Chenab river, which was a city of Alexander's contemporary Chandragupta Maurya. Eggermont disagrees with the Jalalpur identification arguing that the Jhelum river flowed far from this site in ancient times.
