This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; try the Find link tool for suggestions. (January 2025)

Gangaridai was a territory that was located to the east of the Ganges river. Gangaridai occurs as the name of a group people and of a country in Greek or Latin writings. It dates of which range between 1st century BC and 2nd century AD. The Gangaridai nation is known for repelling Alexander the Great from his great Indian campaign.^[1]

Alexander's invasion of Gangaridai
Part of Alexander's invasion of India
Location Ganges Delta Bengal Result Gangaridai Victory Territorial changes Alexander the Great is forced to retreat from the region
Belligerents
Macedonian Empire	Gangaridai
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great	Dhana Nanda Porus
Strength
Unknown	60,000 troops 4,000 Elephants
Casualties and losses
None	None

Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia and Greece in 336 BCE at the age of 20. He brought most of the Aegean under his rule, and by 331 bce he had conquered Persia from the Persian Empire. By 328 BCE he had passed through and acquired significant portions of Central Asia from the Sogdians and Scythians. In 327 BCE his army crossed the Hindu Kush mountains into the Indian subcontinent.^[2] Most local chieftains were intimidated by the might of the Macedonian army and became allies and paid tribute to the Greeks. One of those chieftains was Omphis, the ruler of Taxila. He begged for Alexander's protection against the powerful warlord Porus. Alexander's army crossed the Indus River and eventually made their way to the Hydaspes, the western border of Porus's kingdom.^[3]

As Alexander the Great pursued King Porus to the state of Paurava to the Kingdom of Gangaridai, he described the region as “a nation possessing the greatest number of elephants and the largest in size.” Most Historians say that Alexander the Great left the region in anticipation of a joint attack by the Prasii and Gangaridai Kingdoms that forced him to retreat. The invasion of the region, and subsequent withdrawal of Alexander the Great is mentioned in a number of other writings by Greek, Roman, and Bengali historians.^[4]

Upon hearing that the Bengal army had 4,000 Elephants, Alexander and his men were terrified of the large force and decided to withdraw from the region. His troops were also exhausted and homesick after a long campaign, refusing to advance further into India. Soon enough, Alexander's legendary campaigns would come to an end after his passing in Babylon June 323 BC.^[5]

The earliest known account of the Gangaridai can be found in Bibliotheca historica, written by Diodorus Siculus (69 BCE–16 AD). This description is thought to have been derived from a now-lost text, likely authored by either Megasthenes or Hieronymus of Cardia.

In Book 2 of Bibliotheca historica, Diodorus describes the Gangaridai, whom he refers to as "Gandaridae," as inhabiting a region east of the Ganges River, which he records as being 30 stades wide. He notes that the Gangaridai were never conquered by foreign invaders, thanks to their formidable force of war elephants. According to Diodorus, Alexander the Great, after defeating other Indian kingdoms, advanced to the Ganges but chose to retreat upon learning that the Gangaridai possessed a massive army with 4,000 elephants.