Abisares Explained

Abhisara

Kasmira king

Abisares (or Abhisara;^[1] in Greek Ἀβισάρης), called Embisarus (Ἐμβίσαρος,) by Diodorus,^[2] was a Kasmira king of Abhira^[3] descent whose territory lay in the river Hydaspes beyond the mountains. On his death in 325 BC, Alexander the Great appointed Abisares' son as his successor.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Alexander the Great

Abisares sent embassies of submission to Alexander the Great and Alexander allowed him to retain his kingdom with considerable additions.^{[8] [9]}

Onesicritus said that Abisares had two huge snakes and Alexander had a great desire to see them.^[10]

Kingdom

Aurel Stein equates the Hazara region, frequently identified as the ancient Urasa with Abhisara.^{[11] [12]} However, Stein identifies the kingdom of Abhisara with the tract of the lower and middle hills between the Vitasta (Jhelum) and Chadrabhaga (Chenab) including the state of Rajapuri (Rajauri) in Kasmira.^{[13] [14] [15]} Old kingdom of Abhisara was basically situated in the Poonch, Rajauri and Nowshera districts of Jammu and Kashmir.^{[16] [17] [18]}

See also

• Taxiles
• Porus
• Cleophis

References

Other sources

• Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Abisares", Boston, (1867)
• Waldemar Heckel: Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander's empire. Blackwell, Oxford 2006, (excerpt online)

Notes and References

1. Encyclopedia: Chisholm . Hugh . Hugh Chisholm . Alexander III (Alexander the Great) . . 1 . 1910.
2. Diodorus, Bibliotheca, xvii. 90
3. Book: Enthoven . Reginald Edward . The Tribes and Castes of Bombay . 1990 . 9788120606302 . 18 . The historians of Alexander (B.C. 325) speak of one Abisares as the ruler of the hills between Murri and the Márgala. It has been held by some that Abisares corresponds to Abhira, and that consequently the king Abisares, referred to by the Greek historians, denotes an Abhira chief..
4. Waldemar Heckel: Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander’s empire. Blackwell, Oxford 2006, (excerpt online).
5. Strabo Geogr., Geographica Book 15, chapter 1, section 28, line 11
6. Διοδ. ΙΖ, 87
7. Curt, VIII, 43, 13. XLVII, 1. IX, 1, 7, X, 3, 20
8. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=abisares-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Abisares
9. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=porus-bio-2 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Porus
10. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:16.39 Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, 16.39
11. Book: Heckel . Waldemar . Who's Who in the Age of Alexander and his Successors: From Chaironeia to Ipsos (338-301 BC) . Tsouras . Peter G. . 2021-06-30 . Greenhill Books . 978-1-78438-651-1 . 2 . en.
12. (Mahabharata, Sabha-Parva,Ch.27;JASD.(1852)p. 234)
13. Encyclopaedia of ancient Indian geography By Subodh Kapoor-page-3
14. Book: Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography. 9788177552980. Kapoor. Subodh. 2002.
15. [Arrian]
16. Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty, 1953, p 248, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri, University of Calcutta
17. The Mahābhārata, Its Genesis and Growth: A Statistical Study, 1986, p 115, M. R. Yardi, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute - Mahābhārata; Military History of India, 1980, p 38, Hemendra Chandra Kar - History
18. Journal of Indian History, 1969, p 123, University of Kerala Dept. of History, University of Allahabad Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore, University of Kerala - India.