Abisares

Abisares (or Abhisara; in Greek Ἀβισάρης), called Embisarus (Ἐμβίσαρος,) by Diodorus, was a Kasmira king 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.

Origin and identification

The exact identification of the kingdom of Abhisara has been debated by historians. While most modern historians describe it as a Himalayan kingdom in the region of present-day Poonch, Rajouri and western Kashmir, some scholars have associated Abhisara with the ancient Kambojas on the basis of literary and geographical evidence.

The name Abhisara (Greek: Abisares) appears in the accounts of the historians of Alexander the Great and in later Indian traditions.

Alexander the Great

Abisares sent embassies of submission to Alexander the Great and Alexander allowed him to retain his kingdom with considerable additions.

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

Kingdom

Aurel Stein equates the Hazara region, frequently identified as the ancient Urasa with Abhisara. 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. Old kingdom of Abhisara was basically situated in the Poonch, Rajauri and Nowshera districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

See also

• Taxiles
• Abhira
• Porus
• Cleophis

Other sources

• Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, , Boston, (1867)
• Waldemar Heckel: Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander's empire. Blackwell, Oxford 2006, ISBN978-1-4051-1210-9 ()

This articleincorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Abisares". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

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