Alexander the Great’s army mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to march farther east.
The confrontation occurred in 326 BC during Alexander’s Indian campaign, after his army had crossed the Indus and defeated King Porus at the Hydaspes. The soldiers had been campaigning for years, endured difficult terrain and monsoon conditions, and feared facing the powerful kingdoms beyond the river, including the Nanda Empire in the Ganges valley.
Alexander tried to persuade his men to continue, but the troops refused. His officer Coenus argued that the army had reached its limit, and Alexander eventually agreed to turn back. He marked the boundary with altars and began a return journey south along the Indus.
The Hyphasis is identified with the modern Beas River in Punjab. It is often confused with the Hydaspes, the river where Alexander fought Porus, or the Ganges, which lay farther east and was never reached by Alexander’s army. The event is also called the Hyphasis mutiny, although some historians describe it more cautiously as a military revolt or collective refusal.