Did Alexander the Great lose a battle?

Answer 1

Technically no. Although he suffered severe losses in some battles, most notably in his conflict with King Porus of India, he held the field in every battle he fought. However if we count his return from India, during which he lost most of his troops to minor battles and deprivation, it is hard not to put this down to a bad loss.

There is some sensible revisionist discussion on, if Alexander had beaten Porus, with help from the King of Taxila, why did he:

a. Sign a peace treaty with Porus, under which Porus retained his kingdom.b. Cede his ally's kingdom of Taxila to Porus.c. Thereafter act as an instrument of Porus in securing his territories for him.d. Remove himself from Porus' territories, and then go home.Speculative, but the scenario has all the signs of Alexander not defeating Porus - either a standoff at best or a loss.

Comment:

We have third-hand a version of the treaty which was explicit that Porus was under the rule of Alexander and not a sovereign kingdom as it was before the battle. Also Porus paid tribute to Alexander a (undifined) number of chariots and 1,000 of the most prominent people of the kingdom as guests/hostages (Alexander allegedly freed the people but kept the chariots (what did he want obsolete chariots for?). Furthermore Porus was obligated to provide troops if there was a call to arms.

Response:

The validity of that version depends on whether it was or was not a cover up Propaganda. We have no primary evidence of this Treaty. All we can do is compare all the evidence and question the gross inconsistencies above, which read like a cover up. I have no firm opinion either way, but a strong doubt must exist to anyone other than someone irrevocably committed to preserving Alexander unblemished. That latter position is not history.