---
title: "Seven Books of History against the Pagans"
author: "Paulus Orosius"
translator: "S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026)"
title_ru: "История против язычников"
title_fr: "Histoires contre les païens"
title_de: "Sieben Bücher Geschichte gegen die Heiden"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Church Fathers"
section: 59 of 177
url: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/59/
cite: "Paulus Orosius, tr. S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026), Seven Books of History against the Pagans, section 59. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/59/"
---

# Seven Books of History against the Pagans

*Paulus Orosius, tr. S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026)*

Russian: История против язычников · French: Histoires contre les païens · German: Sieben Bücher Geschichte gegen die Heiden

Augustine's pupil tells the whole of world history to prove that the Christian times are not the worst.

## 59. Book 3 · Chapter 19

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/59/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/59/#p-N

[¶0] After this he made for India, so as to bound his empire by the Ocean and the farthest East; he came to the city of Nysa; he stormed the Daedalian mountains and the kingdom of Queen Cleophis, who, when she had surrendered, redeemed her kingdom by lying with him.

> Latin: 1 Post haec Indiam petit, ut Oceano ultimoque oriente finiret imperium; Nysam urbem adiit; Daedalos montes regnaque Cleophylis reginae expugnauit: quae cum se dedisset, concubitu regnum redemit.

[¶1] When Alexander, having traversed and thoroughly subdued India, came to a rock of marvellous ruggedness and height, to which many peoples had fled, he learned that Hercules had been prevented by an earthquake from storming that same rock. Moved by rivalry to surpass the deeds of Hercules, he made himself master of the rock with the utmost toil and danger and received the surrender of all the peoples of that place.

> Latin: 2 peragrata perdomitaque Alexander India cum ad saxum mirae asperitatis et altitudinis, in quod multi populi confugerant, peruenisset, cognoscit Herculem ab expugnatione eiusdem saxi terrae motu prohibitum. aemulatione permotus, ut Herculis acta superaret, cum summo labore ac periculo saxo potitus omnes loci eius gentes in deditionem accepit.

[¶2] He waged a most bloody war with Porus, the bravest king of the Indians: in it Alexander met Porus himself in single combat and, thrown down when his horse was killed, escaped the death that was upon him by the rush of his bodyguards; Porus, pierced with many wounds, was captured.

> Latin: 3 cum Poro fortissimo Indorum rege cruentissimum bellum gessit: in quo Alexander cum ipso Poro singulariter congressus occisoque deiectus equo concursu satellitum praesentiam mortis euasit; Porus multis uulneribus confossus et captus est.

[¶3] Having restored him to his kingdom in testimony to his valour, Alexander founded two cities there, Nicaea and Bucephala, which he ordered to be so called after the name of his horse. Then the Macedonians stormed the Adrestae, the Cathaei, the Praesidae and the Gangaridae, slaughtering their armies.

> Latin: 4 quo ob testimonium uirtutis in regnum restituto duas ibi condidit ciuitates Nicaeam et Bucefalen, quam de nomine equi sui ita uocari praecepit. inde Adrestas Catthenos Praesidas et Gangaridas caesis eorum exercitibus Macedones expugnauere.

*Note: Alexander never reached the peoples of the Ganges (the Prasii and Gangaridae): his army refused to go beyond the Hyphasis (Beas) in 326 BC. Orosius follows Justin.*

[¶4] When they had come to the Cophides, they joined battle there against two hundred thousand enemy horsemen; and though, already worn out with age, sick at heart and weary in strength, they won with difficulty, they built a camp more magnificent than usual as a memorial.

> Latin: 5 cum ad Cofides uentum esset, ibi contra CC milia equitum hostium pugnam conseruerunt; et cum iam aetate detriti, animo aegri, uiribus lassi difficile uicissent; castra ob memoriam plus solito magnifica condiderunt.

[¶5] From there Alexander went on to the river Acesines and was carried down it into the Ocean: there he overwhelmed the Gesonae and the Sibi, whom Hercules founded. From here he sailed to the Mandri and the Subagrae, peoples who received him with eighty thousand armed foot and sixty thousand horse.

> Latin: 6 exim Alexander ad amnem Agesinem pergit; per hunc in Oceanum deuehitur: ibi Gesonas Sibosque, quos Hercules condidit, oppressit. hinc in Mandros et Subagras nauigat: quae gentes eum armatis LXXX milibus peditum et LX milibus equitum excipiunt.

*Note: The Malli and the Oxydracae of the Greek historians; Alexander was gravely wounded in storming a Mallian town (325 BC).*

[¶6] When battle was joined, a long doubtful and bloody fight at last gave the Macedonians an almost mournful victory. For when the enemy’s forces had been routed, Alexander led his army to the city; and when he had been the first to climb the wall, thinking the city empty, he leapt down inside alone:

> Latin: 7 commisso proelio, diu anceps et cruenta pugna tandem tristem paene uictoriam Macedonibus dedit. nam fusis hostium copiis Alexander exercitum ad urbem duxit; et cum murum primus escendisset, uacuam ciuitatem ratus solus introrsum desiluit:

[¶7] and when the hostile enemy had surrounded him on every side, it is incredible to tell how neither the multitude of enemies, nor the great force of missiles, nor the great clamour of his assailants terrified him, and how alone he cut down and put to flight so many thousands.

> Latin: 8 quem cum undique infesti hostes circumdedissent, incredibile dictu est ut eum non multitudo hostium, non uis magna telorum, non tantus lacessentium clamor terruerit, solus tot milia ceciderit ac fugarit.

[¶8] But when he realized that he was being overwhelmed by the multitude pouring round him, he protected his back with the barrier of the wall and held off those in front the more easily until, at his danger and the clamour of the enemy, the walls were broken through and the whole army burst in.

> Latin: 9 at ubi se obrui a circumfusa multitudine persensit, muri obice posteriora tutatus, contrarios facilius eo usque sustinuit, donec ad periculum eius clamoremque hostium perfractis muris exercitus omnis inrumperet.

[¶9] In that battle he was pierced by an arrow beneath the breast, and, resting on one knee, he fought on until he had killed the man by whom he had been wounded.

> Latin: 10 in eo proelio sagitta sub mamma traiectus, fixo genu eatenus pugnauit, donec eum a quo uulneratus esset occideret.

[¶10] Then, having embarked on his ships, as he was sailing along the shores of the Ocean he came to a certain city ruled by King Ambira. But in storming the city he lost a great part of his army to the enemy’s poisoned arrows; and afterwards, when the rest had been saved by a herb shown to him in a dream and given to the wounded to drink, he stormed and took the city.

> Latin: 11 inde conscensis nauibus cum Oceani litora peragraret, ad urbem quandam cui Ambira rex praeerat peruenit. sed in expugnatione ciuitatis magnam partem exercitus sagittis hostium ueneno inlitis amisit, ac post herba per somnium sibi ostensa et in potum sauciis data cum reliquis subueniretur, urbem expugnauit et cepit.