Tall and physically powerful, he combined that brawn with shrewdness and his knack for crafty tactics. His tiny army of commandos captured Babylon by stealth and tricks, bamboozling his leadfooted opponents. This move made Seleucus rich, but he was hemmed in by powerful enemies. In the upcoming Successor showdown he would need more troops and, importantly, war elephants, since these were symbols of power. During a pause in the war, Seleucus decided to march east 2000 miles to regain provinces in revolt and deal with the Indians under their new conqueror named Chandragupta, the Mauryan king. Seleucus’ first stop was in the rebellious north-east where he brought Bactria back under his control. He gathered troops there and then marched to the Indus River.
Meanwhile, in northern India, Chandragupta’s well-led armies were mopping up a twenty-yearlong struggle to overthrow rival Indian kingdoms. Now he was eager to move his army and masses of elephants to secure the provinces along the Indus,
