Jalalpur Village
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Jalalpur Village
Ancient site in the Pind Dadan Khan tahsil of Jhelum District, Punjab, situated in 32degree 39' N. and 73 degree 28' E., on the right bank of the Jhelum river. Population (1901), 3,161. The village was identified by Sir Alexander Cunningham with the site of the ancient Bucephala, built by Alexander the Great in memory of his famous charger, which was killed in the battle with Porus at the crossing of the Jhelum ; but doubts have been cast on the identification. Remains of ancient walls still crown the summit of the hills, which rise to a height of 1,000 feet above the village. Coins found among the ruins date back to the period of the Graeco-Bactrian kings. Even in the time of Akbar, the town covered a site four times as large as that which it now occupies ; but since the foundation of Pind Dadan Khan, and the shifting of the river channel 2 miles eastward, it has undergone a constant decay. Jalalpur is now nothing more than a small agricul- tural village, of no importance apart from the interest attaching to its antiquarian remains.
