Abisares (or Abhisara1; in Greek Αβισαρης), called Embisarus (Eμβισαρoς) by Diodorus,2 was an Indian king beyond the river Hydaspes, whose territory lay in the mountains, sent embassies to Alexander the Great both before and after the conquest of Porus in 326 BC, although inclined to espouse the side of the latter. Alexander not only allowed him to retain his kingdom, but increased it, and on his death appointed his son as his successor. 3 The kingdom of Abhisara finds reference in ancient Indian texts also. In epic times and Buddhist times, it had formed integral part of Ancient KambojaMahajanapada. Old kingdom of Abhisara was basically situated in the Poonch, Rajauri and Nowshera districts of Jammu and Kashmir4.
^ Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty, 1953, p 248, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri, University of Calcutta; The Mahābhārata, Its Genesis and Growth: A Statistical Study, 1986, p 115, M. R. Yardi, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute - Mahābhārata; Military History of India, 1980, p 38, Hemendra Chandra Kar - History; Journal of Indian History, 1969, p 123, University of Kerala Dept. of History, University of Allahabad Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore, University of Kerala - India.
