Name Abisares Abisares | ||
Abisares (or Abhisara (अभिसार); in Greek Αβισαρης), called Embisarus (Εμβισαρος) by Diodorus, was a Kashmiri king of Abhira descent 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 in 325 BC appointed his son as his successor.
Kingdom
Hazara (country), the Abisares of the Greeks, forms the North-western district of the Peshawar division. It was conquered by Arjuna. However, Dr. Stein identifies the kingdom of Abhisara with the tract of the lower and middle hills between the Vitasta (Jhelum) and Chadrabhaga (Chenab) including the state of Rajapuri (Rajauri) in Kasmira. The kingdom of Abhisara finds reference in ancient Indian texts also. In epic times and Buddhist times, it had formed integral part of Ancient Kamboja Mahajanapada. Old kingdom of Abhisara was basically situated in the Poonch, Rajauri and Nowshera districts of Jammu and Kashmir.