Nicaea was a city in what is now the present-day Mong

Mong, Punjab

Mong or Mung is a town and Union Council of Mandi Bahauddin District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at at an altitude of 217 metres ....

, one of the two cities founded by Alexander the Great on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river. The second city founded by Alexander on the Hydaspes was Bucephala

Alexandria Bucephalous

Alexandria Bucephalous, or Alexandria Bucephalus or Alexandria Bucephala or Bucephala or Bucephalia, was a city founded by Alexander the Great in memory of his beloved horse Bucephalus. Founded in May 326 BC, the town was located on the Hydaspes , east of the Indus River. Bucephalus had died after...

.

Following the Battle of the Hydaspes, Alexander founded two cities. One on the site of the battle he named Alexandria Niceae meaning Victory. The site of that city is still undetermined and a number of candidates have been put forward for the location:

• Huntingford identifies this Alexandria with a large mound west of Jhelum
  Jhelum
  Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
  
   city, while Lendering
  Jona Lendering
  Jona Lendering is a Dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, Dutch history and modern management...
  
   cites Jhelum
  Jhelum
  Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
  
   in more general terms. Buddhist tradition mentions an un-named city south of Jhelum that some speculate may have been Nicaea.
• The Hungarian archaeologist and Silk Road
  Silk Road
  The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
  
   expert Sir Marc Aurel Stein believed that instead of using the road
  Grand Trunk Road
  The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
  
   from Taxila
  Taxila
  Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
  
   to Jhelum
  Jhelum
  Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
  
   which dates from medieval times, Alexander's army went south
  South
  South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
  
   to cross the river
  Jhelum River
  Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
  
   near modern Bhera
  Bhera
  Bhera is a city on the Jhelum river in Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. It lies at latitude 32.48 N, longitude 72.92.-Location:...
  
  . At this site the battle
  Battle
  Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
  
   would have happened near the town of Mong
  Mong, Punjab
  Mong or Mung is a town and Union Council of Mandi Bahauddin District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at at an altitude of 217 metres ....
  
  . The topography
  Topography
  Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
  
  , river orientation and natural features including salt cliffs
  Salt Range
  The Salt Range is a hill system in the Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends from the Jhelum River to the Indus, across the northern portion of the Punjab province. The Salt Range contains the great mines of Mayo, Khewra, Warcha...
  
   in this vicinity match closely the description given in ancient sources.

Further supporting this location is the traditional claim by the residents of Mong and nearby Phalia

Phalia

Phalia is a city in Mandi Bahauddin District, Punjab, Pakistan. The population of Phalia was calculated to be 25,914 in 2007 .-History:...

 that Mong is Hellenistic  Nicaea. The historian and BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 presenter Michael Wood supports Steins claims about Mong.