Elephants and empire: The Asian elephant, from Alexander to Akbar

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Publication Type honors thesis
School or College College of Humanities
Department History
Faculty Mentor Winthrop L. Adams
Creator Redmond, Nicholas K.
Title Elephants and empire: The Asian elephant, from Alexander to Akbar
Year graduated 2015
Date 2015-05
Description This thesis studies the prominence of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) in the historical record. The purpose is to show the impact of elephas on human affairs, most notably in the formation and destruction of empires. Of these empires, two are of primary importance: the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon, and the Mughal Empire of Jalal Muhammad Akbar the Great in India. Additionally, the dynasty of Seleucus I Nicator, Alexander's successor in Asia, is analyzed. Brief accounts of Pyrrhus of Epirus, Hannibal Barca, Chandragupta Maurya, and the Roman Empire are also discussed. These accounts have been gleaned through an examination of ancient primary sources, including Kautilya's Arthashastra, Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander, and Abu al-Fazl's Akbarnama, among others. Upon examination of these accounts, it is clear that the Asian elephant has played a crucial role in the development of human empire. Further, the times of Alexander the Great and Seleucus I Nicator can be seen as a "golden age" of Asian elephant warfare, and its important use sparked one of the world's first large-scale arms races. The era of Akbar and the Mughal Empire can be seen as the reverse; the advent of gunpowder and its increasing prevalence began the steady decline of war elephants in battle. Finally, through viewing the importance of elephants in military history, this thesis suggests that protecting elephas for use in warfare may have been one of the world's first conservation efforts, and could very well have aided in protecting the species from extinction.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Elephants -- War use -- History
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Nicholas K. Redmond 2015
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 413,816 bytes
Identifier etd3/id/3603
Permissions Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=1291572
ARK ark:/87278/s64j3pfh
Setname ir_htoa
ID 197155
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64j3pfh
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