The Horse in the Ancient World: From Bucephalus to the Hippodrome

The Horse in the Ancient World: From Bucephalus to the Hippodrome - Library of Classical Studies

Hardback (30 Jun 2016)

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Publisher's Synopsis

The domestication of the horse in the fourth millennium BC altered the course of mankind's future. Formerly a source only of meat, horses now became the prime mode of fast transport as well as a versatile weapon of war. Carolyn Willekes traces the early history of the horse through a combination of equine iconography, literary representations, fieldwork and archaeological theory. She explores the ways in which horses were used in the ancient world, whether in regular cavalry formations, harnessed to chariots, as a means of reconnaissance, in swift and deadly skirmishing (such as by Scythian archers) or as the key mode of mobility. Establishing a regional typology of ancient horses - Mediterranean, Central Asian and Near Eastern - the author discerns within these categories several distinct sub-types. Explaining how the physical characteristics of each type influenced its use on the battlefield - through grand strategy, singular tactics and general deployment - she focuses on Egypt, Persia and the Hittites, as well as Greece and Rome. This is the most comprehensive treatment yet written of the horse in antiquity.

About the Publisher

I.B. Tauris

I.B.Tauris has long been recognised as one of the leading publishers on the Middle East and the Islamic World and has a major presence in Classics and Ancient History, History, Geography and Social Sciences, Politics and International Relations, Philosophy, Religion, Film and Visual Culture, and Fine Art including the internationally recognised Fine Art imprint Philip Wilson Publishers. We also publish the popular Tauris Parke Paperbacks imprint specialising in history, travel and biography.

Book information

ISBN: 9781784533663
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Pub date:
DEWEY: 636.1009
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 296
Weight: 488g
Height: 150mm
Width: 223mm
Spine width: 29mm