Acknowledgments page xiii

1 Introduction to Equestrian Man and to Equus 1

Six Thousand Years of Human-Equine Relations 2

Wild Equids - c 60 Million Years Ago to the Present 6

Equid Paleontology 7

Extant Equus in the Wild 12

Equus ferus in the Old World 16

2 Equus caballus: Horse Domestication and Agro-Pastoralism across the Eurasian Steppes 21

The Transition from Food Procurement to Plant and Animal Domestication 22

The Concomitant Development of Metallurgy 25

Emergence of the Centralized Alluvial State 27

Peripheral Farming and Eneolithic Exploitation of the Horse on the Eurasian Steppes 28

Why the Domestication of the Horse? 39

Criticisms - and Near Eastern Comparisons 41

Yamnaya Horizon - Steppe Expansion West and East (3500-2400 BC) 44

Andronovo Horizon - Steppe Expansion East and South (2000-900 BC) 49

Equestrian Penetration of the Eastern Deserts 55

Indo-European Diaspora 57

Summary 64

3 Nomadic Horse Culture of the Steppes 67

Mobile Dwellings of the Steppes 68

Steppe Technology and Weaponry 73

The Horse - Sacred Symbol of Rebirth 78

Steppe Kurgans and Ritual Burial 79

Regalia of the Pazyryk Kurgans 82

Scythian Rituals of Sacrifice, Dismemberment, and Regeneration 86

The Nomad Ritual of Buzkashi 89

4 Expansion from the Steppes to Southwestern and Southern Asia 92

Early Indo-European Invasion across the Near East 93

The Hittite State in Anatolia 93

The Chariot in Warfare 95

Training of the Chariot Horse 98

War Chariots of Kadesh and Troy 99

The Appearance of the Military Steed in Battle 104

Aryan Expansion from the Steppes through Central Asia 107

Aryan Migrations South 108

The Rgveda 110

The VedicAsvamedha Horse Sacrifice 113

Aryan Equestrian Migrations West 116

Ancient Iranians 119

The Achaemenid Equestrian Empire 120

Europe's Defiance of Achaemenid Equestrian Might 126

5 China and the Steppes beyond Its Borders 135

Equestrian China 135

Arrival of the Horse in China 136

The Qin Equestrian Conquest of China 141

Xiongnu Nomads 143

Chinese Equestrian Expansion 145

Equestrian Cultures of Cosmopolitan Central Asia 150

From Vedic Roots, Buddhism Travels North to China 151

On Horseback West Meets East - the Silk Road 155

Via Nomadic Central Asia, China's Early Impact on the West 160

6 Equestrian Europe - Solar Edifices, Hippodromes, and Arthurian Chivalry 165

Early Indo-Europeans in Europe 165

Prehistoric Solar Edifices 166

Celtic Migrations across Europe 171

The Horse in Greek War and Myth 175

Cavalry Wars between Rome and Carthage 181

Resistance to Rome and the Boudican Revolt 184

Roman Equestrian Might 187

Solar Edifices of Rome 191

Equestrian Invasions from the Steppes 195

The Arthurian Epic - Chivalry in the West 199

Byzantium - Equestrian Bastion of Christianity in the East 204

7 Arabian Conquest from the South 209

Turn of the Era to Mid-First Millennium AD 209

Crossroads of Continents 209

Byzantine and Sasanian Imperial Policies toward Arabia 212

The Prophet Muhammad 214

Military Expansion of the Islamic State out of Arabia 216

Horses of the Deserts 217

Equestrian Expansion of Islam Eastward 221

The Umayyad Caliphate and the Shia Schism 223

The Twelve and Seven Imams 224

The Epic Drama of Taziyeh - Opera on Horseback 226

Abbasid Caliphate and Turkic Incursion 231

Equestrian Expansion of Islam Westward 235

Islamic Advance across the Iberian Peninsula and Defeat at Poitiers 237

The Song of Roland 239

The Heavy-Armored European Knight 241

Al-Andalus 242

Arabic Efflorescence 244

Berber Cavalry Rebellion from Africa 247

8 Turkic-Invader Converts to Islam and Crusader Opponents 253

The Shahnameh 253

Equestrian Invaders from the East 259

Equestrian Invaders from the West 259

The Enduring Legacy of the Equestrian Warrior Orders 272

9 From the Steppes, the Altaic Nomad Conquest of Eurasia 281

The Mongol Equestrian Expansion across Eurasia 281

The Epic of the Horsehair Spirit Banner 282

Emergence of Mongol Power 285

Equestrian Conquests in the West 293

Death of Genghis Khan 297

Successors of Genghis Khan 298

Mongol Trade across Asia and Multicultural Efflorescence 304

Khubilai Khan and Yuan China 304

The Cosmopolitan Ilkhanate - Arts and Sciences across Equestrian Asia 309

The Mongol Impact across Asia to Europe 313

Successor States to Nomadic Equestrian Militarism 317

Warrior Horsemen East of the Asian Mainland 318

Equestrian Conquests in West Asia and West of Asia 324

Steppe Nomad Legacy across Eurasia 330

10 From Europe, Equus Returns to Its Continent of Origin 333

Europe toward the End of the Middle Ages 334

The Palio of Siena 338

Late Medieval Warfare 341

The Spanish Reconquista 344

Equus Extinct in the Western Hemisphere and Equus Returns 348

Mesoamerica and the Spanish Conquest of Tenochtitlan 354

The Andes and the Spanish Conquest of Tawantinsuyu 359

Post-Conquista Europe 365

Horses of Rebellion in the Americas 371

11 Horses Are Us 380

Hemispheres with and without Horses 380

The Impact of Equestrianism around the World 387

Homo equestriens 398

References 407

Index 449