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 Vedic Asvamedha 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