Elephants & Kings

Elephants & Kings PDF Author: Thomas R. Trautmann
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022626453X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
Because of their enormous size, elephants have long been irresistible for kings as symbols of their eminence. In early civilizations—such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Civilization, and China—kings used elephants for royal sacrifice, spectacular hunts, public display of live captives, or the conspicuous consumption of ivory—all of them tending toward the elephant’s extinction. The kings of India, however, as Thomas R. Trautmann shows in this study, found a use for elephants that actually helped preserve their habitat and numbers in the wild: war. Trautmann traces the history of the war elephant in India and the spread of the institution to the west—where elephants took part in some of the greatest wars of antiquity—and Southeast Asia (but not China, significantly), a history that spans 3,000 years and a considerable part of the globe, from Spain to Java. He shows that because elephants eat such massive quantities of food, it was uneconomic to raise them from birth. Rather, in a unique form of domestication, Indian kings captured wild adults and trained them, one by one, through millennia. Kings were thus compelled to protect wild elephants from hunters and elephant forests from being cut down. By taking a wide-angle view of human-elephant relations, Trautmann throws into relief the structure of India’s environmental history and the reasons for the persistence of wild elephants in its forests.

Elephants & Kings

Elephants & Kings PDF Author: Thomas R. Trautmann
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022626453X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Get Book

Book Description
Because of their enormous size, elephants have long been irresistible for kings as symbols of their eminence. In early civilizations—such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Civilization, and China—kings used elephants for royal sacrifice, spectacular hunts, public display of live captives, or the conspicuous consumption of ivory—all of them tending toward the elephant’s extinction. The kings of India, however, as Thomas R. Trautmann shows in this study, found a use for elephants that actually helped preserve their habitat and numbers in the wild: war. Trautmann traces the history of the war elephant in India and the spread of the institution to the west—where elephants took part in some of the greatest wars of antiquity—and Southeast Asia (but not China, significantly), a history that spans 3,000 years and a considerable part of the globe, from Spain to Java. He shows that because elephants eat such massive quantities of food, it was uneconomic to raise them from birth. Rather, in a unique form of domestication, Indian kings captured wild adults and trained them, one by one, through millennia. Kings were thus compelled to protect wild elephants from hunters and elephant forests from being cut down. By taking a wide-angle view of human-elephant relations, Trautmann throws into relief the structure of India’s environmental history and the reasons for the persistence of wild elephants in its forests.

Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants

Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants PDF Author: Mathias Énard
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811227057
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
Michelangelo’s adventure in Constantinople, from the “mesmerizing” (New Yorker) and “masterful” (Washington Post) author of Compass In 1506, Michelangelo—a young but already renowned sculptor—is invited by the sultan of Constantinople to design a bridge over the Golden Horn. The sultan has offered, along with an enormous payment, the promise of immortality, since Leonardo da Vinci’s design was rejected: “You will surpass him in glory if you accept, for you will succeed where he has failed, and you will give the world a monument without equal.” Michelangelo, after some hesitation, flees Rome and an irritated Pope Julius II—whose commission he leaves unfinished—and arrives in Constantinople for this truly epic project. Once there, he explores the beauty and wonder of the Ottoman Empire, sketching and describing his impressions along the way, as he struggles to create what could be his greatest architectural masterwork. Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants—constructed from real historical fragments—is a thrilling page-turner about why stories are told, why bridges are built, and how seemingly unmatched fragments, seen from the opposite sides of civilization, can mirror one another.

17 Kings and 42 Elephants

17 Kings and 42 Elephants PDF Author: Margaret Mahy
Publisher: Dial Books
ISBN: 0803704585
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Seventeen kings and forty-two elephants romp with a variety of jungle animals during their journey through a wild, wet night. Suggested level: junior, primary.

The Land of the Elephant Kings

The Land of the Elephant Kings PDF Author: Paul J. Kosmin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674728823
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year The Seleucid Empire (311–64 BCE) was unlike anything the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds had seen. Stretching from present-day Bulgaria to Tajikistan—the bulk of Alexander the Great’s Asian conquests—the kingdom encompassed a territory of remarkable ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity; yet it did not include Macedonia, the ancestral homeland of the dynasty. The Land of the Elephant Kings investigates how the Seleucid kings, ruling over lands to which they had no historic claim, attempted to transform this territory into a coherent and meaningful space. “This engaging book appeals to the specialist and non-specialist alike. Kosmin has successfully brought together a number of disparate fields in a new and creative way that will cause a reevaluation of how the Seleucids have traditionally been studied.” —Jeffrey D. Lerner, American Historical Review “It is a useful and bright introduction to Seleucid ideology, history, and position in the ancient world.” —Jan P. Stronk, American Journal of Archaeology

Stalking the Elephant Kings

Stalking the Elephant Kings PDF Author: Christopher Kremmer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description


We Three Kings

We Three Kings PDF Author:
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 068982114X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
An illustrated edition of the traditional Christmas song.

Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions

Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions PDF Author: Frank L. Holt
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520244834
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Annotation A rare set of coin medallions is used to analyze Alexander the Great's reputation for invinceability in war. The book's backbone is the history of the discovery and interpretation of these medallions, to which are added the extraordinary story of Alexander, and a brief introduction to the science of numismatics.

The Retreat of the Elephants

The Retreat of the Elephants PDF Author: Mark Elvin
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300133537
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592

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Book Description
The eminent China scholar delivers a landmark study of Chinese culture’s relationship to the natural environment across thousands of years of history. Spanning the three millennia for which there are written records, The Retreat of the Elephants is the first comprehensive environmental history of China. It is also a treasure trove of literary, political, aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources, which allow the reader direct access to the views and feelings of Chinese people toward their environment and their landscape. China scholar and historian Mark Elvin chronicles the spread of the Chinese style of farming that eliminated elephant habitats; the destruction of most of the forests; the impacts of war on the landscape; and the re-engineering of the countryside through gigantic water-control systems. He documents the histories of three contrasting localities within China to show how ecological dynamics defined the lives of the inhabitants. And he shows that China in the eighteenth century was probably more environmentally degraded than northwestern Europe around this time. Indispensable for its new perspective on long-term Chinese history and its explanation of the roots of China’s present-day environmental crisis, this book opens a door into the Chinese past.

The Executive and the Elephant

The Executive and the Elephant PDF Author: Richard L. Daft
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470372265
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Lessons for leaders on resolving the ongoing struggle between instinct and the creative mind Kings, heads of government, and corporate executives lead thousands of people and manage endless resources, but may not have mastery over themselves. Often leaders know that right action is important, but have little (if any) understanding of what prevents them from acting in accordance with their intentions. In this important book, leadership expert Richard Daft portrays this dilemma as a struggle between instinct (elephant) and intention (the executive) using the most current research on the intentional vs. the habitual mind to explain how this phenomenon occurs. Based on current research and real-life examples Offers leaders a method for directing themselves more productively Written by an expert in leadership, organizational performance, and change management Through real-life examples and recent studies in psychology, management and Eastern spirituality Daft provides guidance to all of us who struggle finding our own balance and cultivating the behavior of others.

Everything Elephants

Everything Elephants PDF Author: Michael Don Knapik
Publisher: Schiffer Book for Collectors w
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
Images and information about a wide range of elephant collectibles. This compendium has over 900 color images in over 130 categories with current prices, covering virtually every major manufacturer and artist, past and recent. These include Aronson, Bayre, Bratsoff, Goebel, Lladro, Loetz, Meissen, Nast, Neiman, Passman, Ronson, Royal Doulton, Royal Haeger, Shawnee, Swarovski, Vanderveen, Wedgewood, and many, many more.