War elephant
War elephant | |
---|---|
Branch | Cavalry |
Engagements | Battle of the Hydaspes Battle of Zama Second Battle of Panipat Battle of Ambur |
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant-mounted troops.[1]
Description
War elephants played a critical role in several key
]Taming
An elephant trainer, rider, or keeper is called a
The first elephant species to be tamed was the
Capturing elephants from the wild remained a difficult task, but a necessary one given the difficulties of breeding in captivity and the long time required for an elephant to reach sufficient maturity to engage in battle. Sixty-year-old war elephants were always prized as being at the most suitable age for battle service and gifts of elephants of this age were seen as particularly generous.[7] Today an elephant is considered in its prime and at the height of its power between the ages of 25 and 40, yet elephants as old as 80 are used in tiger hunts because they are more disciplined and experienced.[8]
It is commonly thought that the reason all war elephants were male was because of males' greater aggression, but it was instead because a female elephant in battle will run from a male; therefore only males could be used in war, whereas female elephants were more commonly used for logistics.[9]
Antiquity
Indian subcontinent
There is uncertainty as to when elephant warfare first started, but it is widely accepted that it began in
The ancient Indian epics
Ancient Indian kings certainly valued the elephant in war, some stating that an army without elephants is as despicable as a forest without a lion, a kingdom without a king, or as valor unaided by weapons.[13] The use of elephants further increased with the rise of the Mahajanapadas. King Bimbisara (c. 543 BC), who began the expansion of the Magadha kingdom, relied heavily on his war elephants. The Mahajanapadas would be conquered by the Nanda Empire under the reign of Mahapadma Nanda. Pliny the Elder and Plutarch also estimated the Nanda Army strength in the east as 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. Alexander the Great would come in contact with the Nanda Empire on the banks of the Beas River and was forced to return due to his army's unwillingness to advance. Even if the numbers and prowess of these elephants were exaggerated by historic accounts, elephants were established firmly as war machines in this period.
Chandragupta Maurya (321–297 BC), formed the Maurya Empire, the largest empire to exist in South Asia. At the height of his power, Chandragupta is said to have wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots and 9,000 war elephants besides followers and attendants.
In the Mauryan Empire, the 30-member war office was made up of six boards. The sixth board looked after the elephants, and were headed by Gajadhyaksha. The gajadhyaksha was the superintendent of elephants and his qualifications. The use of elephants in the Maurya Empire as recorded by Chanakya in the Arthashastra. According to Chanakya; catching, training, and controlling war elephants was one of the most important skills taught by the military academies.[4] He advised Chandragupta to set up forested sanctuaries for the wellness of the elephants. Chanakya explicitly conveyed the importance of these sanctuaries. The Maurya Empire would reach its zenith under the reign of Ashoka, who used elephants extensively during his conquest. During the Kalinga War, Kalinga had a standing army of 60,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry and 700 war elephants. Kalinga was notable for the quality of their war elephants which were prized by its neighbors for being stronger.[14] Later the King Kharavela was to restore an independent Kalinga into a powerful kingdom using war elephants as stated in the Hathigumpha inscription or "Elephant Cave" Inscriptions.
Following Indian accounts foreign rulers would also adopt the use of elephants.
The
Sri Lanka made extensive use of elephants and also exported elephants with Pliny the Elder stating that the Sri Lankan elephants, for example, were larger, fiercer and better for war than local elephants. This superiority, as well as the proximity of the supply to seaports, made Sri Lanka's elephants a lucrative trading commodity.[16] Sri Lankan history records indicate elephants were used as mounts for kings leading their men in the battlefield,[17] with individual mounts being recorded in history. The elephant Kandula was King Dutugamunu's mount and Maha Pambata, 'Big Rock', the mount of King Ellalan during their historic encounter on the battlefield in 200 BC, for example.[18]
Eastern Asia
Elephants were used for warfare in China by a small handful of southern dynasties. The state of
... the soldiers of the first column were attacked by the elephants. The flags of Major-general of the Guards, Walda of the Yellow Banner, and of Lieutenant Ulehi of the Manchu-Mongol cavalry were captured. As the elephants closed in on the encircled soldiers of the second column, the arrows shot by all of my men [into the elephants’ hides] looked like the quills of a porcupine. The elephants fled towards the hills [but] I was greatly alarmed and had a strange feeling. The rebels withdrew from the plain and split into groups [to hide] in the thick forest of the mountain.[22]
— Dzengseo
Chinese armies faced off against war elephants in Southeast Asia, such as during the
Achaemenid Persia, Macedonia and Hellenistic Greek states
From India, military thinking on the use of war elephants spread westwards to the
By the time Alexander reached the borders of India five years later, he had a substantial number of elephants under his own command. When it came to defeating
Arrian described the subsequent fight: "[W]herever the beasts could wheel around, they rushed forth against the ranks of infantry and demolished the phalanx of the Macedonians, dense as it was."[33]
The Macedonians adopted the standard ancient tactic for fighting elephants, loosening their ranks to allow the elephants to pass through and assailing them with javelins as they tried to wheel around; they managed to pierce the unarmoured elephants' legs. The panicked and wounded elephants turned on the Indians themselves; the mahouts were armed with poisoned rods to kill the beasts but were slain by javelins and archers.[32][34]
Looking further east again, however, Alexander could see that the emperors and kings of the Nanda Empire and Gangaridai could deploy between 3,000 and 6,000 war elephants. Such a force was many times larger than the number of elephants employed by the Persians and Greeks, which probably discouraged Alexander's army and effectively halted their advance into India.[35] On his return, Alexander established a force of elephants to guard his palace at Babylon, and created the post of elephantarch to lead his elephant units.[29]
The successful military use of elephants spread further. The successors to Alexander's empire, the Diadochi, used hundreds of Indian elephants in their wars, with the Seleucid Empire being particularly notable for their use of the animals, still being largely brought from India. Indeed, the Seleucid–Mauryan war of 305–303 BC ended with the Seleucids ceding vast eastern territories in exchange for 500 war elephants[36] – a small part of the Mauryan forces, which included up to 9000 elephants by some accounts.[37] The Seleucids put their new elephants to good use at the Battle of Ipsus four years later, where they blocked the return of the victorious Antigonid cavalry, allowing the latter's phalanx to be isolated and defeated.
The first use of war elephants in Europe was made in 318 BC by
Although the use of war elephants in the western Mediterranean is most famously associated with the wars between
The
North Africa
The North African elephant was a significant animal in Nubian culture. They were depicted on the walls of temples and on Meroitic lamps. Kushite kings also utilize war elephants, which are believed to have been kept and trained in the "Great Enclosure" at Musawwarat al-Sufa. The Kingdom of Kush provided these war elephants to the Egyptians, Ptolemies and Syrians.[41]
The
Since the late 1940s, a strand of scholarship has argued that the African forest elephants used by Numidia, the Ptolemies and the
Farther south, tribes would have had access to the
Perhaps inspired by the victories of
Rome
Rome brought back many elephants at the end of the
Elephants also featured throughout the Roman campaign against the
Famously, the Romans used a war elephant in their
In the African campaign of the
By the time of Claudius however, such animals were being used by the Romans in single numbers only – the last significant use of war elephants in the Mediterranean was against the Romans at the battle of Thapsus, 46 BC, where Julius Caesar armed his fifth legion (Alaudae) with axes and commanded his legionaries to strike at the elephant's legs. The legion withstood the charge, and the elephant became its symbol. Thapsus was the last significant use of elephants in the West.[60] The remainder of the elephants seemed to have been thrown into panic by Caesar's archers and slingers.
Parthia and Sassanian Persia
The
The Sassanid elephant corps held primacy amongst the Sassanid cavalry forces and was recruited from
Aksumite Empire
The Kingdom of Aksum in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea made use of war elephants in 525 AD during the invasion of the Himyarite Kingdom in the Arabian peninsula. The war elephants used by the Aksumite army consisted of African savannah elephants,[64][full citation needed] a significantly larger and more temperamental species of elephant. War elephants were again put to use by an Aksumite army in the year 570 in a military expedition against the Quraysh of Mecca.[65]
Middle Ages
The
The Gupta Empire demonstrated extensive use of elephants in war and greatly expanded under the reign of Samudragupta. Local squads which each consisted of one elephant, one chariot, three armed cavalrymen, and five foot soldiers protected Gupta villages from raids and revolts. In times of war, the squads joined together to form a powerful imperial army. The Gupta Empire employed 'Mahapilupati', a position as an officer in charge of elephants. Emperors such as Kumaragupta struck coins depicted as elephant riders and lion slayers.[67]
Harsha established hegemony over most of North India. The Harshacharita composed by Bāṇabhaṭṭa describes the army under the rule of Harsha. Much like the Gupta Empire, his military consisted of infantry, cavalry, and elephants. Harsha received war elephants as tribute and presents from vassals. Some elephants were also obtained by forest rangers from the jungles. Elephants were additionally taken from defeated armies. Bana additionally details the diet of the elephants, recording that they each consumed 600 pounds of fodder consisting of trees with mangos and sugarcanes.[68]
The Chola dynasty and the Western Chalukya Empire maintained a large number of war elephants in the 11th and 12th century.[69] The war elephants of the Chola dynasty carried on their backs fighting towers which were filled with soldiers who would shoot arrows at long range.[70] The army of the Pala Empire was noted for its huge elephant corps, with estimates ranging from 5,000 to 50,000.[71]
The Ghaznavids were the first amongst the Islamic dynasties to incorporate war elephants into their tactical theories. They also used a large number of elephants in their battles. The Ghaznavids acquired their elephants as tribute from the Hindu princes and as war plunder. The sources usually list the number of beasts captured, and these frequently ran into hundreds, such as 350 from Qanauj and 185 from Mahaban in 409/1018-19, and 580 from the Raja Ganda in 410/1019-20. Utbi records that the Thanesar expedition of 405/1014-15 was provoked by Mahmad's desire to get some of the special breed of Sri lankan breed of elephants excellent in war [72]
In 1526,
In
In the
The
In
In Thailand, the king or general rode on the elephant's neck and carried
In Malaysia, 20 elephants battled the Portuguese during the Capture of Malacca (1511).
The Chinese continued to reject the use of war elephants throughout the period, with the notable exception of the
Modern era
With the advent of gunpowder warfare in the late 15th century, the balance of advantage for war elephants on the battlefield began to change. While muskets had limited impact on elephants, which could withstand numerous volleys,[86] cannon fire was a different matter entirely – an animal could easily be knocked down by a single shot. With elephants still being used to carry commanders on the battlefield, they became even more tempting targets for enemy artillery.
Nonetheless, in south-east Asia the use of elephants on the battlefield continued up until the end of the 19th century.
Into the 20th century, military elephants were used for non-combat purposes in the
Elephants were as of 2017 being used by the Kachin Independence Army for an auxiliary role.[95] Elephants are now more valuable to many armies in
Tactical use
There were many military purposes for which elephants could be used. In battle, war elephants were usually deployed in the centre of the line, where they could be useful to prevent a charge or to conduct one of their own. Their sheer size and their terrifying appearance made them valued heavy cavalry.[97] Off the battlefield they could carry heavy materiel, and with a top speed of approximately 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph) provided a useful means of transport, before mechanized vehicles rendered them mostly obsolete.[98]
In addition to charging, elephants could provide a safe and stable platform for archers to shoot arrows in the middle of the battlefield, from which more targets could be seen and engaged. The driver, called a
Besides the dawn of more efficient means of transportation and weaponry, war elephants also had clear tactical weaknesses that lead to their eventual retirement. After sustaining painful wounds, or when their driver was killed, elephants had the tendency to panic, often causing them to run amok indiscriminately, making casualties on either side. Experienced Roman infantrymen often tried to sever their trunks, causing instant distress, and possibly leading the elephant to flee back into its own lines. Fast skirmishers armed with javelins were also used by the Romans to drive them away, as well as flaming objects or a stout line of long spears, such as Triarii. Another method for disrupting elephant units in classical antiquity was the deployment of war pigs. Ancient writers believed that elephants could be "scared by the smallest squeal of a pig".[100] Some warlords, however, interpreted this expression literally. At the siege of Megara during the Diadochi wars, for example, the Megarians reportedly poured oil on a herd of pigs, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants, which subsequently bolted in terror.[101]
The value of war elephants in battle remains a contested issue. In the 19th century, it was fashionable to contrast the western, Roman focus on infantry and discipline with the eastern, exotic use of war elephants that relied merely on fear to defeat their enemy.[102] One writer commented that war elephants "have been found to be skittish and easily alarmed by unfamiliar sounds and for this reason they were found prone to break ranks and flee".[103] Nonetheless, the continued use of war elephants for several thousand years attests to their enduring value to the historical battlefield commander.[citation needed]
Cultural legacy
The use of war elephants over the centuries has left a deep cultural legacy in many countries. Many traditional war games incorporate war elephants. There is piece in chess called Elephant. While Englishmen call that piece
In the Japanese game shogi, there used to be a piece known as the "Drunken Elephant"; it was, however, dropped by order of the Emperor Go-Nara and no longer appears in the version played in today's Japan.
Elephant armour, originally designed for use in war, is today usually only seen in museums. One particularly fine set of Indian elephant armour is preserved at the Leeds Royal Armouries Museum, while Indian museums across the sub-continent display other fine pieces. The architecture of India also shows the deep impact of elephant warfare over the years. War elephants adorn many military gateways, such as those at Lohagarh Fort for example, while some spiked, anti-elephant gates still remain, for example at Kumbhalgarh fort. Across India, older gateways are invariably much higher than their European equivalents, in order to allow elephants with howdahs to pass through underneath.
War elephants also remain a popular artistic trope, either in the
In popular culture
Numerous strategy video games feature elephants as special units, usually available only to specific factions or requiring special resources. These include
In the 2004 film
In the 2017 video game Assassin's Creed Origins, they are distributed around the map as boss fights.[107][108]
In
In Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, an episode features war elephants fighting against Egyptians.
In Horizon Forbidden West, there are machines called Tremortusks, which are suited for combat and are based on war elephants.
See also
- Cavalry tactics
- Cultural depictions of elephants
- Execution by elephant
- History of elephants in Europe
- List of battles involving war elephants
- List of individual elephants
- Sassanid army
- Thai elephant
Citations
- Century Company. p. 2257. Also: elephantry (Wiktionary)
- ^ Lal, Dr Avantika. "Elephants In Ancient Indian Warfare". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Koehl, Dan. "Mahout". Elephant Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-522243-2. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ^ "History Of The Domestication Of Animal". Historyworld.net. Archived from the original on 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ Schafer 1957, pp. 289–90.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120804869. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120804869. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ^ Kistler 2006, p. xi.
- ^ Nossov 2008, p. 10.
- ^ Sankalia 1963.
- ^ "Elephants In Ancient Indian Warfare". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ Chakravarti 2003, pp. 48–49.
- ISBN 978-8173870750. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ISBN 9788120609204.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Book 6 of his 37 volume history, quoting Megasthenes had recorded the opinion of one Onesicritus.
- ^ "Sri Lankan Elephants". Lankalibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ "War Against King Elara". Mahavamsa.org. 2015-04-18. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ Peers 2006, p. 122.
- ISBN 978-1-84603-803-7. Archivedfrom the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Di Cosmo 2006, p. 33.
- ^ Di Cosmo 2006, p. 51.
- ISBN 0-618-13384-4.
- ^ Kiernan 2019, p. 158.
- ^ Andrade 2016, p. 157.
- ^ Sun 2006, p. 79.
- ^ Andrade 2019, p. 82.
- ^ Chinnock, p. 38.
- ^ a b Nossov 2008, p. 19.
- ^ Quintus Curtius Rufus. Historiae Alexandri Magni. 8.13.6.
- ^ Metz Epitome. 54
- ^ ISBN 978-8178241098. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ^ Arrian. "Book V, Chapter XVII.Defeat of Porus". The Anabasis of Alexander. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14., Book 5, Chapter 17
- ^ "The Anabasis of Alexander; or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great. Literally translated, with a commentary, from the Greek of Arrian, the Nicomedian". 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ Plutarch. The Life of Alexander the Great. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006.
- ^ Fox 2004.
- ^ Pliny. Natural History. VI, 22.4
- .
- Wars. i.i.§ 1
- ^ 1 Maccabees 6:32–33; 4 Maccabees 1:7–10; Josephus. Antiquities. (12.9.3–4); Josephus. Wars. (1.1.5) [Wars 1,37]; Josephus. Against Apion. (II.§ 5)
- ISBN 9789774164781.
- ^ Elephas maximus asurus.
- ^ Wilford, John Noble (September 18, 1984). "The Mystery of Hannibal's Elephants". New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^ Nossov, p. 30.
- ^ Scullard (1948); (1974) 240–245
- ^ Caesar, De Bello Africo 30.2, 41.2, 86.1.
- ^ J. Mazard, Corpus Nummorum Numidiae Mauretaniaeque (Paris 1955) 103, no. 276, pl. 247
- ^ Polybius v.84.2–7
- ^ Rance (2009)
- Egyptians at the battle of Raphia in 217 BC were smaller than their Asian counterparts, for example, but that did not guarantee victory for Antiochus III the Greatof Syria.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Book 6 of his 37 volume history, quoting Megasthenes had recorded the opinion of one Onesicritus.
- ^ "The Battle of Cynoscephalae". Archived from the original on 2009-05-03.
- ^ Horace White, ed. (1899). The Syrian Wars, IV, 16–20.
- ^ Davis 1999, p. 51
- ^ Appian. Roman History, Book 6, The wars in Spain. pp. 46–47.
- ^ Appian. Roman History, Book 6, The wars in Spain. p. 67.
- ^ Polyaenus, (VIII, 23.5).
- ISBN 978-0-7112-2801-6.
- ^ De Bello Africano. Translated by Pere J. Quetglas. Madrid: Editorial Gredos. 2005. p. 390.
- ^ Gowers 1947
- from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ Rance 2003; Charles 2007
- ^ Rawlinson 1885, p. 189
- from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- ^ W. Müller (1987). "Outline of the History of Ancient Southern Arabia". In Werner Daum (ed.). Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilisation in Arabia Felix. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4738-8982-8. Archivedfrom the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ISBN 978-8120800892. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ISBN 978-1-139-57684-0. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ^ Kaushik Roy. Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia.[verification needed]
- ^ Pradeep Barua. The State at War in South Asia. p. 18. [verification needed]
- ^ "Elephants In Ancient Indian Warfare". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2018-10-13. [verification needed]
- ^ Bosworth, C. E., ed. (1963). The Ghaznivids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Iran. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 115–116.
- ^ (Lahiri Choudhury 1988)
- ^ a b c "Elephants in Sri Lankan History and Culture". Artsrilanka.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
- ISBN 1-930409-11-7.
- ^ Kistler 2006, p. 200
- ^ Kistler 2006, p. 197
- ^ Joregensen, Niderost & Rice 2008, p. 88
- ^ Observed in Thailand as Armed Forces Day.
- ^ Terwiel 2013, pp. 22–25
- ^ Chakrabongse, C. (1960). Lords of Life. London: Alvin Redman Limited.
- ^ a b Schafer 1957, p. 290
- ^ Schafer 1957, pp. 290–91
- ^ a b c d Schafer 1957, p. 291
- ^ Sun 2003, p. 15 note 107
- ^ Nossov, p. 14.
- ^ "Indian elephant battery". Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ "Victorian Web". Archived from the original on 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ "Elephant battery during the Second Afghan War". Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ Buckle, E. (1852). "Memoir of Bengal Artillery, page 197". Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ "Edinburgh Review, page 271". 1889. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ "War Veteran Elephant Dies". BBC News. 2003-02-26. Archived from the original on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ Williams, James Howard Elephant Bill (Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1954)
- ^ "Vietnam War Elephants". 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Winn, Patrick (February 27, 2017). "War elephants still exist. But only in one forbidding place". theworld.org. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "FM 3-05.213 (FM 31-27) Special Forces Use of Pack Animals" (PDF). John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Moerbeck, Martijn (1997). "Tactics of the War Elephant". Monolith Community. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ Levy, Dawn. "Speedy elephants use a biomechanical trick to 'run' like Groucho". Stanford News Service. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ De la Garza, Andrew (2010). Mughals at War: Babur, Akbar and the Indian Military Revolution, 1500–1605 (Thesis). Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University. pp. 103–132. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Pliny the Elder VIII, 1.27.
- ^ Aelian. de Natura Animalium. Book XVI, ch. 36. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ^ Said 1978.
- ^ Jayawardhene 1994.
- ^ "Toomai of the Elephants". Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- ^ McCoy, Jessica (28 March 2014). "History Throughout The Ages – The War Elephant". Age of Empires. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ Calvert, Justin (3 September 2003). "Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Dennis, Catrina (25 November 2017). "Assassin's Creed: Origins Player Actually Punches A War Elephant Into Submission". Comicbook. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- vg247. Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- Penske Business Media, LLC. Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "How was The Lord of the Rings influenced by World War One?". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
General and cited references
- ISBN 978-0-691-13597-7.
- Andrade, Tonio (2019), "How Yongle learned to stop worrying and love the gun: Perspectives on Early Ming Military", in Ken, Swope (ed.), The Ming World, Taylor & Francis, pp. 71–87, ISBN 978-1-00-013466-7
- Chakravarti, P.C (2003). The Art of War in Ancient India.
- Charles, Michael B. (2007). "The Rise of the Sassanian Elephant Corps: Elephants and the Later Roman Empire". Iranica Antiqua. 42: 301–346. .
- Chinnock, E. J. The Anabasis of Alexander: The Battle of Gaugamela by Arrian. (trans).
- Davis, Paul K. (1999). 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The World's Major Battles and How They Shaped History.
- Di Cosmo, Nicola (2006), The Diary of Manchu Soldier in Seventeenth-Century China
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne; Palais, James (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston: ISBN 0-618-13384-4.
- ISBN 0-14-102076-8.
- ISBN 0-304-36642-0.
- Gowers, William (1947). "The African Elephant in Warfare". African Affairs. 46 (182). Oxford University Press: 42–49. JSTOR 718841.
- Jayawardhene, Jayantha (1994). Elephant in Sri Lanka.
- Joregensen, Christer; Niderost, Eric; Rice, Rob S. (2008). Fighting Techniques of the Oriental World. Amber Books.
- ISBN 0-679-73082-6.
- Kiernan, Ben (2019). Việt Nam: a history from earliest time to the present. ISBN 978-0-19-005379-6.
- Kistler, John M. (2006). War Elephants. Westport, CT: Praeger.
- Lahiri Choudhury, D.K. (1988). "The Indian elephant in a changing world". In C.M. Borden (ed.). Conternporary Indian Tradition. Washington D.C. USA: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 303–321.
- Nossov, Konstantin (2008). War Elephants. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-84603-268-4..
- Peers, C.J. (2006), Soldiers of the Dragon: Chinese Armies 1500 BC – AD 1840, Osprey Publishing Ltd
- Rance, Philip (2003). "Elephants in Warfare in Late Antiquity". Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 43 (3–4): 355–84. .
- Rance, Philip (2009). "Hannibal, Elephants and Turrets in Suda Θ 438 [Polybius Fr. 162B] – An Unidentified Fragment of Diodorus". Classical Quarterly. 59 (1): 91–111. S2CID 170387260.
- Rawlinson, George (1885). The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World: The Seventh Monarchy: History of the Sassanian or New Persian Empire (2007 reprint ed.). ISBN 978-1-4286-4792-3.
- ISBN 0-394-74067-X..
- Sankalia, H.D. (1963). Ramayana: Myth or Reality. New Delhi: People's Publishing House. OCLC 1170237.
- Schafer, Edward H. (1957). "War Elephants in Ancient and Medieval China". Oriens. 10 (2): 289–91. JSTOR 1579643.
- Scullard, H. (1948). "Hannibal's elephants". Numismatic Chronicle. Series 6. 8: 158–68.
- Scullard, H. H. (1974). The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-40025-3.
- Sun, Laichen (2003). "Chinese Military Technology and Dai Viet: c. 1390–1497". Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series No. 11. Singapore: Asia Research Institute.
- Sun, Laichen (2006). "Chinese Gunpowder Technology and Đại Việt, ca. 1390–1497". In Reid, Anthony; Tran, Nhung Tuyet (eds.). Viet Nam: Borderless Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 72–120. ISBN 978-1-316-44504-4.
- Terwiel, Barend Jan (2013). "What Happened at Nong Sarai? Comparing Indigenous and European Sources for Late 16th Century Siam". Journal of the Siam Society. 101.
- Wade, Geoff; Sun, Laichen (2010). Southeast Asia in the Fifteenth Century: The China Factor. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-9971-69-448-7.
- White, Horace, ed. (1899). The Roman History of Appian of Alexandria. Vol. I. London; New York: George Bell and Sons. Vol. II (of 2).