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யானைகளும் அரசர்களும்: சுற்றுச்சூழல் வரலாறு
இந்த நூலில் ஆசிரியரின் கவனம் போர் யானைகளைப் பற்றியது.
காலாட்படை, குதிரைப்படை, தேர், இவற்றுடன் யானைப்படையும் ஒன்றாக இருந்தது. ஒரு காலகட்டத்தில் இந்திய மன்னனின் படையில் குதிரைகளைவிட யானைகள் மிகுந்திருந்தன. குதிரையை இறக்குமதி செய்தாக வேண்டும். ஆனால் முதிர்ந்த யானைகளைக் காட்டிலிருந்து பிடித்துக் கொண்டுவந்து பழக்கினார்கள்.
ஏறக்குறைய மூவாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளாக யானைகள் ஆசியாவின் பல போர்க்களங்களில் இயங்கின. முற்றுகையிடுதலிலும் கோட்டை கொத்தளங்களை தாக்குவதிலும் யானைகள் முக்கிய பங்காற்றின. அரசர்கள் யானையின் சிறப்பை உணர்ந்திருந்ததால் காடுகளைப் பாதுகாப்பதின் தேவையை அவர்கள் அறிந்திருந்தார்கள் என்கிறார் நூலாசிரியர். இந்தியாவிலிருந்து போர்யானை எவ்வாறு மேற்கு நாடுகளுக்கும், கிழக்கு நாடுகளுக்கும் பரவியது என்பதையும் டிரவுட்மன் விளக்குகிறார்.
காலாட்படை, குதிரைப்படை, தேர், இவற்றுடன் யானைப்படையும் ஒன்றாக இருந்தது. ஒரு காலகட்டத்தில் இந்திய மன்னனின் படையில் குதிரைகளைவிட யானைகள் மிகுந்திருந்தன. குதிரையை இறக்குமதி செய்தாக வேண்டும். ஆனால் முதிர்ந்த யானைகளைக் காட்டிலிருந்து பிடித்துக் கொண்டுவந்து பழக்கினார்கள்.
ஏறக்குறைய மூவாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளாக யானைகள் ஆசியாவின் பல போர்க்களங்களில் இயங்கின. முற்றுகையிடுதலிலும் கோட்டை கொத்தளங்களை தாக்குவதிலும் யானைகள் முக்கிய பங்காற்றின. அரசர்கள் யானையின் சிறப்பை உணர்ந்திருந்ததால் காடுகளைப் பாதுகாப்பதின் தேவையை அவர்கள் அறிந்திருந்தார்கள் என்கிறார் நூலாசிரியர். இந்தியாவிலிருந்து போர்யானை எவ்வாறு மேற்கு நாடுகளுக்கும், கிழக்கு நாடுகளுக்கும் பரவியது என்பதையும் டிரவுட்மன் விளக்குகிறார்.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 22, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 16, 2025
Be forewarned. To my disappointment this book's focus is only on Asian WAR elephants and not about wild or captive elephants. The first half of the book is a real treat for proboscideans enthusiasts like me. Lot of unknown information about Asian elephants, its historic distribution (Surprised to learn the historical range of Asian elephants extended to Syria in the west to Northern China in the East.) , its historic habitat, and other general information. But, that is where my liking for this book stopped. The second half is very academic, dry, mind numbing and repetitive. Author draws information heavily from Arthashastra, Ain-i-Akbari and other mythologies. Nevertheless, a different micro-history book and elephant enthusiasts will enjoy this book to some extent.
May 20, 2020
An amazing book that provides a detailed glimpse into the intricate relationship between man and these highly intelligent pachyderms. Trautmann carefully explains how the usage of elephants as cranes, bulldozers, transportation means, and war machines actually enabled elephants to maintain a healthy population in South Asian forests.
Trautmann starts with the history of the various species and leads the reader on a marvelous path through intense warring kingdoms of antiquity and medieval ages leaving no stone unturned in this symbiotic relationship between man and beast. A must-read for any lover of elephants, history and war.
Trautmann starts with the history of the various species and leads the reader on a marvelous path through intense warring kingdoms of antiquity and medieval ages leaving no stone unturned in this symbiotic relationship between man and beast. A must-read for any lover of elephants, history and war.
May 1, 2021
The book attempts to be a longue durée study of the interlinkages between elephants and kingship. While studying these links the author also attempts to explore the resulting impact on the environment, elephant population and people on the margins of kingdoms in ancient India. The thrust of the book is a comparative study of the different trajectory of elephant's history in India and China. Both had extensive elephant populations in the past. But while Chinese elephants became extinct and were forgotten, Indian elephant population remained relatively steady till the 1800s.
According to the author, the institution of war elephant explains this difference. The tanks of yesteryears, they were used for breaking enemy morale, siege warfare, transporting supplies, as conveyances, and ceremonial purposes. It helped give a decisive edge to states in warfare. However, elephants are really expensive to maintain. They need close to 150 kilos of grass per day and cannot be used till they are 20 years old. This meant that it was economically expedient to capture elephants from a forest, and then train them to fight wars, rather than raise them in captivity. This forced kings to maintain elephant habitats and protect them from poachers. Improved gun quality finally made elephants redundant in war in the 1800s breaking down the internal logic for elephant protection by the state, resulting in a systematic collapse in their numbers.
Because of the costs involved in the capture and training of elephants Trautmann argues that ancient kingship was the only political institution with the resources to capture them, from which the practice spread to republics. This ability of kings to capture and deploy elephants symbolized their primacy, particularly since they needed to establish a hierarchy of rank to secure their own place at top. Through hunts, capture, display and tribute of elephants this primacy was displayed in multiple ways. He further argues that the institution of war elephant spread from India to the rest of the world, along with ideas of kingship associated with it. He details their role to the West of India (Carthage, Greeks, Ptolemaic Egypt, Rome) and South-East Asia.
The author then comes full circle and resumes the discussion of why elephants died out in China but prospered in India, for the Chinese knew about war elephants through their contact with non-Han states. He argues that the Chinese land ethic (a fundamental choice or preference about how land should be partitioned among its uses) was the reason. For pastoralism and grazing, unlike India, were separate from farming in China. Indian consumption of dairy (which encouraged cattle rearing) and reliance on animal power (ex- Ox cart) unlike Chinese reliance on human (wheelbarrow) and water (canals) power also played a part in extolling agriculture. Elephants were drawn to human agriculture for food. In India the need for war elephants forced kings to protect them from farmers but in China the kings sided completely with the farmers. He ends the book with a discussion of elephant use in the timber industry in the 19th and 20th century and its future prospects.
While the book is smooth and readable, I am not sure how much I would recommend it to people. The work is ambitious in its scope and I found its broad arguments compelling. But it is also repetitive, rehashing arguments and data to prove its point. Also, while the data from China is useful for understanding the different trajectory the history of elephants took in South and South-East Asia, I am not sure about his decision to go into the minutiae of army structures and battle arrays and how these were later copied by Kingdoms in other regions. Or the details of how South-East Asian states copied Indian ideas of kingship. A lot of this information was interesting but I am not sure if they added to the main thesis. A book half the size could probably have made the same arguments with the same force.
According to the author, the institution of war elephant explains this difference. The tanks of yesteryears, they were used for breaking enemy morale, siege warfare, transporting supplies, as conveyances, and ceremonial purposes. It helped give a decisive edge to states in warfare. However, elephants are really expensive to maintain. They need close to 150 kilos of grass per day and cannot be used till they are 20 years old. This meant that it was economically expedient to capture elephants from a forest, and then train them to fight wars, rather than raise them in captivity. This forced kings to maintain elephant habitats and protect them from poachers. Improved gun quality finally made elephants redundant in war in the 1800s breaking down the internal logic for elephant protection by the state, resulting in a systematic collapse in their numbers.
Because of the costs involved in the capture and training of elephants Trautmann argues that ancient kingship was the only political institution with the resources to capture them, from which the practice spread to republics. This ability of kings to capture and deploy elephants symbolized their primacy, particularly since they needed to establish a hierarchy of rank to secure their own place at top. Through hunts, capture, display and tribute of elephants this primacy was displayed in multiple ways. He further argues that the institution of war elephant spread from India to the rest of the world, along with ideas of kingship associated with it. He details their role to the West of India (Carthage, Greeks, Ptolemaic Egypt, Rome) and South-East Asia.
The author then comes full circle and resumes the discussion of why elephants died out in China but prospered in India, for the Chinese knew about war elephants through their contact with non-Han states. He argues that the Chinese land ethic (a fundamental choice or preference about how land should be partitioned among its uses) was the reason. For pastoralism and grazing, unlike India, were separate from farming in China. Indian consumption of dairy (which encouraged cattle rearing) and reliance on animal power (ex- Ox cart) unlike Chinese reliance on human (wheelbarrow) and water (canals) power also played a part in extolling agriculture. Elephants were drawn to human agriculture for food. In India the need for war elephants forced kings to protect them from farmers but in China the kings sided completely with the farmers. He ends the book with a discussion of elephant use in the timber industry in the 19th and 20th century and its future prospects.
While the book is smooth and readable, I am not sure how much I would recommend it to people. The work is ambitious in its scope and I found its broad arguments compelling. But it is also repetitive, rehashing arguments and data to prove its point. Also, while the data from China is useful for understanding the different trajectory the history of elephants took in South and South-East Asia, I am not sure about his decision to go into the minutiae of army structures and battle arrays and how these were later copied by Kingdoms in other regions. Or the details of how South-East Asian states copied Indian ideas of kingship. A lot of this information was interesting but I am not sure if they added to the main thesis. A book half the size could probably have made the same arguments with the same force.
October 28, 2022
With due respect, Trautmann's research has no credibility on the subject.
His 'historic findings' are based on mythical hearsays - Ramayana and Mahabharata - which is utter nonsense.
Though he claims to talk about "Indian history", it is basically confined only to the north western part of Indian subcontinent. No mention about the South Indian kings and culture where elephants were, and still are, a part of.
There are archeological evidences of the south Kings shipping out elephants to south Asia as part of their many campaigns. But there is no mention about that in the book. There is no significant information about elephants as a species either.
His 'historic findings' are based on mythical hearsays - Ramayana and Mahabharata - which is utter nonsense.
Though he claims to talk about "Indian history", it is basically confined only to the north western part of Indian subcontinent. No mention about the South Indian kings and culture where elephants were, and still are, a part of.
There are archeological evidences of the south Kings shipping out elephants to south Asia as part of their many campaigns. But there is no mention about that in the book. There is no significant information about elephants as a species either.
June 30, 2021
An authentic study of Indian & African elephants from prehistory to modern times.
A must read for somebody who wants to correlate royalty with the majestic creature
A must read for somebody who wants to correlate royalty with the majestic creature
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews