Animals have played essential roles in combat throughout history. Until the relatively recent mechanisation of warfare, the cavalry was an essential element of many armies, whilst mules, donkeys, and even occasionally camels, each played vital roles in terms of logistics and army supply. For the ancient Greek world, however, few animals are more striking than the war-elephant.
Originating in ancient India, war-elephants were first encountered on the battlefield by the Greco-Macedonians during Alexander the Great’s campaigns. Following Alexander’s death (323/2 B.C.), these animals rapidly became a significant element of all Hellenistic armies, and remained a dominant feature on the battlefield for over 150 years. Nevertheless, modern scholarship has typically dismissed war-elephants as expensive and unreliable weapons that soon lost their decisive edge, becoming nothing more than a hindrance to the armies that used them. Such an approach, however, creates a crucial misunderstanding of their battlefield use and does an injustice to the complex nature of Hellenistic warfare and the socio-political dynamics that are so fundamental to this period.
In this talk, Silvannen will explore the uses of war-elephants, offering some new suggestions to explain their continued battlefield presence throughout the Hellenistic period. In particular, this talk will focus on the ability of war-elephants to symbolise kingship, and the importance of prestige and power projection for Hellenistic commanders. Additionally, the modern military theory of combined arms warfare will also be offered as a potential corrective to our understanding of this animal’s integration in ancient warfare
More information on the webinar series main page.
Image credit: Julian Winchester