09-05-2009, 07:38 AM
I don't know where I originally heard it, but I always thought that the sadly now-extinct Loxodonta africana pharaoensis used by Carthage during the Punic Wars were much smaller than the (also now-extinct) Elephas maximus asurus used by the Seleucids, and that they weren't physically capable of carrying a howdah with additional firepower on their backs. The absolutely monstrous Syrians were actually a type of Indian Elephant, for the record.
And the only Punic coin with an elephant that I've ever seen was the "Hamilcar/Hasdrubal as Fred Flintstone" shekel in the British Museum with the small elephant and a driver, without a howdah:
![[Image: k137279_m.jpg]](http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/k137279_m.jpg)
I think it might have been in one of those Osprey books.
But recently I checked the mail and opened the latest issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine, and Lo & Behold, I see on page 17:
I can't find an image of the statuette in question online, or I would. But my world has been turned upside down! :wink:
Does anyone know any more information about ancient depictions of Carthaginian war elephants? I haven't seen enough, with or without howdah, to say whether one depiction or the other was more common.
But biologists say the Loxodonta africana pharaoensis was roughly the same size as today's African Forest Elephant, which is actually relatively small, only about 8 feet in height.
That's only a little bit larger than, for example, a moose. Seems like a structure large enough to protect a warrior on top would make for a tight squeeze.
And I was just leafing through Polybius, and a few things caught my eye.
As a former cavalry officer himself Polybius had a sharp eye for military details, and his precise descriptions of battlefield maneuvers are among the best features of his Histories. And again and again throughout his work he seems to refer to the elephants specifically as animals whose primary use was a headlong charge directly into enemy formations. Not a word about towers on Carthaginian elephants, not with a spearman nor for use as missile platforms to pepper the enemy from a distance.
And one line in particular seemed interesting; in his description of the Battle of Adys (Book 1, 30), Polybius said that the two Carthaginian commanders unwisely chose to march over rocky, uneven terrain along a ridge unsuitable for cavalry, where their "most effective and formidable arm had been rendered useless to them by their choice of ground."
The Romans attacked, and he says "In the battle which followed the elephants and the cavalry could play no part at all, but their mercenary troops delivered a gallant and vigorous charge, and forced the first legion to give ground and take flight."
Now this is speculation, but it seems that if those elephants had howdahs on top, and they weren't able to charge the enemy, they could still "play a part" albeit a minor one by throwing javelins or shooting arrows? If so, then maybe Polybius would have mentioned this, maybe not. Again, just speculation but worth a thought.
Worth noting that in his description of the Battle of Raphia, Polybius does mention towers specifically on the backs of Seleucid elephants (or Ptolemaic? Ambiguous text): "A few only of Ptolemy's elephants ventured to close with those of the enemy, and now the men in the towers on the back of these beasts made a gallant fight of it, striking with their pikes at close quarters and wounding each other, while the elephants themselves fought still better, putting forth their whole strength and meeting forehead to forehead."
Note the guys in the howdah were fighting with spears, not missiles. But it seems like every time Polybius mentions Carthaginian elephants, he describes them quite vividly charging directly at the enemy's line, and on such a small beast it seems like a howdah would make them awfully tipsy and awkward.
But I seem to remember some ancient historian saying specifically that Hannibal used his elephants as missile platforms during the Battle of the River Trebia? I haven't read Livy yet; does anyone know if that was him? There is no English translation of his text online, if I'm not mistaken.
If so, that gives me a theory about the Pompeii statuette in Ancient Warfare Magazine. Perhaps Livy heard somewhere that Hannibal used elephants with howdahs and archers during his campaign against Rome, and he wrote that in his history. And perhaps his description of Rome's war against Hannibal became a sort of pop culture thing that spawned spinoff merchandise in Italy? Maybe Roman parents told their children stories about Scipio defeating Hannibal and bought some cute little anachronistic and historically inaccurate trinkets for them to play with?
Maybe this statuette is sort of like the ancient equivalent of today's HBO Rome DVD, with those legionary costumes with the slight inaccuracies that were probably accidental?
I'll have to see some more ancient depictions of Carthaginian elephants before I jump to a conclusion like this, but I was just thinkin'...
And the only Punic coin with an elephant that I've ever seen was the "Hamilcar/Hasdrubal as Fred Flintstone" shekel in the British Museum with the small elephant and a driver, without a howdah:
I think it might have been in one of those Osprey books.
But recently I checked the mail and opened the latest issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine, and Lo & Behold, I see on page 17:
Quote:a statuette from Pompeii, now in the Naples museum, clearly depicts an African elephant with a tower. The head shape, trunk features, rounded ear shape, and smaller straight tusks are all definitely African. This statuette probably depicts one of Hannibal's elephants, or possibly a Numidian allied elephant of Rome's Eastern wars.
I can't find an image of the statuette in question online, or I would. But my world has been turned upside down! :wink:
Does anyone know any more information about ancient depictions of Carthaginian war elephants? I haven't seen enough, with or without howdah, to say whether one depiction or the other was more common.
But biologists say the Loxodonta africana pharaoensis was roughly the same size as today's African Forest Elephant, which is actually relatively small, only about 8 feet in height.
That's only a little bit larger than, for example, a moose. Seems like a structure large enough to protect a warrior on top would make for a tight squeeze.
And I was just leafing through Polybius, and a few things caught my eye.
As a former cavalry officer himself Polybius had a sharp eye for military details, and his precise descriptions of battlefield maneuvers are among the best features of his Histories. And again and again throughout his work he seems to refer to the elephants specifically as animals whose primary use was a headlong charge directly into enemy formations. Not a word about towers on Carthaginian elephants, not with a spearman nor for use as missile platforms to pepper the enemy from a distance.
And one line in particular seemed interesting; in his description of the Battle of Adys (Book 1, 30), Polybius said that the two Carthaginian commanders unwisely chose to march over rocky, uneven terrain along a ridge unsuitable for cavalry, where their "most effective and formidable arm had been rendered useless to them by their choice of ground."
The Romans attacked, and he says "In the battle which followed the elephants and the cavalry could play no part at all, but their mercenary troops delivered a gallant and vigorous charge, and forced the first legion to give ground and take flight."
Now this is speculation, but it seems that if those elephants had howdahs on top, and they weren't able to charge the enemy, they could still "play a part" albeit a minor one by throwing javelins or shooting arrows? If so, then maybe Polybius would have mentioned this, maybe not. Again, just speculation but worth a thought.
Worth noting that in his description of the Battle of Raphia, Polybius does mention towers specifically on the backs of Seleucid elephants (or Ptolemaic? Ambiguous text): "A few only of Ptolemy's elephants ventured to close with those of the enemy, and now the men in the towers on the back of these beasts made a gallant fight of it, striking with their pikes at close quarters and wounding each other, while the elephants themselves fought still better, putting forth their whole strength and meeting forehead to forehead."
Note the guys in the howdah were fighting with spears, not missiles. But it seems like every time Polybius mentions Carthaginian elephants, he describes them quite vividly charging directly at the enemy's line, and on such a small beast it seems like a howdah would make them awfully tipsy and awkward.
But I seem to remember some ancient historian saying specifically that Hannibal used his elephants as missile platforms during the Battle of the River Trebia? I haven't read Livy yet; does anyone know if that was him? There is no English translation of his text online, if I'm not mistaken.
If so, that gives me a theory about the Pompeii statuette in Ancient Warfare Magazine. Perhaps Livy heard somewhere that Hannibal used elephants with howdahs and archers during his campaign against Rome, and he wrote that in his history. And perhaps his description of Rome's war against Hannibal became a sort of pop culture thing that spawned spinoff merchandise in Italy? Maybe Roman parents told their children stories about Scipio defeating Hannibal and bought some cute little anachronistic and historically inaccurate trinkets for them to play with?
Maybe this statuette is sort of like the ancient equivalent of today's HBO Rome DVD, with those legionary costumes with the slight inaccuracies that were probably accidental?
I'll have to see some more ancient depictions of Carthaginian elephants before I jump to a conclusion like this, but I was just thinkin'...
