Ghaznavid War Elephants
The Ghaznavids used armored war elephants against the Turks of Central Asia and the Hindus of India in the 11th and 12th centuries. Islamic historians record that a standing force of 1000 elephants was maintained at Ghazni (also: Ghazna), the capital, and that as many as 400, 500, or even 700 elephants were deployed in some campaigns by the famed (and ferocious) Mahmud; purportedly, each animal had a crew of four archers and/or spearmen borne in "castle-like" structures on the elephants' backs.
Read more about this topic: Persian War Elephants
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