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
Famous quotes containing the words war and/or elephants:
“When they are not at war they do a little hunting, but spend most of their time in idleness, sleeping and eating. The strongest and most warlike do nothing. They vegetate, while the care of hearth and home and fields is left to the women, the old and the weak. Strange inconsistency of temperament, which makes the same men lovers of sloth and haters of tranquility.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)
“Be wary of passing the judgment: obscure. To find something obscure poses no difficulty: elephants and poodles find many things obscure.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)