Persian War Elephants - Origin and Training

Origin and Training

The elephants were hired as mercenary troops with their riders. They came from Indian territories under Persian rule. Some historians say that some were from Iran. They were called the Syrian Elephant but this may be incorrect.

Persian war elephants were trained by their rider, called a mahout, who would also ride the elephant into battle. The mahouts were of Indian origin, and so were the archers. Training elephants was a difficult and they would be hard to maintain because they ate so much food and water. On the march, huge paths needed to be cut for the elephants. Many were kept in the shah's menagerie the most famous of which was Khosrau II where he kept a "thousand white elephants."