Raiders, Rulers, and Traders

The Horse and the Rise of Empires

De: David Chaffetz

Narrado por: Paul Boehmer

No animal is so entangled in human history as the horse. The thread starts in prehistory, with a slight, shy animal, hunted for food. Domesticating the horse allowed early humans to settle the vast Eurasian steppe; later, their horses enabled new forms of warfare, encouraged long-distance trade routes, and ended up acquiring deep cultural and religious significance.

Over time, horses came to power mighty empires in Iran, Afghanistan, China, India, and, later, Russia. Genghis Khan and the thirteenth-century Mongols offer the most famous example, but from ancient Assyria and Persia, to the seventeenth-century Mughals, to the high noon of colonialism in the early twentieth century, horse breeding was indispensable to conquest and statecraft.

Scholar of Asian history David Chaffetz tells the story of how the horse made rulers, raiders, and traders interchangeable, providing a novel explanation for the turbulent history of the "Silk Road," which might be better called the Horse Road. Drawing on recent research in fields including genetics and forensic archeology, Chaffetz presents a lively history of the great horse empires that shaped civilization.

©2024 David Chaffetz (P)2024 Tantor

superb!

This book was wonderfully entertaining and educational.
I will never look at horse again without fascination.

Fascinating history and insights

As a lifelong horse person and avid reader, I was surprised at the fundamental difference in understanding of horses and history this book gave me. Fascinating.

Amazing breath of scope

Stunning recounting of mankind’s history with the horse. The “whole history” approach was stunning as it covered pre-history up to the present day.