The Horse in Achaemenid Persia

caption id=”attachment_288″ align=”alignnone” width=”300″] Persian horseman depicted on a felt saddlecloth from Pazyrik, fifth century BCE[/caption]

At the moment I’m co-authoring (with my friend and colleague Dr Sian Lewis of St Andrews University) a book about animals in the ancient world. Right now, I’m writing about horses in the ancient Near East, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to write a few brief words about the importance of the horse in Achaemenid society.
For a nomadic people like the Persians, the horse had a significant practical and symbolic purpose and the importance of horses among the Iranian nobility is evidenced by the fact that many of them bore names compounded with the Old Persian word aspa – ‘horse’. Several of Darius I’s inscriptions note that Persia was a land containing both good men and good horses (DZe §1; DPd §2) and Herodotus famously states that Persian fathers were intent on teaching their sons ‘to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth’ (1. 136; see also Strabo 15. 3.18). The premium Persian horses were bred in the alfalfa-rich plains of Media, and it was here that the main royal stud farms were located (Polybius 10.70). Most prized of all were those steeds bred on the plains of Nisaea near Ecbatana and Bisitun, and Nisaean horses became celebrated for their magnificence, fine proportions, and swiftness (Herodotus 3. 106, 7. 40; Aristotle, History of Animals 9. 50.30). Nisaea is said to have sustained 160,000 horses (Diodorus 17.110), although stiff competition came from Media and Armenia which were also used for breeding good steeds (Strabo, Geography 11. 13.7; 11. 13.8, 14.9), as were the provinces of Babylonia (where one satrap possessed 800 stallions and 16,000 mares; Herodotus 1. 192), Cilicia (which provided an annual tribute of 360 white horses; Herodotus 3. 90), Chorasmia, Bactria, Sogdiana, and lands of the Saka which provided the Empire with its cavalry (Tuplin 2001b for a full discussion). The Persepolis texts often speak of horses (as well as mules and donkeys), usually in the context of their food provisions and maintenance but also as property of the king or members of his family. Here are some examples:
Tell Harrena the cattle chief, Parnaka spoke as follows: ‘13 sheep and 5 portions issue to Bakatanna the horseman and his companions who feed (?) the horses and mules of the king and of the princes (at) Karakušan. (It?) has been changed (?). 135 men, 1 sheep received by each 10 men.’
Month 7, year 19, this sealed document was delivered. Karkiš wrote (it). Maraza communicated the message.
6 (BAR of grain), delivered (in accordance with) a sealed document of Iršena, Masana the hamarnabattiš received, and 1 young horse, maintained at Hadaran consumed (it as) rations. (For) 1 month, the 5th, (in) the 19th year; it consumed 2 QA daily…
63 (BAR of grain), delivered (in accordance with) a sealed document of Iršena, Kunsuš the horseman, (for whom) Yaumanizza (does) the apportioning, received, and I ber (mature?) horse, maintained at Hadaran, consumed (it as) rations. For 7 months, from the 3rd through the 9th, in the 19th year, it consumed 3 QA daily.
The texts also name individuals who safeguarded the welfare of the royal horses as well as groups of court officials serving as Masters of the Horse, as it were (PF1942, PF1943, PF1947, PF1948), and show that these men operated within a hierarchical system and could be paid well beyond the average ration-rate and could enjoy a diet of regular meat. This suggests a high-rank at court for Masters of the Horse.

The royal chariot drawn by two horses; Persepolis.

[

While there are no surviving monumental artistic representations of horses and riders in Achaemenid art, textual evidence suggests that equine statues of horses with riders were commissioned for and by royalty and nobility:
From Arshama to Nakhthor, Kenzasirma, and his associates. Concerning: Hinzanay, a sculptor and a servant of mine, whom Bagasrava brought to Susa. Issue rations to him and his household, the same as those given to the other artisans on my staff. He is to make a statue of a horseman […]. They should be […]. And he is to make a statue of a horse with its rider, just as he did previously for me, and other statues. Have them sent to me just as soon as you can!
Small scale representations of horses and cavalry figures survive in terracotta and metalic figurines, and representations on gems, coins, and textiles. The Persepolis reliefs show riderless horses regularly: of the twenty-three tribute delegations appearing on the Apadana staircases, seven present horses as part of their gifts (Medes, Armenians, Cappadocians, two groups of Sakas, Sagartians, and Thracians) and there are also depictions of horse-drawn chariots conveyed by Syrians and Libyans. In addition, the Great King’s personal Nisaean mounts are depicted along with his chariot (and the chariot belonging to the Crown Prince). In the royal chariot the Great King obviously took on a majestic appearance, ‘outstanding amongst the rest’ (Curtius Rufus 4. 1.1) but, as Briant makes clear, ‘the royal horses and chariot do not appear on the Persepolis reliefs simply for decoration. The royal chariot obviously carried ideological weight and the vehicle was clearly part of the ‘royal insignia’’.
As an obvious symbol of status and wealth, horses were closely connected to royal and courtly ideology and to the model warrior image (XPl §2h):
As a horseman I am a good horseman. As a bowman I am a good bowman, both on foot and on horseback. As a spearman I am a good spearman, both on foot and on horseback
But as a mark of conspicuous leisure, horses played a dominant role in the aristocratic pastimes of hunting and racing (Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8. 3. 25, 33; see further Herodotus 7. 196). Favourite horses could lead a pampered existence (Herodotus 9.70).

A seal image of a mare sucking her foal.

A companion in life, the horse also played its role in the ceremonies of death and with the passing of a king or noble, his horse was included in the mourning procession with its mane cropped short (Herodotus 9. 24; Curtius Rufus 10. 5.17). The horse played a noteworthy role in Achaemenid rituals and beliefs and just as kings were mounted high on horse-drawn chariots, so Ahuramazda and other deities had similar modes of transportation (Herodotus 7. 40; Arrian, Anabasis 2. 11, 3. 15; Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8. 3.12). Moreover, just as the finest present to give a Persian was a horse (Xenophon, Anabasis 1.2.27), so were the gods honoured with equine gifts such as the white horses which were sacrificed to the sun and to the waters (Herodotus 1. 216, 7. 113; 1. 189; Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8. 3.11-12; Anabasis 4. 5.35; Pausanias 3. 20.4; Strabo, Geography 11. 13.7; 11. 13.8, 14.9), both rituals being widely practiced amongst Indo-European peoples (Clutton-Brock 1992; Kelekna 2009). As founder of the Empire, Cyrus II was honoured with a horse sacrificed to his soul every month (Arrian, Anabasis 6. 29.7.). Moreover, the infamous tale recounted by Herodotus (3.85) of how Darius I acquired his kingdom through a trick involving the neighing of his horse is, in all probability, a Greek misunderstanding of the Iranian practice of hippomancy, or divination through the behaviour of horses (see also Ctesias F13 §17), demonstrating the deep-set importance of the horse as a hallowed species in the Iranian consciousness.