The royal hunt in Eurasian history / Thomas T. Allsen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allsen, Thomas T.

Series:

Encounters with Asia.

Encounters with Asia

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hunting--Political aspects--Eurasia--History.

Hunting.

Animals and civilization--Eurasia--History.

Animals and civilization.

Eurasia--Kings and rulers--Social life and customs.

Eurasia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 406 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From antiquity to the nineteenth century, the royal hunt was a vital component of the political cultures of the Middle East, India, Central Asia, and China. Besides marking elite status, royal hunts functioned as inspection tours and imperial progresses, a means of asserting kingly authority over the countryside. The hunt was, in fact, the "court out-of-doors," an open-air theater for displays of majesty, the entertainment of guests, and the bestowal of favor on subjects.In the conduct of interstate relations, great hunts were used to train armies, show the flag, and send diplomatic signals. Wars sometimes began as hunts and ended as celebratory chases. Often understood as a kind of covert military training, the royal hunt was subject to the same strict discipline as that applied in war and was also a source of innovation in military organization and tactics.Just as human subjects were to recognize royal power, so was the natural kingdom brought within the power structure by means of the royal hunt. Hunting parks were centers of botanical exchange, military depots, early conservation reserves, and important links in local ecologies. The mastery of the king over nature served an important purpose in official renderings: as a manifestation of his possession of heavenly good fortune he could tame the natural world and keep his kingdom safe from marauding threats, human or animal. The exchanges of hunting partners-cheetahs, elephants, and even birds-became diplomatic tools as well as serving to create an elite hunting culture that transcended political allegiances and ecological frontiers.This sweeping comparative work ranges from ancient Egypt to India under the Raj. With a magisterial command of contemporary sources, literature, material culture, and archaeology, Thomas T. Allsen chronicles the vast range of traditions surrounding this fabled royal occupation.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

1. Hunting Histories

World Histories and the World of Animals

Pursuing Protein

Pursuing Profit

Pursuing Power

This Hunting History

2. Field and Stream

Who Hunted?

Where Did They Hunt?

How Often Did They Hunt?

How Did They Hunt?

On What Scale Did They Hunt?

3. Parks

The Paradise and Its Antecedents

Hunting Parks at the Core and on the Periphery

Hunting Parks in East Asia

The Purposes of Paradise

4. Partners

Animal Assistants

Dogs

Birds

Elephants

Cats

5. Administration

Hunting Establishments

Success and Safety

Careers

Costs

6. Conservation

Killing and Sparing

Game Management

Cultural Constraints

Species Endangered

Natural Attitudes

7. A Measure of Men

Hunting and Hierarchy

Princely Virtues

Courting Danger

Publicizing Prowess

8. Political Animals

Power of Animals

Power over Animals

9. Legitimation

Animals and Ideology

Threat

Animal Control Officer

State and Nature

10. Circulation

On the Road

Pursuing Pleasures

Favors

The Court Out-of-Doors

11. Intimidation

Initiating Warriors

Imitating War

Intimating War

Initiating War

12. Internationalization

Traffic in Animals

Traffic in Trainers

13. Conclusions

History Wide

History Deep

Notes

Abbreviations and Primary Sources

Bibliography and Modern Scholarship

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613211392

9781283211390

1283211394

9780812201079

0812201078

OCLC:

759158179