Pferde in Asien

Geschichte, Handel und Kultur / Horses in Asia: History, Trade and Culture

edited by Bert G. Fragner, Ralph Kauz, Roderich Ptak and Angela Schottenhammer

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Extent: 255 pages

Publisher: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press

Subjects: Asian/Pacific Studies & Religions

Series: Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse

Series volume number: 378

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(April 2009)

ISBN: 9783700161035

Price: $71.00

Out of stock

In the history of the prehistoric and early modern civilizations of Asia, horses their breeding and husbandry, and trade with them played a prominent role; they were unequally distributed over the entire Asian continent, and different expectations were linked to their acquisition. The finding that horses could be effectively deployed in the military, as transport, and in agriculture fostered not only trade with them, but also let them generally become an important cultural link between places and countries that were often far apart, both over land and by sea. The twenty-one contributions to this volume are the result of a meeting by the same name, which was held in October 2006 at the invitation of the Institute for Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. They are organized by region: Iran and West Asia, Central Asia, Indian Ocean, and China. German and English text.


English summary: Horses, horse-breeding and horse-keeping, as well as the trade in these animals played an important role in the history of Asia’s pre- and early modern civilisations. However, horses were unequally distributed over the Asian continent and their acquisition was usually associated with different expectations. When the knowledge spread that horses could be profitably used in warfare as well as for overland transportation and for agriculture, this did not only promote trade relations, but also led to the emergence of new cultural links, often between distant sites, both by land and by sea. The contributions to this volume, twenty-one articles in all, are based on a conference entitled “Horses in Asia” that was organised by the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in October 2006.The articles are arranged into four regional sections: (1) Iran and West Asia, (2) Central Asia, (3) the Indian Ocean, (4) and China. They are complemented by a preface and two introductory essays. Each article takes its own approach, while, at the same time, opening doors to related academic fields, the main interest lying in the transfer of horses between different regions. German description: In der Geschichte der vor- und fruhmodernen Zivilisationen Asiens spielten Pferde – ihre Zucht und Haltung sowie der Handel mit ihnen – eine herausragende Rolle; sie waren in ungleicher Weise uber den gesamten asiatischen Kontinent verteilt, und ebenso unterschiedliche Erwartungen wurden an ihren Erwerb geknupft. Die Erkenntnis, dass sich Pferde militarisch, als Transportmittel und in der Landwirtschaft gewinnbringend einsetzen liessen, forderte nicht nur den Handel mit ihnen, sondern liess Pferde ganz allgemein zu einem wichtigen kulturellen Bindeglied zwischen Orten und Landern werden, die oftmals weit voneinander entfernt lagen, sowohl uber Land wie uber den Seeweg. Die hier vorgestellten einundzwanzig Beitrage sind das Ergebnis einer gleichnamigen Tagung, die im Oktober 2006 auf Einladung des Instituts fur Iranistik der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften durchgefuhrt wurde. Sie sind nach Regionen geordnet: (1) Iran und Westasien, (2) Zentralasien, (3) Indischer Ozean (4) und China. Erganzt werden sie durch ein Vorwort und zwei einfuhrende Artikel. Die einzelnen Beitrage gehen das Thema auf der Basis unterschiedlicher Ansatze an und bieten jeweils Anknupfungspunkte zu benachbarten Disziplinen. Das Hauptinteresse gilt jedoch dem Transfer von Pferden zwischen den Regionen.

  • Edited by Bert G Fragner
  • Edited by Ralph Kauz
  • Edited by Roderich Ptak
  • Edited by Angela Schottenhammer