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This story reminds me of Abul-Abbas [1], an elephant given to Charlemagne by the caliph of the Abbasids. Frederick II wasn't the first Holy Roman Emperor to col
by iafisher 8y ago
This story reminds me of Abul-Abbas [1], an elephant given to Charlemagne by the caliph of the Abbasids. Frederick II wasn't the first Holy Roman Emperor to collect exotic animals, it seems.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul-Abbas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul-Abbas
- _Codemonkeyism 8y agoThe Romans had war elephants [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_war_elephants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_war_elephants
- smadge 8y agoNot as surprising since the Elephants came from just a few hundred miles away accross the Mediterranean Sea.
- adrianratnapala 8y agoThe Romans used both north African elephants (now extinct) and Asian elephants which they got by long-distance trade. Apparently the Asian elephants were larger; and besides I suppose India and Sri Lanka also had better infrastructure for catching and training war elephants than the Roman Empire did. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_elephant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_elephant
- baldfat 8y agoHannibal? He fought the Romans in Spain and then took the elephants over the Italian Alps and attacks Rome from the North. That is the greatest military feat for me. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/03/where-muck-hannibals-elephants-alps-italy-bill-mahaney-york-university-toronto https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/03/where-muck-h...
- _Codemonkeyism 8y agoYes the Romans had elephant idea probably from Hannibal, the article references the Punic wars.
- adrianratnapala 8y agoYes, but the Holy Roman Empire is a different kettle of fish.