The Coveted Mount : The Horse in South Asian History

Horses have played a central role in South Asian politics, culture, warfare, religion, trade, art, and knowledge through millennia. This richly illustrated book by fourteen scholars is the first work to offer a holistic analysis of the compelling history of this human-nonhuman relationship from prehistory to the twenty-first century.

From the Asvamedha sacrifice to the mounted police, modernist paintings to the medieval cavalry, oceanic trade to urban transport – horses have occupied a prominent position in almost every sphere of human history in South Asia. The Coveted Mount brings a holistic analysis of the compelling history of this human-nonhuman relationship from prehistory to the twenty-first century. The essays in this book unravel the role of the horse in gift exchanges, colonial cities, astrological knowledge, military campaigns, modern art, political culture, religious belief, veterinary sciences, and oceanic commerce. They do so by interpreting colonial records, ancient epics, epigraphic records, medieval coins, temple friezes, modern art, stone and terracotta sculptures, imperial chronicles, equestrian treatises, and wall paintings. In the process, the essays reveal South Asia's historical connections with the world. Overall, this richly illustrated book shows how, when, and why the horse became the coveted mount of South Asian societies