Game of Elephant Hunting: Empires and Animals in the Hellenistic Period

ABSTRACT: This article demonstrates how the Hellenistic empire served as an environmental regime that had a significant impact on the Afro-Eurasian landscape. The first section shows that, contrary to the usual understanding that Alexander introduced the use of elephants in Hellenistic kingship, he actually developed the art of combatting elephants. The second section demonstrates how the Seleucid Empire developed the use of elephants after they were introduced to Central Asia by Mauryan India. The third section displays that the Seleucid deployment of Indian elephants prompted the Ptolemies to hunt African elephants by expanding into eastern Africa to tackle the Seleucid army.