03-22-2013, 05:04 PM
Alan, great list of things, thanks. I would say though that if you're after more general Indo-Iranian stuff, et al, than the industry standard is very much Bryant (sp?) on origins and issues and the other guy (women?) whose name begins with like Gamk- or something, I don't have my bibliography to hand...Also Davis-Kimball is pretty...ahem..idiosyncratic I guess.
How acquainted are you with Sima Qian btw? I found the histories very very awkward to grasp with myself and have only met a handful of people who've even heard of them. Its a shame; there's so much comparative stuff been written on Greek and Chinese logic, literacy, philosophy and ethics yet no one has really broached history.
"Unfortunately, there are no Roman references that describe the technique. Pliny does mention that the "best iron' (sword blade blanks?) "arrives upon camels from the east." "
This doesn't mean much btw, it could even reference wootz steel from India or the wonderful Persian iron - both of which were considerably better than anything the steppes were producing. Also bear in mind the lust felt for Greek metallurgy by various nomadic peoples around the black sea. And the Greeks weren't objectively that good either, so...
I've always suspected this myself...but I wonder....I mean considering that all our modern western European breeds were decided on very recently, despite the conceit one sees in popular histories linking x breed with y "extinct" breed. It does deserve some serious study. But...there are times when I've seen something of those hardy asiatic horses in our own over here. I don't know....something about the profile or the way the ears stick up or something. I suspect that there is some link there but can't prove it. So suspicion it remains.
How acquainted are you with Sima Qian btw? I found the histories very very awkward to grasp with myself and have only met a handful of people who've even heard of them. Its a shame; there's so much comparative stuff been written on Greek and Chinese logic, literacy, philosophy and ethics yet no one has really broached history.
"Unfortunately, there are no Roman references that describe the technique. Pliny does mention that the "best iron' (sword blade blanks?) "arrives upon camels from the east." "
This doesn't mean much btw, it could even reference wootz steel from India or the wonderful Persian iron - both of which were considerably better than anything the steppes were producing. Also bear in mind the lust felt for Greek metallurgy by various nomadic peoples around the black sea. And the Greeks weren't objectively that good either, so...
Quote:Is there a book or article about the Sarmatians in Britain? Stationed way up in the Derbyshire Dales I'd love to find a connection between their horse breeding expertise and the current Dales ponymile:
I've always suspected this myself...but I wonder....I mean considering that all our modern western European breeds were decided on very recently, despite the conceit one sees in popular histories linking x breed with y "extinct" breed. It does deserve some serious study. But...there are times when I've seen something of those hardy asiatic horses in our own over here. I don't know....something about the profile or the way the ears stick up or something. I suspect that there is some link there but can't prove it. So suspicion it remains.
Jass
