[Evolution in the use of equids in the ancient Near Orient]
1995
Limet, H. (Liege Univ. (Belgium). Langues et Histoire Orientales)
In the early stages of the history of Mesopotamia, only the domestic donkey (Equus asinus) and onager (Equuus hemionus) were known. The latter is now considered exclusively as a wild animal, but it might have been tame at the time. The donkey was appreciated for carrying loads or as a mount, being sober and tough. It was occasionally used for drawing carts or ploughs, although the more powerfully built ox was preferred for such tasks. The horse (Equus caballus) is listed in the economic archives of the Ur 3 dynasty, but was rarely used until the last centuries of the second millenium. Even then, it was mainly ridden by kings and their attendants, especially when hunting, by messengers and by military archers. A new type of light and mobile two-horse chariot was successfully adopted by the armies of the time, whereas the horse as such was still not or rarely used for carrying loads. Both the camel and dromedary were known in the first millenium (Neo-assyrian period). The camel was preferred to the donkey for long-distance transportation of goods (caravans) and was used by the Arabs on the battlefield. As a result, the Neo-assyrians classified the camel in the same group as the donkey on the basis of their similar functions. Each type of "equid" had its own status. The donkey was bred by the Mesopotamians. Onagers were game animals hunted for sport. Horses and camels were regularly raided from the neighbouring countries or levied as tributes on defeated enemies.
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