Carthage and the Indian Elephant

• Autores: Michael Charles
• Localización: Antiquité classique, ISSN 0770-2817, Nº. 83, 2014, págs. 115-127
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Several scholars have asserted that Carthage deployed at least one Indian elephant in the Punic Wars, even though it is generally recognized that African forest elephants constituted the mainstay of the Carthaginian elephant corps. This article looks at the literary, numismatic and contextual evidence for Indian elephants in Carthaginian service, together with the various arguments advanced by a variety of scholars to support this view. Overall, it appears to be highly unlikely that Indian elephants were deployed in Punic service, with their provenance being particularly problematic given Carthage�s relationship with potential suppliers.