The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-18
HORSES EXISTED
IN ARABIA IN THE
YEAR $500 B. c.
Semiramis Invaded India
With Cavalry of 100000.
Equines Scarce in
Egypt

Col. Spencer Borden in Our Dumb AMI
mails Magazine.
1t was the fashion a few years ago to
claim that the Arab horse did not exist,
excepting as figment of the imagina-
ton, Scientists, later, were compelled to
acknowledge that there was such a horse,
and that he differed from all others even
in his anatomy.
Ihen a claim was put forward that
what was called an Arab was really an
African horse, originating in Lydia. the
country lying between Egypt and Tripoli,
or the shores of the Mediterranean.
These wise people even asserted that
the horses we had always called Ara
bians were never In Arabia until after
the beginning of the Christian Era, some
going from Egypt. others sent from Cap
padocia, north of the Taurus mountains,
| on the Black sea. The fact that no such
horses remain either in Lydia or in Cap
padocia, although they are numerous in
Arabia, caused no embarrassment to these
pundits.
Had such special pleaders gotten their
Aenophon or Herodotus from the upper
| shelves of their bookcases, certain en-
barrassins facts might have caused them
TO modify their contention.
Had Cavalry of 100000
They would have learned that Semi
ramis, who succeeded her husband, MINI
rod-builder of Nineveh-had an army in
which were 100000 cavalry, with which
she invaded India, before she started to
build Babylon. Nineveh is perpetuated
by the present town of Mosul, built on
its site, in the northeastern part of
Arabia, on the Tigris river; and the ruins
of Babylon are near Bagdad on the
Euphrates, both these points being in the
heart of Arabia.
We are forced to believe, therefore, that
there were some horses In Arabia, at
least $500 years B. c.. Not only is this
certain from the written record their
representation Is preserved by bas-reliefs
in stone uncovered by Iasard, when he
explored the ruins of Nineveh, In the
middle of the Nineteenth century. These
show horses of the Ara bian horse size
and type, ridden by men making use of
them in a manner such as no horse but
an Arab was ever known to stand up to.
The riders are hunting lions, with spears
and arrows. 1t is notorious to this day
that no horse but an Arab has the cour-
age to face lion or a wild boar.
If these would-be scientists still claim
the proofs insufficient to establish our
contention, we turn to the history of
Cyrus the Great, as written by Keno
phon. When Cyrus fought Coesus, King
of Lydia, 1t Is plainly stated that part OF
his cavalry were Arabians. In arranging
his forces to meet the enemy, Harpagus
suggested that he put the cames he used
for transport animals, in front of his
cavalry. And when they came up to the
contest, the Lydian horses, terrified by
the sight and smell of the camels, be-
came unmanageable; while the horses OF
Cyrus army, having been brought ur
with camels, and partly nourished on
camels milk, were not afraid, but dash cd
after the Lydans and completely routed
them.
Cyrus Owned Many Horses
Later, when Cyrus captured Babylon
the night of Belshazzar's feast-he cele-
brated the event by grand review of all
his army. This was 500 b. c., 5000 years
after Semirams In that review Keno
phon tells us Cyrus paraded 10000 cav
airy (more than all the cavalry in Europe
today. besides his chariots drawn by
four horses each.
This parade was in the heart OF
Arabia; and the empire ruled by Cyrus
extended from the Indus river on the
cast to the Red sea, the Mediterran-
can and Aegean on the west; from the
Black and Caspion seas on the north
to the Indian ocean on the south.
In the days of Darius the Younger,
the Medo-Perslan empire had an enor-