# Breeding of Camels in Europe: Between Continuity and Innovation
## 1 Camels in Europe Are Not a Recent Phenomenon
These three biblical references involving camels in the humiliation of [PERSON] highlight important themes. First, the saying about a camel passing through the eye of a needle illustrates the difficulty for rich individuals to  
Figure 3: Camels in medieval Europe. (**a**) Dromedaries as depicted in an illustration of the ‘Story of Rebecca’ (6 th century C.E. Vienna Genesis (Genesis 24)) (© Wikimedia Commons); (**b**) a golden reflection atafor decorated with a dromedary figure (Al-Andalus period) (© Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund, 25.44); (**c**) a fragment of the paintings from the Casa del Partal in Alhambra (Granada, Spain). Reproduction by [PERSON] (© [PERSON], 2020, p. 28. Archive and Library of the Patronato de la Alhambra and Generalife); (**d**) a fragment of a twelfth-century Spanish fresco of a camel from the hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Soria, Spain) (© The Met); (**e**) a twelfth-century mosaic of camels, illustrating the ‘Story of Rebecca’ (Genesis 24), from the Palatine Chapel (Palermo, Italy) (© [PERSON], Flickr CC BY-NC); (**f**) [PERSON] and the [PERSON], detail from the stained-glass window in the northern aisle of Canterbury Cathedral (Canterbury, United Kingdom) (12 th century) (© University of Michigan Library Digital Collections). be humble, reflecting [PERSON] arrogance. Second, camels symbolize vengefulness, indicating the people's resentment toward him for his past actions. Lastly, comparing a camel to a gnat emphasizes hypocrisy, as it points out how [PERSON] criticized others while usurping power himself. The camels, therefore, became a poignant vehicle for conveying moral lessons to the audience, emphasizing the consequences of one's actions. Moreover, the camel's exotic nature captured attention and enhanced the spectacle of [PERSON] humiliation, allowing the scene to resonate on multiple levels. This suggests that while camels were visually striking, the broader implications of their use in punishment highlight the interplay between justice, retribution, and moral critique in Byzantine society. The potential significance of more commonly encountered animals, like donkeys and mules, also hints at the varying connotations that different animals could carry in similar contexts of public humiliation [28]. Camels were also regularly present on the Iberian Peninsula throughout the Middle Ages (476-1492 C.E. ), as confirmed by bone discoveries, written records, and/or artistic depictions from the Islamic period [29]. Archaeofaunal evidence shows that dromedaries arrived during the Caliphate period (632-1258 C.E.) and remained until the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom in 1492 [30]. Notably, two significant periods of high dromedary populations occurred: Al-Mansur's large-scale importation of camels from North Africa around 1002 C.E. and the Almoravid and Almohad invasions (1090-1146 C.E. ), during which camels were integrated into local economies [31; 32]. Archeological findings suggest that camels were consumed for meat, and their bones were repurposed into tools during this period [30; 33]. Around 1405 C.E., dromedaries were also introduced to the Canary Islands (Spain), where they adapted quickly and became vital to the region's socio-economic development [34]. The islands' dry climate and sodium-rich vegetation, combined with the absence of natural predators, favored the rapid growth of camel populations. Camels played a vital role in agriculture, grain milling, and transportation, shaping the local landscape, such as through the construction of terraced fields. Socially, camels became symbols of prosperity and status, further embedding them into the cultural heritage of the Canary Islands [35]. Despite their historical significance, camels eventually became rare in mainland Europe at the end of the 15 th century, primarily limited to exotic collections by European aristocracy from the Renaissance onward [36] rather than with battles or trade caravans connecting the Orient and Europe [15; 20; 37].