Raiders, Rulers, and Traders

The Horse and the Rise of Empires

By: David Chaffetz

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

No animal is so entangled in human history as the horse. The thread starts in prehistory, with a slight, shy animal, hunted for food. Domesticating the horse allowed early humans to settle the vast Eurasian steppe; later, their horses enabled new forms of warfare, encouraged long-distance trade routes, and ended up acquiring deep cultural and religious significance.

Over time, horses came to power mighty empires in Iran, Afghanistan, China, India, and, later, Russia. Genghis Khan and the thirteenth-century Mongols offer the most famous example, but from ancient Assyria and Persia, to the seventeenth-century Mughals, to the high noon of colonialism in the early twentieth century, horse breeding was indispensable to conquest and statecraft.

Scholar of Asian history David Chaffetz tells the story of how the horse made rulers, raiders, and traders interchangeable, providing a novel explanation for the turbulent history of the "Silk Road," which might be better called the Horse Road. Drawing on recent research in fields including genetics and forensic archeology, Chaffetz presents a lively history of the great horse empires that shaped civilization.

©2024 David Chaffetz (P)2024 Tantor

Amazing breath of scope

Stunning recounting of mankind’s history with the horse. The “whole history” approach was stunning as it covered pre-history up to the present day.

superb!

This book was wonderfully entertaining and educational.
I will never look at horse again without fascination.

Must read for “Silk Road” travelers , historians of empires, and all horse lovers.

Historical perspective, compelling details, wonderful cultural descriptions , great storytelling show the centuries long horse trading arms race and empire building by cavalry from countries and peoples, still fighting, now engaged with more sophisticated weapons. A must read for anyone interested in geopolitics.

Fascinating history and insights

As a lifelong horse person and avid reader, I was surprised at the fundamental difference in understanding of horses and history this book gave me. Fascinating.

The authors love of his material

Is a book for anyone who likes good history. The author has clearly steep himself and the knowledge of his subject over many years and at least for me it was a subject about which I knew next to nothing. The person who read it did a superb job also. I hardly recommend this book to anyone who would describe themselves as a seriously intellectual person