Table of Contents

Preface
1. Hunting Histories
—World Histories and the World of Animals
—Pursuing Protein
—Pursuing Profit
—Pursuing Power
—This Hunting History
2. Field and Stream
—Who Hunted?
—Where Did They Hunt?
—How Often Did They Hunt?
—How Did They Hunt?
—On What Scale Did They Hunt?
3. Parks
—The Paradise and Its Antecedents
—Hunting Parks at the Core and on the Periphery
—Hunting Parks in East Asia
—The Purposes of Paradise
4. Partners
—Animals Assistants
—Dogs
—Birds
—Elephants
—Cats
5. Administration
—Hunting Establishments
—Success and Safety
—Careers
—Costs
6. Conservation
—Killing and Sparing
—Game Management
—Cultural Constraints
—Species Endangered
—Natural Attitudes
7. A Measure of Men
—Hunting and Hierarchy
—Princely Virtues
—Courting Danger
—Publicizing Prowess
8. Political Animals
—Power of Animals
—Power over Animals
9. Legitimation
—Animals and Ideology
—Threat
—Animal Control Officer
—State and Nature
10. Circulation
—On the Road
—Pursuing Pleasure
—Favors
—The Court Out-of-Doors
11. Intimidation
—Initiating Warriors
—Imitating War
—Intimating War
—Initiating War
12. Internationalization
—Traffic in Animals
—Dogs
—Birds
—Elephants
—Cats
—Traffic in Trainers
13. Conclusions
—History Wide
—History Deep
Notes
Abbreviations and Sources
Modern Scholarship
Index
Acknowledgments

Promotional Information

From antiquity to the nineteenth century, the royal hunt was a vital component of the political cultures of the Middle East, India, Central Asia, and China.

About the Author

Thomas T. Allsen (1940-2019) was Professor Emeritus of The College of New Jersey and author of several books, including Commodity and Exchange in the Mongol Empire: A Cultural History of Islamic Textiles and Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia. His The Steppe and the Sea is also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.