Persian war elephants
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War elephants were used in Iranian military history, most notably in Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Sasanian periods. These were Asian elephants recruited from the southern provinces of Iran and India, but also possibly Syrian elephants from Syria and western Iran.
Sasanian relief of boar-hunting on domestic elephants, Taq-e Bostan, Iran
A medieval Armenian miniature representing the Sasanian war elephants in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 AD
King Khosrow I on top of an elephant fighting the Mazdakite Revolt. Persian miniature
War elephant with turret. Statuette from Pompeii in National Archaeological Museum, Naples
War elephant
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A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant-mounted troops.
War elephants depicted in Hannibal crossing the Rhône (1878), by Henri Motte
Indian elephant sword on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, two feet (61 cm) long
Rajput painting depicting a war elephant in an army
A 17th-century depiction of the war of Lanka in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, showing war elephants