The Horse in History
by Rit NosotroChange Over Time essay
Explain the development of the horse and it's historical usefulness.
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Summary:
The horse and man have been together for many centuries. Ever since the horse was first domesticated, man has cared for horse, and horse has fearlessly carried man on his back. But one of the biggest misconceptions that men have held about horses for a century is that our four-hoofed friends are, today, the product of evolution. This idea stems from man’s tendency to believe that he is a primordial soup mix, and to deny that there is a Creator, when it clearly states in Gen 1:25 that “God made the wild animals according to their kind” and also in Gen 1:27, “God created man in His image.” With such evidence, it should be clear that the argument as to the horse’s evolution doesn’t have a leg to stand on. But what it does have is plenty of historical evidence against it.
It is not known if the horse was domesticated before Noah's flood. The decendants of Noah, i.e., Semites, Japheths, and Hamites stayed together on the plains of Shinar until the Tower of Babel incident occurred about 2200 B.C.. Because of this incident, the universal language of the world was diversified, and the people migrated to become the ancient civilations studied in history books. A descendant of the Japheths, the Scythians, domesticated a breed of horse called Turanian. These people were illiterate nomads who were fond of gold, lived near the Black Sea, and were the first known people to tame and ride horses. The horse was their secret weapon when it came to battles, and these people battled their way across the Asian-European continent, uniting with the Assyrians to conquer most of Russia and Asia. They used bits to control their horses, yet they had not heard of stirrups, and depended on grip and balance for support. As they crossed the Eurasian continent, the idea of riding took hold and spread to other peoples who mastered the art, one of whom where the Kurgans.
The Kurgans, who were also Japhethians with indirect links to the Scythians, are believed to have been the original Proto-Indo-European culture, which gave rise to many Indo-European cultures itself. These people where known for husbanding animals, as well as abstaining from hunting and, instead, harvesting fish as their prime food source. They herded horses (again, the Turanian horse), appear to have lived on the grasslands of Ukraine and Russia, later moving into Europe, and piled mountains of treasures into the graves of their dead. They tended to stay near woods and waterways. But riding and herding horses were not the only uses this animal served for man. By about `2000 B.C., the Mesopotamians introduced the four-wheeled chariots that were originally pulled by asses. The Mesopotamians, descended from the Hamites, were hunting/gathering nomads that lived in the Mesopotamian Basin, which was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. However, it wasn’t until c.1700 B.C. that man thought to pair the horse with the chariot, this being the idea of the Hyksos peoples of Egypt. The Hyksos were Semitic, and their rise to power in Egypt resulted in the 15-16th dynasties c. 1000 B.C. They made chariots out of bronze, and raised horses for the specific use of pulling chariots. It was this marriage of technology and animal that gave the Hyksos dynasty powerful success. Another grand marriage of animal and technology was that of adding the stirrup to the saddle. The stirrup was first developed c. 1000 B.C. by the Mongols, a brave, clever people who lived in the Russo-Asian area. Because of the stirrup, the Mongol rider could now stand up in his stirrups while galloping across the battlefield, and rain a shower of arrows on his opponent from his bow even while retreating. Therefore, the stirrup was very similar to today’s cruise missile. Add it to a “fighter plane” like the horse, and you have a match made in ancient-warfare-heaven.
Warfare was not the only focus of horses through history, however. Racing was equally popular and exciting. However, one must be careful not to confuse the horse that goes into battle with the horse that is raised to pull a plow, or the horse that is bred to win races. While the Scythians and Kurgans worked with Turanian horses, it’s far more likely that the Hyksos peoples worked with Arabian horses, which are known for their agility and speed. But the culture that started racing as a sport was the ancient Greeks (1100-31 B.C.). Chariot racing to them was a source of colorful entertainment, and it was an exciting thing to be able to witness a chariot race at the hippodrome during the Olympic games. The horses used in these games were also Arabians, and their charioteers prized the swiftest and strongest. This was also the case with King Solomon’s stables; only the best were selected. King Solomon’s rein lasted from 970-931 B.C. He prized horses when everyone turned their noses up at them. His stables (recently unearthed in southern Israel) housed 40,000 Arabian horses, 4,000 chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. When Solomon died, he was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, whose rein resulted in the splitting of his kingdom into two halves: Judah and Israel.
Stories of mythical winged horses have entertained countless children. One such story from Islamic Hadith tradition places Muhammad on a winged creature that was "smaller than a mule, but larger than a donkey". The Archangel Gabriel guides them on a one night round trip flight from Mecca to Jerusalem and back with stopovers to visit Mt. Sinai and Bethlehem; pray with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus; and get instructions from Allah in the seventh heaven.
When looking at historical timelines, it would make more sense to believe the Creationist approach than the evolutionist. According to the seemingly “reliable” method of dating with radioactive decay, our planet has been around for billions of years. And if that’s not far-fetched enough, according to their guesswork, the horse first appeared c. “55 million B.C.” from “Eohippus,” a fox-like animal that they claim was the result of crossing a rabbit with a dear. Ever imaginative, evolutionists state that the horse finally stopped evolving around “12 million B.C.” One has to wonder; if it is true that Eohippus was the result of a rabbit and a deer, why haven’t the evolutionists tried to match those two species before now to test their theory? One has to be careful not to let so called science trick them, so as to avoid the error brought to light in the Scriptures: “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.” (Rom 1:25)
Multiple choice questions:
When do historians believe the Tower of Babel incident occurred?
a. 2200 B.C.
b. 3200 B.C.
c. 4200 B.C.
d. 5200 B.C.
Correct answer: a
Who were the first people to domesticate the horse?
a. Levites
b. Phoenicians
c. Scythians
d. Kurgans
Correct answer: c
Which people first introduced the chariot?
a. Scythians
b. Hyksos
c. Kurgans
d. Mesopotamians
Correct answer: d
What year do evolutionists believe “Eohippus” appeared?
a. 12 million B.C.
b. 55 million B.C.
c. 100 million B.C.
d. 5 million B.C.
Correct answer: b
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