Whereas these are by no means Medieval, I've included some great photos (which tells you the period right there!) of salukis with their Bedouin owners. These date about 1930.
As for history, many of you probably already know a lot about sighthound history... but Saluki were the only dog not called "kreb" or "unclean" by the Muslims. They were allowed to hunt down prey and sleep with the family. They are thought to have been named after a city called saluqi, though there were actually 3 such cities bearing that name in the Ancient Middle East -- one of them was in modern Armenia, of which I claim 1/4 of my mundane blood (William Saroyan once said, "Family. Armenia. What else is there?" -- I think we're a little proud of our COO... hehe). Today, they still enjoy a pampered place as working dogs in Bedouin home. The 2nd picture I've sent looks a lot more "like" a sloughi hound, which is testament to the fact that these dogs are all so genetically similar -- my research shows Tazi in Iran is the same as Saluki in the rest of the Middle East, with African breeds like the Sloughi and Azawakh considered cousins. There is historical proof of the Saluki's importance in royal houses (such as in Egypt) which is represented on such distinguished works of art as Tutankhamon's burial cask -- there are 2 white salukis hunting with the Pharoah on either side. Also exciting are recently unearthed coins from a semi-permanant urban site in Mesopotamia with the likeness of a saluki imprinted on them -- dating 15,000 years ago. They have found saluki remains in ancient burial sites dating even further back, which I think is a pretty cool thing. The first human domesticated dogs were sighthounds! *Note: I would love greyhound people to teach me other sides to the following theories I have and am not trying to start an argument!* Rumor has it that greyhounds were the product of Bedouin gifts to European knights during the Crusades. The Bedouin have always been a very giving culture, and still offer salukis as gifts to guests they respect. Every welcomed visitor got a saluki, while only Princes received Arabian horses. What better gift than a gift of Allah which helps you hunt for food? The reason I am partial to this theory is two-fold. Greyhounds are bred for British terrain and are much more mobile over long distance. Salukis have the speed without as much endurance because of their job pack hunting gazelle with the aid of a hawk or falcon. The Bedouin still let out the first pack and keep reserve hounds fresh for the final attack -- which would have been necessary when they hunted lion and other large game that are no longer indiginous to the ME. Also, I have a theory in reference to artwork supporting the greyhounds' breeding from salukis, but would *love* someone versed in medieval art to help me support or deny my theory. I've found the whippet and wolfhound in art from England and Ireland prior to the Crusades, but the representations of the dogs get bigger around the 1300s -- looking more like greyhounds. The first recognized saluki was not recorded in England until the 20th century, though, so we may never know outside of conjecture and what DNA testing tells us. Which is that greyhounds and saluki are only 1 gene apart. And many of them look so much alike -- how could you tell unless you knew the entire lineage? There is a brilliant article by someone on "What is a Sighthound" -- I will try to find it. It's all a great mystery when you are trying to piece together dog histories from art and oral tradition. The Bedouin kept long mental lineage charts in their heads, breeding saluki as they did their horses. But when saluki owners tried passing that off as a reason for the AKC to admit the breed as a purebred AKC registered breed in the early 1900's, they didn't meet with success. It's taken SPDBS almost a century to prove salukis are purebred -- particularly those who are desert bred in their COO! Desert Queen : [the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell] by Janet Wallach New York : Anchor Books, 1998 Page 131 The Crabbet Arabian Stud : It's History and Influence by Rosemary Archer, Colin Pearson and Cecil Covey Northleach, Gloucestershire, 1978 Photograph on Page 90 Jonneth [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/PJ_qlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCA_Coursing/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
