Arabian Horse in History

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Arabian Horse In History

by Andrew K. Steen

Upon his return from the Orient and following the establishment of the First Counsul, Napoleon ordered the re-opening of seven breeding farms and organized the most ambitious and intensive horse breeding and training program in European history. His intent was to ensure that his cavalry would have sufficient mounts for the vainglorious conquests that he envisioned for the future.

However, it was never his plan to breed purebred Arabians. He expressed his intentions clearly following his inspection of the Pau Stud; Napoleon called for the greatest number of firstrate crossbred cavalry horses to be produced as quickly as possible. Accordingly, on July 4, 1806, he ordered the establishment of 30 new stallion deposits, six additional breeding farms, and two new equestrian schools. The same year that he was crowned Emperor, there were approximately 1,500 stallions servicing mares at the numerous Imperial breeding farms. The majority of the stallions were purchased from the nation’s livestock breeders or captured from the enemy.

Occasionally, warhorses that had been retired from combat were used as sires, including one of Bonaparte’s personal favorites, Fayoum, who in 1811 was sent to service mares at the Haras of Zweibrücken (which he had re-established in 1806).

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Arabian Horse Times • November 2008

Arabian Horse Times • November 2008

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In addition to the domestic-bred stallions, a large number of Arabians and other Oriental stallions had been imported from Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and the Barbary Coast. The information in the chart below is from the Hautes-Pyrenees Archives, which is only a stone’s throw from the present-day French National Stud of Tarbes (founded 1786). The data

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was extracted from the records of the 17 Arabian and Oriental stallions that Napoleon (or his Minister of Interior) sent to that depot between 1807 and 1814. It established that the importation of Oriental sires was an on-going enterprise and that they were derived from a variety of different sources.

(Numerous stallions of French and Spanish origin that serviced the region’s mares are not listed.)

Name

Origin

Year Foaled

Color

Height (Cent.)

History & Other Information

Farceur

Algeria

1803

Black

1.56

Arrived from Blois on Dec. 25, 1812, sent to the Villeneuve Depot on Feb. 2, 1817

Mamekluk Algeria

n/a

n/a

n/a

Arrived from Pau on April 26, 1812. “The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Returned to Pau Depot on July 7, 1812.

Algérien

Algeria

n/a

Grey

1.54

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on March 7, 1812.

“The son of a Barb sire and dam.” Sold on Aug. 20, 1815.

Diezzard

Arabia

n/a

Grey

1.44

Arrived From Venerie on Sept. 25, 1807. Sold Feb. 8, 1816.

M. de Bonneval praised this stallion highly and affirmed that he had been captured in Egypt.

Aboukir

Arabia

1792

Bay

1.46

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on April 19, 1810.

“The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Sent to the Perpignan Stallion Depot on Nov. 24, 1818. Not to be confused with his more famous namesake.

Cobail

Arabia

1792

Chest.

1.47

Arrived from Rodez [perhaps the Island of Rhodes?]

April 13, 1810, coming from Egypt. “The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Sent to Perpignan Stallion Depot on Feb. 10, 1817.

Ptolomée

Arabia

1792

Chest.

1.45

Arrived from Pau on May 9, 1809. “The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Died Dec. 31, 1816.

Chébriis

Arabia

1793

Grey

1.44

Arrived from the Pau Depot on May 5, 1808, and returned to that Stud on May 24, of the same year.

Scheik

Arabia

1796

n/a

1.40

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on April 10, 1811.

“The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Sent to Saint-Christau on Nov. 24, 1824.

Sesostris

Arabia

1797

Chest.

1.37

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on April 10, 1811.

“The son of an Arabian sire and dam.” Sold to M. de Solanet on Dec. 11, 1817.

Circassien

Arabia

1803

Grey

1.50

Arrived from Blois, Dec. 25, 1812. “Because of his extreme vile temperament he was ceded to M. de Garac for training.”

In 1816 M. Pichard observed that he is: “A stallion is of great beauty, and much ‘blood’ of that beautiful breed.”

Tééran

Persia

1803

Grey

1.39

Arrived from Aurillac on April 11, 1813. Sold on Sept. 8, 1816.

Sultan

Turkey

1794

Grey

1.42

Arrived from the stables of the Minister of Interior on April 7, 1809.

“The son of a Turkish sire and dam.” Sold Nov. 9, 1812.

Bajazet

Turkey

1795

Chest.

1.41

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on April 10, 1811.

“The son of a Turkish sire and dam.” Sold on Dec. 11, 1817.

Hérac

Turkey

1798

Chest.

1.49

Arrived from Aurillac on April 11, 1813. Sold Nov. 17, 1825.

Euphrates

Turkey

1803

Grey

1.48

Arrived from the stables of l’Empereur on March 7, 1812.

“The son of a Turkish sire and dam.” Died on Aug. 20, 1821.

Iena

Turkey

1804

Grey

1.49

Arrived from Paris on Sept. 25, 1814. Died on December 20, 1817.

Arabian Horse Times • November 2008

Napoleon at the Battle of Eylau, which was fought in February, 1807, in East Prussia against an army composed mostly of Russian soldiers. Painting by Antoine-Jean Gros.

renowned equine authority Anthony Dent disagreed with that notion and declared that: “Marengo, foaled Several Arabian horses ridden by the Corsican in 1796, was not a purebred Arab, but a 75% Anglowere named after his famous battles, including: Arab, being a grandson of Eclipse, bred in Ireland.”

Wagram, Austerlitz, and Jaffa. He had between It is known that Napoleon’s silver-grey favorite 150 and 200 saddle and carriage horses in the followed him into exile and that James Ward painted Imperial Stables of Paris. However, the numbers him looking towards Elba from the shores of Italy. are deceptive, because many of those horses were utilized for service and delivery or employed as mounts for couriers.

Napoleon’s favorite and most famous mount was Marengo, who according to some sources was a purebred Arabian who stood only 140 centimeters at the withers. Many historians believed that he had been captured at Aboukir and that Napoleon rode the horse at the Battle of Marengo. Thus, he christened him with that name in honor of his A painting by Louis-Francois Lejeune of the Battle of Marengo, June, 1800, an action fought in victory. However, the Italy between the French and Austrian armies. It ended in a decisive victory for Napoleon.

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Several French artists, including Vernet and Gros, painted Napoleon and his generals mounted on Arabians, which greatly enriched the heritage of the breed.

Washington’s Magnolia and Robert E. Lee’s famous Traveler were also greys and ridden in battle for the same reason.)

Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), who specialized in depicting historic events and creating images of propaganda for Bonaparte, executed perhaps the most famous and easily recognized rendering of Napoleon on horseback. In 1801, he painted him crossing St. Bernard Pass astride Styrie. The familiar Arabian stallion, depicted on most of the world’s Cognac bottles, was done from sketches made in Paris. It is also a matter of historic record that Napoleon did not take the time to pose for that particular portrait, which Spanish King Carlos IV had commissioned as a gift. Instead, the Emperor sent only the uniform that he had worn at the Battle of Marengo to the artist’s studio. Perhaps even more disturbing are the allegations of some historians who staunchly contend that the Corsican rode a mule across the Alps!

The famous painting, “Napoleon Crossing The Alps,” by Jacques Louis David.

Several French artists, including Vernet and Gros, painted Napoleon and his generals mounted on Arabians, which greatly enriched the heritage of the breed. Likewise, the same propaganda artists that accompanied the army to Egypt left us with scores of splendid paintings, drawings and sculptures of the Mamelukes and their fearless steeds.

Napoleon and his staff were always depicted 174

on beautiful horses, most of all grey stallions.

Undoubtedly, their choice was motivated by more than a desire to satiate their vanity. To be sure, Arabians were more spectacular in processions or on parade, but the main reason that coat color was so appreciated by Field Marshals like Murat and Soult was that their subordinate officers and soldiers could more easily recognize them in all the chaos and mayhem of the battlefield. (George Arabian Horse Times • November 2008

“The Charging Chasseur” by French artist Théodore Géricault depicts a gallant officer of Napoleon’s cavalry.

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Polish painter Juliusz Kossak’s depiction of Polish cavalry of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard.

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Napoleon’s series of decisive victories lasted for a dozen years, between 1796 until 1808; however, his downfall did not begin in Russia as some contend, but rather when he made the fatal mistake of invading Spain. It was there that his army suffered over 300,000 casualties due to fanatical religious factions and peasant partisans whose resistance knew no limits.

Bonaparte consolidated his power with a combination of stunning military victories and equally brilliant political treaties and maneuvers, thanks in large part to the genius of Talleyrand, the most astute diplomat in Europe’s history. However, in the end, all of his efforts to establish a New Order were obstructed by the combined forces of his many enemies, the most notable of which was Russia’s Tsar Alexander I. Napoleon’s customary tactic, which had worked effectively up until his invasion of Russia, was to inflict a series of decisive blows on his enemy, causing them to reflect upon their impending defeat. It would be at this time when Napoleon would sue for peace on terms that were always in his favor.

Napoleon’s Grand Armée initiated the Russian campaign by crossing the Niemen River on June 24, 1812, with 500,000 infantry soldiers, a supply train of 20,000 horse-drawn vehicles, including 1,000 cannons and cavalry that numbered 43,000 strong.

Napoleon’s cavalry on its approach to the city of Moscow in 1812.

A painting of Russian cavalry in action during the Napoleonic Wars.

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By the end of November, following the retreat from Moscow and the disasters at Berezina, there remained only 9,000 men that were fit for combat. Napoleon’s Imperial Guard had been reduced from 30,000 strong to only 1,500.

It was the grey Arabian stallion Vizir that the Emperor chose to accompany him from Paris to Moscow. He rode him throughout the shattering battles of the Russian campaign and the stallion was, reportedly, one of the few horses that survived and returned from the devastating winter snows. However, during most of that journey Napoleon preferred the comfort of a coach and the warmth of a sled that was heated by a charcoal brazier in the winter.

Over 200,000 horses had been sacrificed to the extreme demands of the Russian campaign. Thousands were frozen to death by the harsh winter weather, and nearly all of the horses of the supply train were lost.

Of the few that remained, various breed associations have all falsely asserted that only their horses survived the ordeal of the Russian offensive.

Obviously, the prized horses of highranking elite received better care and feed than those of the rank and file and, consequently, more Arabian and Oriental horses likely survived.

Nevertheless, the catastrophic losses suffered in horse and men did not Emperor Napoleon enjoying the comforts of a sleigh on his retreat from Moscow. diminish the megalomaniac delusions of grandeur of the Emperor. Napoleon abandoned his army on December It was the grey Arabian stallion 5, putting Marshal Joachim Murat in temporary command, then hurriedly returned to France, Vizir that the Emperor chose to entering Paris on December 18, 1812. In May of the following year, with a new army consisting mostly accompany him from Paris to of teenaged boys and a few experienced officers, he inflicted two defeats upon the combined forces Moscow. He rode him throughout of the Russian–Prussian Coalition. When that campaign concluded, some of Napoleon’s equine the shattering battles of the Russian losses were recuperated in Eastern Prussia, which was long famous for the quality of its horses. By campaign and the stallion was, some reports (probably exaggerated), he pillaged no less than 170,000 equines during that offensive. reportedly, one of the few horses It has also been asserted that throughout the 20 years in which he waged over 60 important battles, that survived and returned from 16 of Napoleon’s stallions died on the battlefield, and to this day the myth persists that he only rode the devastating winter snows. grey Arabian stallions.

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Following 16 hours of living-hell, 45,000 men and three-quarters of the animals employed in the battle had perished and lay prostrate in the mud of the gory battleground.

French cavalry charging across the battlefield at the Battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815.

forced to retreat. Towards dusk Napoleon ordered another attack against the Prussians, which was During the summer of 1813, Russia, England, largely successful, but the battle had cost him twoPortugal, Spain and Prussia once again became allies thirds of his men. In the midst of this disaster, the to combat the French. On January 1, 1814, the allied Corsican’s fate was sealed by the late arrival of the troops crossed the Rhine and two months later audacious Prussian Marshal Blücher who saved the occupied Paris. On April 6, 1814, Napoleon abdicated day by relieving Wellington’s position, which was and went into exile on the island of Elba. Yet, he becoming very precarious. escaped in late February, 1815, and returned to Paris where he once again seized the reins of power for an ill-fated 100 days.

On June 18, 1815, Napoleon at last came face-to-face with his destiny on the green fields of Waterloo. The Duke of Wellington commanded roughly 13,000 cavalry against approximately 16,000 French horsemen, and the battle was in large measure decided by the cavalry. At around noon, Napoleon began his assault. The English army defended their position ferociously, but after three hours of fighting was Napoleon’s opponent, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo.

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According to H.J. Koch’s “The Rise of Modern Warfare,” Blücher’s counterattack was pivotal and “transferred the situation completely. The defensive battle became an offensive one and the French, fearful of being taken between the British and the Prussians, tried to escape en masse.”

Following 16 hours of living-hell, 45,000 men and three-quarters of the animals employed in the battle had perished and lay prostrate in the mud of the gory battleground.

It was at Waterloo that the Emperor’s noble steed Marengo was captured by British troops, as well as his carriage and its team of six horses. All this booty was shipped to London, where the horses were sold at public auction. The carriage ended up on display at Madam Tussard’s Waxworks until it was, unfortunately, lost in a fire that devastated most of the famous museum in 1825.

As for Marengo, Lt. Colonel J.W. Angerstein bought him and took him to his farm where he was used to service his Thoroughbred mares. However, apparently none of his get proved to be exceptional as racehorses. The 1838 Newmarket Racing Calendar cited one of his sons that participated in the spring racing season, but he was not rated as a favorite. According to some sources, Marengo died at the implausible age of 35 years. The claim could be easily authenticated by an examination of Marengo’s teeth, as his skeleton is on exhibit at the National Army Museum in London.

Napoleon was taken prisoner by the British following Waterloo and was sent into permanent exile on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 52, from stomach cancer according to some, while others insist that he was poisoned.

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Charles Ewart of the Scots Greys capturing a coveted French Eagle during the Battle of Waterloo.

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