Martial Applications of Hunting in the Conquests of Ilkhanids and Timurids Eras

Hunting was one of the most common customs of a large number of past tribes which was performed with various motives. Turk and Mongol tribes went hunting as a means of livelihood and for the sake of supplying their food as well as practicing martial techniques. Genghis Khan and Timur, through practicing hunting during war intervals and different seasons made their troops get accustomed to techniques of shooting, deceiving, misleading, seizing, and hunting animals so that they would be able to employ such techniques while encountering enemies in the battlefields. In fact, hunting was done by Turk and Mongol tribes not only as a means of livelihood but also as a martial maneuver in which war techniques like horse riding, shooting, the styles of capturing, and trapping the enemies were practiced. Such martial practices were crucially important for princes and youngsters who were inexperienced in war. The present paper, through adopting a descriptive-analytic method, explores the motives of the Turk and Mongol commanders for hunting and the way it was performed during the Ilkhanids and Timurids eras. Furthermore, to elucidate the ways such martial techniques (inspired by social customs) were performed by the Turk and Mongol tribes, we would refer to methods employed by the commanders for encouraging their troops like organizing celebrations and awarding prizes.