Elephants in Ancient Egypt and Nubia

This article examines the presence of elephants in civilizations of the ancient Nile valley, where they were hunted and distributed to Egypt and to the Classical Greco-Roman world for ivory, amusement, and military purposes. The full study of elephants requires diverse multidisciplinary research on their evolution, taxonomy, extinction, climate change, the history of human—elephant interactions, and modern issues relating to elephant and ivory policy. This regional view of the past illuminates some of the deep roots of these modern issues in human—elephant relations.