Comments on: The First White Elephant Gift

The First White Elephant Gift

Iridic — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 13:49:31 -0800

Around A.D. 800, the storied Caliph Haroun Al-Raschid sent a diplomatic delegation some two thousand miles from Baghdad to Aachen, the seat of Charlemagne's empire. Among the many gifts for the Frankish ruler that accompanied the delegation was Abul-Abbas, the first recorded elephant north of the Alps.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:14:13 -0800

Fantastic post.

By: ericb

ericb — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:21:17 -0800

Brings to mind another gift animal's trek north -- Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris. It was a gift from Muhammad Ali, the "Renaissance Barbarian" viceroy of Egypt to King Charles X in 1827.

By: saladin

saladin — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 17:41:07 -0800

Far and away the best of the elephant posts. Thank you, Iridic.

By: alloneword

alloneword — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 07:10:13 -0800

Huh? I suppose that Hannibal's elephants were only West of the Alps. But they were still transalpine.