SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 147 



came from the countries lying to the westward 

 of the upper part of the Nile Valley, and were 

 therefore of the Barb type. On the other hand, 

 the horses of Syria and Palestine in Biblical 

 times, which were of various colours, are considered 

 to have probably come from Persia or the adjacent 

 countries ; ^ the dun-coloured kadishes now found 

 in the peninsula of Syria and Irak being a later 

 introduction from Central or Northern Asia, and 

 akin to the tarpan. The latter origin is likewise 

 claimed by Professor Ridgeway ^ for the horses of 

 ancient Babylonia (where they appear to have been 

 introduced about 1500 b.c.) and Assyria; the first 

 horses known in the Euphrates Valley thus being 

 of the tarpan type. 



For centuries Persia has been noted for the ex- 

 cellence of its horses, the typical breed being near 

 akin to the Arab but rather taller and more slender 

 in make. There are, however, other breeds in the 

 country, such as the Turkoman and the half-bred 

 Persian and Turkoman in the north-east ; the 

 Karadagh, a Cossack breed, in the north-west, near 

 the Russian frontier ; the Kurdish breed in the 

 province of Kurdistan ; and Arabs in the western 

 and south-western districts. These Kurdistan 

 ponies, which are usually grey or bay, came doubt- 

 less in the first instance from Northern Asia, and 

 therefore have the same origin as the Turkoman ; 



^ The Thoroughbred Horse, p. 211. ^ Ibid., p. 198. 



