i8o THE OX AND ITS KINDRED 
then inwards, in a bold subcircular sweep, while in 
the other type they extend for a long distance almost 
directly outwards from the two sides of the head, and 
do not turn upwards, with a slight inward inclination, 
till near the tips. In both the circular and the 
straight type the horns of cows are more slender — 
and in some instances also longer — than those of 
bulls. 
Buffaloes are not found at the present day in a 
truly wild state in any of the countries to the west- 
ward of the Indus ; but Dr. Diirst^ is of opinion that 
in the pre-Christian era their range included Mesopo- 
tamia. This opinion is based on certain Babylonian 
and other ancient monuments. One of the oldest 
Babylonian cylinders, of which the origin is definitely 
known from the inscription it bears, contains, for 
instance, the representation of a gigantic buffalo. 
This cylinder, which is made of brown jasper, dates 
from the reign of the North Babylonian king, 
Shargani or Sargon, that is to say from about 3800 
to 3750 B.C. The cylinder represents a scene in 
which the legendary hero, Gishdubarra-Nimrod, also 
figures. 
Although this is the most beautiful known ancient 
representation of a buffalo, it is by no means the 
oldest, for, according to the same authority, there is a 
cylinder dating from the reign of one of the earliest 
of the Babylonian sovereigns, King Sirgulla, about 
5000 B.C., which shows an undoubted representation 
of a buffalo. The animal is also shown on other 
ancient cylinders, some of which are preserved in the 
national library at Paris. In all details these portraits 
are stated to accord closely with the Indian buffalo ; 
^ Die Kinder^ etc., p. 5. 
