In ancient Assyria, lion hunting was a sport reserved for kings. These hunts were symbolic of the ruling monarch’s duty to protect and fight for his people.[2] Reliefs found in a former palace in Nineveh dating from about 645 BC in the British Museum in London show King Ashurbanipal hunting lions.[3] The Assyrian Kings were famous hunters. They would often go lion hunting for political and religious purposes. They would think that if they were good at hunting, the gods would favor them, which the Assyrians thought would help them later. These kings are often portrayed on the plains of Syria, but there were no lions there so they were imported from Africa. To get the lion out of his cage and onto the Syrian plains, a servant would raise a door and start running. Then the lion would get beaten by dogs and beaters, so that the lion would go to the king. The king would kill the lion from a chariot with his bow and arrow or spear...Read more:Lion hunting
Sometimes the king would kill it on foot with a sword. He would do this by holding it by the mane and then thrusting the sword into the lion's throat. Then, when the lion was killed, the king would pour a Liquid over it and give a speech to the cities(?) god to thank him, so the lion's evil spirit wouldn't come back and haunt him. The pictures of these hunts were usually hung in the king's tomb. Expert spearmen and archers would protect the king, but this wasn't really needed because the kings were expert hunters. Sometimes the king would invite some nobles to accompany him. This was a real honor and no noble would turn that chance down. Also if there were no lions, they would use hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo and many others but the kings thought that the bigger the better...Read more:Lion hunting
YOU MAY LIKE THIS VIDEO, PLEASE ENJOY WATCHING. THANKS.
The Maasai people have traditionally viewed the killing of lions as a rite of passage. Historically, lion hunts were done by individuals, however, due to reduced lion populations, lion hunts done solo are discouraged by elders. Most hunts are now partaken by groups of 10 warriors. Group hunting, known in Maasai as olamayio, gives the lion population a chance to grow. However, in Kenya, where this practice is illegal, olamayio may be used as a reason for retaliatory killing against lions suspected of killing livestock.[5] Maasai customary laws prohibit killing a sick or infirm lion. The killing of lionesses is also prohibited unless provoked.
At the end of each age-set, usually after a decade, the warriors count all of their lion kills to compare them with those hunted by the former age-set in order to measure accomplishment...Read more:Lion hunting
