The historical relationship between humans and elephants is a long and complex one. Asian elephants have been caught, tamed, trained, and used for a variety of purposes by humans for more than 4,000 years. The large size, strength, intelligence, and longevity of the elephant has in the past made the animal an attractive and valuable asset in such varied roles as transport, warfare, logging, construction, religion, and tourism.
In Thailand, captive elephants likely began to be commonly used for labour and war in the late 16th Century. Elephants feature heavily in both folklore and historical accounts of warfare around this time, having been used to fight against Burmese, Malay, and Khmer armies. Later, when the prevalence of firearms made elephants redundant as a front-line weapon, they were given new military roles in transport, engineering, and construction, and continued to be used as a part of the Thai military until the 19th Century.
Perhaps the most famous instance of an elephant participating in warfare in Thailand is that of the “Elephant Battle”, or Songkram Yuddhahatthi (สงครามยุทธหัตถี), in 1593. During an invasion of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya by the Burmese army, the Siamese King Naresuan the Great challenged the Burmese Crown Prince Mingyi Swa to a personal combat duel on elephant-back. At this time, it was common practice in Thailand for the King or general to ride an elephant into combat, accompanied on the animal by a signaller and steerer. It was also not uncommon for leaders to fight one another in personal combat on elephant, sometimes as a means of deciding the outcome of a battle.
