ANTIOCHOS III THE GREAT (222-187 BC)

"The Battle of Raphia" In the Battle of Raphia in 217 BCE, Ptolemy IV, with 73 North African elephants, faced the army of Antiochus III, who commanded 103 Indian elephants. Despite Antiochus's defeat, Ptolemy suffered greater losses in animals: 16 compared to Antiochus's 5. This has led to the rather misleading conclusion that North African elephants were less effective than their Himalayan relatives and that the Indian elephants won the confrontation.

The decisive factor, however, was the number and effectiveness of the soldiers assigned as the elephants' escorts. Their blows proved lethal to the animals when faced with significantly greater enemy numbers. Antiochus deployed a larger herd of elephants at Raphia than Ptolemy, and it is likely that the Seleucid side also fielded a much larger escort force for their elephants.