Lion hunter

Lion hunting is the act of hunting lions. Lions have been hunted since antiquity.

Ancient Egyptian lion hunts were usually reserved for pharaohs. These hunts nearly resulted in the extermination of regional lion populations by 1100 BC. Commemorative artwork has been found telling of how during a single hunt, pharaoh Amenhotep III killed more than 100 lions.

In ancient Assyria, lion hunting was a ritualized activity reserved for kings. These hunts were symbolic of the ruling monarch's duty to protect and fight for his people. The Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, a sequence of Assyrian palace reliefs from the North Palace at Nineveh dating from about 645 BC in the British Museum in London show King Ashurbanipal hunting lions.

In fact the "royal lion hunt", was the staged and ritualized killing by the king of lions already captured and released into an arena. The realism of the lions has always been praised, although the pathos modern viewers tend to feel was perhaps not part of the Assyrian response.

The Assyrian kings hunted lions for political and religious purposes, to demonstrate their power. 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. 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. Expert spearmen and archers would protect the king. Sometimes the king would invite some nobles to accompany him.

Before the end of the 10th century, Asiatic lions were hunted by 'Shirvanshakhs' in South Caucasia.

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Wikipedia