Saluki

Saluki

Salukis come in a variety of coat colours.
Origin	Fertile Crescent,
Traits Weight 40–60 pounds (18–27 kg) Height 23–28 inches (58–71 cm) Life span 12–14
Classification / standards FCI Group 10, Section 1 Long-haired or fringed Sighthounds #269 standard AKC Hound standard ANKC Group 4 (Hounds) standard CKC Group 2 – Hounds standard KC (UK) Hound standard NZKC Hounds standard UKC Sighthound & Pariah standard
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Saluki, also known as Persian Greyhound, is a dog originally bred in the Fertile Crescent. The Saluki is classed as a sighthound and is typically deep-chested and long-legged. Salukis are "sight" hounds—hunting by sight—and run their quarry down to kill or retrieve it. Historically, Salukis were used for hunting by nomadic tribes. Typical quarry included the gazelle, hare, fox and jackal.

The two ancient Sumerian words "Salu-ki" translate into "plunge-earth." However, there is no evidence the breed was referred to by the Sumerians with this name nor what "plunge to earth" might have meant in reference to the Saluki. The name of the breed first appeared in writing in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and may have derived from "Saluqiyyah," the Arabic form of Seleucia. However, this is disputed. British diplomat Sir Terence Clark wrote that the Arabic word "Saluqi" describes a person or thing from a place named Saluq.

Arab tradition states that Saluq was an ancient town in Yemen not far from modern Ta'izz, and the Arabs associate this town with the origin of the breed. However, the word "saluqi" might have been derived from reference to several other places: Saluq in Armenia, and three towns called Saluqiyah. One has become modern Silifke (Turkey), another is near Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey), and third is located near Baghdad (Iraq). Baghdad eclipsed Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire, which was located some 30 km (19 mi) to the southeast. Ctesiphon itself had replaced and absorbed Seleucia, the first capital of the Seleucid Empire (312 BC - 65 AD) and the adjective saluqi may have been derived by the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula from the similar-sounding word for Seleucid used in the Aramaic and Syriac languages spoken there by the various peoples of that part of Mesopotamia, but there is no irrefutable evidence.