Horse games and equestrian sports in Islamic art are such a broad topic, that it is impossible to completely cover the subject in one article. Thus, the main purpose of this contribution is to address a largely neglected theme within Islamic art research.

There has been very little research conducted about Asian equestrian games. Apart from the fundamental work on Asian equestrian games by subject expert Carl Diem (1882-1962), published nearly 60 years ago (Diem, 1941, repr. 1982), there are only two other publications that are particularly noteworthy. hese are, “Furusiyya”, a two volume book published on the occasion of the great Riyadh exhibition, to which many experts contributed (Alexander, 1996), and the catalogue for the “Chevaux et cavaliers arabes dans les arts d‘Orient et d’Occident” exhibition staged by l’Institut du Monde Arabe (Institut du Monde Arabe, 2002).

Based on surviving materials which stem from the ields of Islamic art, the history of architecture, and various areas of anthropology, such diverse topics as Polo, Qabaq, Djerid and Horse Racing still need to be studied and examined. Furthermore, historic travelogues should also be consulted, as they have proven to be excellent sources of information, especially if they are illustrated works.

Source: Joachim Gierlichs, Horse Games in Islamic Art, in : Horse games - horse sports: from traditional Oriental games to modern and Olympic sport = Riyāḍat al-furūsīyah - musābaqāt al-khuyūl: min mubārayāt Sharqīyah taqlīdīyah ilá riyāḍah ḥadīthah wa-Ūlambīyah. Beirut 2012, pp. 43-61.