Editing Lasso (section)

===Before the Americas===
[[File:Pharoah with Lasso.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Pharaoh ready to rope the sacred bull; a carving at the temple of Seti I, [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] northwest of [[Luxor|Luxor, Egypt]]]] [[File:"Rustam Lassos Rakhsh", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) MET sf1972-285-2a.jpg| thumb|right| 200x200px|''Rustam Lassos the horse Rakhsh'' (ca. 1450). In the vast majority of the Old World, lassoing was generally done on foot when done for livestock management.]]

Lasso were known to the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas| indigenous peoples]] of Latin America who employed them as weapons.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=C.B. |first1=J. |last2=Leslie |first2=Frank |title=Through Mexico in the Saddle |journal=Frank Leslie's New Family Magazine |date=1859 |volume=5 |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ml02AQAAMAAJ&q=mexican+lasso |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref> Lassos are not only part of North American culture; [[relief carving]]s at the [[ancient Egypt]]ian temple of [[Pharaoh]] [[Seti I]] at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], built c.1280 BC, show the pharaoh holding a lasso, then holding onto a bull roped around the horns. [[Hun]]s are recorded as using lassos in battle to ensnare opponents prepared to defend themselves in hand-to-hand combat around AD 370.<ref>{{cite book|last=Marcellinus|first=Ammianus|title=''"The Huns" in ''The Mammoth Book of How it Happened|year=2001|publisher=Robinson|location=London|isbn=1841191493|page=43|author-link=Ammianus Marcellinus|editor=Jon E. Lewis}}</ref> They were also used by [[Tatars]] and are still used by the [[Sami people]] and [[Finns]] in reindeer herding. In [[Mongolia]], a variant of the lasso called an '''''uurga''''' ({{Langx|mn|уурга}}) is used, consisting of a rope loop at the end of a long pole.

Lassos are also mentioned in the Greek ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]]; seventh book. Polymnia 7.85 records: "The wandering tribe known by the name of [[Sagartians]] – a people [[Old Persian|Persian]] in language, and in dress half [[Persian people|Persian]], half [[Pakthas|Pactyan]], who furnished the army as many as eight thousand horse. It is not the wont of this people to carry arms, either of bronze or steel, except only a dirk; but they use lassos made of thongs plaited together, and trust to these whenever they go to the wars. Now the manner in which they fight is the following: when they meet their enemy, straightway they discharge their lassos, which end in a noose; then, whatever the noose encircles, be it man or be it horse, they drag towards them; and the foe, entangled in the toils, is forthwith slain. Such is the manner in which this people fight; and now their horsemen were drawn up with the Persians". Lasso is mentioned by some sources as being one of the pieces of equipment of the [[Aswaran]], the cavalry force of the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |title=ARMY i. Pre-Islamic Iran – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/army-i |access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Rustam lassoes the Khaqan of chin from the back of his elephant (6124528639).jpg|left|thumb|upright|"[[Rustam]] Lassoes the Khaqan of China from His White Elephant". In the ancient world, lassos were generally used as weapons of war.]]
In the vast majority of these cases the lassos were used as weapons for war. When used for herding purposes it was generally done on foot, typically within the confines of an enclosure, in very rudimentary ways. Other such examples include the ''maut'' or ''arkan'' lasso of the [[Siberian]] natives for herding [[reindeer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Siberian Collection – A New Perspective: Maut (Lasso) |url=https://etnomuzeum.eu/en/siberia/context/-1 |website=The Ethnographic Museum in Krakow |publisher=Malopolska |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref>