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52-511: This type of dog may have been developed by the Alans , and was renowned primarily for its quality as a large-game catch dog , and as a war dog and guard dog . In France , the Alaunt as a crossbreed had three distinct types: the alant veautre , alant boucherie and alant gentile . They all were large, short-coated dogs of varying head-types. The former two resembled the mastiff -type dogs much like

104-629: A guard dog . In the later twentieth century it became an endangered breed ; a recovery project was launched, and numbers have since recovered. It was officially recognised under national law in 2004. The origins of the Alano Español are unknown. One hypothesis is that it derives from dogs brought to Spain in the Migration Period in the fifth century by the Alani , a nomadic pastoralist people from Central Europe . The first written reference to

156-592: A herding dog of Epirus which was white, large-headed, and slightly undershot, used to defend sheep and goats. One group of Alans arrived in what is now Albania in the 5th or 6th centuries BC. Molossis of Epirus is located in Southern Albania. It is most plausible the Alaunt gave rise to the fighting dogs of the Molossi, which were introduced to Britain by Roman invasion in 43 BC. The Alans provided cavalry for Rome, many of whom were deployed to Hadrian's Wall in

208-486: A ferocious war-dog owned by Juan Ponce de León , may have been of this type. Dogs of this type are shown in the bullfighting ring in an etching by Francisco de Goya in his series La Tauromaquia of 1816. From the late nineteenth century the Alano began to decline, for a variety of reasons: in 1880, the use of dogs in the bull-ring was prohibited, and the new practice of bullfighting on foot became more widespread;

260-413: A hundred talents for their ransom. These Alans therefore plundered the country without opposition, and with great ease, and proceeded as far as Armenia, laying waste all before them. Now, Tiridates was king of that country, who met them and fought them but was lucky not to have been taken alive in the battle; for a certain man threw a noose over him and would soon have drawn him in, had he not immediately cut

312-451: A specific breed. Through breeding with various scenthounds and sighthounds , some Alaunts became valued large game hunting dogs, existing in a variety of types dictated by regional preferences. In AD 1500, Spain was known for breeding the best Alaunts and used them to conquer the New World . In France, Alaunts were separated into three main categories, based on physical appearance and

364-851: Is a balance of base to length. Moreover, the Alaunt or mastiff must be separated from the Molossoides in head study, as this term does not separate the Mastiff from the mountain dogs or even the pug . Alans Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Alans ( Latin : Alani ) were an ancient and medieval Iranic nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what

416-552: Is cognate with the name of the country Īrān (from the gen. plur. *aryānām ). The Alans were documented by foreign observers from the 1st century CE onward under similar names: Latin : Alānī ; Greek : Ἀλανοί Alanoi ; Chinese : 阿蘭聊 Alanliao ( Pinyin ; Alan + Liu ) in the 2nd century, 阿蘭 Alan in the 3rd century, later Alanguo ( 阿蘭國 ); Parthian and Middle Persian Alānān (plural); Arabic Alān (singular); Syriac Alānayē ; Classical Armenian Alank' ; Georgian Alaneti ('country of

468-402: Is short and thick but never velvety, and is most often a brindle ; this may be of any colour, including grey or blue, with or without black. Other colours are fawn in any shade from sand-coloured to red, with or without black; and black-and-brindle – a black-and-tan in which the tan areas are brindled. The face may or may not have a black mask ; the nose is pigmented black. White markings to

520-716: Is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North-Africa. They are generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians , and possibly related to the Massagetae . Modern historians have connected the Alans with the Central Asian Yancai of Chinese sources and with the Aorsi of Roman sources. Having migrated westwards and becoming dominant among the Sarmatians on

572-466: Is wide in base, but short in length. While the preferred bite is reverse scissor, like the mastiff , and may have been a trait introduced by the Mongolian breeds at some remote time in history, skull type and bite type are separate subjects of genetic traits. The dolichocephalic skull is narrow at base yet long in length, so the Alaunt could be referred to as a modified dolichocephalic breed, as mesocephalic

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624-647: The Alano in Spain and Italy and were termed the original Bulldogs as they were used to control and defend herds of cattle. In Spain, the three categories were the Mastins, Alanos, and Lebrels, further separated as the ayuda (defense types) and the presa (offense types), such as the Perro de presa español . The long, broad, flat head of the Alaunt should never be confused with the modified brachycephalic breeds. The brachycephalic head type

676-518: The Alps in the winter of 464, into Liguria , but were there defeated , and Beorgor slain, by Ricimer , commander of the Emperor's forces. Alano Espa%C3%B1ol The Alano Español or Spanish Bulldog is a Spanish breed of medium to large sized dog of alaunt - bulldog type . It has at various times been used as a war dog , for bullfighting , for the management of cattle, for hunting and as

728-601: The Aorsi ( Ancient Greek Αορσιοι ) ) had become a vassal state of the Kangju and was now known as Alan (< LHC: * ʔɑ-lɑn 阿蘭) Y. A. Zadneprovskiy suggests that the Kangju subjugation of Yancai occurred in the 1st century BCE, and that this subjugation caused various Sarmatian tribes, including the Aorsi, to migrate westwards, which played a major role in starting the Migration Period . The 3rd century Weilüe also notes that Yancai

780-754: The Aorsi , a powerful Sarmatian tribe living between the Don River and the Aral Sea , mentioned in Roman records, in particular Strabo . The Later Han dynasty Chinese chronicle, the Hou Hanshu , 88 (covering the period 25–220 and completed in the 5th century), mentioned a report that the Yancai nation (奄蔡 lit "Vast Steppes" or "Extensive Grasslands" < LHC * ʔɨam - sɑ ; a.k.a. Hesu (闔蘇), compare Latin Abzoae , identified with

832-709: The Germanic Goths expanded south-eastwards and broke the Alan dominance on the Pontic Steppe . The Alans however seem to have had a significant influence on the culture of the Goths, who became excellent horsemen and adopted the Alanic animal style art. (The Roman Empire, during the chaos of the 3rd century civil wars, suffered damaging raids by the Gothic armies with their heavy cavalry before

884-928: The Hunnic defeat of the Goths on the Pontic Steppe around 375  CE , many of the Alans migrated westwards along with various Germanic tribes . They crossed the Rhine in 406   CE along with the Vandals and Suebi , settling in Orléans and Valence . Around 409 CE they joined the Vandals and Suebi in crossing the Pyrenees into the Iberian Peninsula , settling in Lusitania and Hispania Carthaginensis . The Iberian Alans, soundly defeated by

936-598: The Illyrian Emperors adapted to the Gothic tactics, reorganized and expanded the Roman heavy cavalry, and defeated the Goths under Gallienus , Claudius II and Aurelian .) After the Gothic entry to the steppe, many of the Alans seem to have retreated eastwards towards the Don, where they seem to have established contacts with the Huns . Ammianus writes that the Alans were "somewhat like

988-523: The Medes unexpectedly, and plundered their country, which they found full of people, and replenished with abundance of cattle, while nobody dared make any resistance against them; for Pacorus, the king of the country, had fled away for fear into places where they could not easily come at him, and had yielded up everything he had to them, and had only saved his wife and his concubines from them, and that with difficulty also, after they had been made captives, by giving

1040-744: The Pontic–Caspian steppe , the Alans are mentioned by Roman sources in the 1st century  CE . At that time they had settled the region north of the Black Sea and frequently raided the Parthian Empire and the South Caucasus provinces of the Roman Empire . From 215 to 250  CE the Goths broke their power on the Pontic Steppe , thereby assimilating a sizeable portion of the associated Alans. Upon

1092-754: The Ratonero Mallorquín and the Ca Mè Mallorquí , it was added to the list of indigenous Spanish breeds. It is not recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale . It has been suggested that the Cimarrón Uruguayo of Uruguay derives principally from the Alano Español. The Alano Español is a large dog of alaunt or bulldog type . Bitches stand some 55–60 cm at the withers , and weigh about 25–30 kg ; dogs are on average about 3 cm taller and 5 kg heavier. The coat

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1144-628: The Visigoths in 418 CE, subsequently surrendered their authority to the Hasdingi Vandals . In 428   CE, the Vandals and Alans crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into North Africa , where they founded a kingdom which lasted until its conquest by forces of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 534. Eventually in the 9th century those Alans who remained under Hunnic rule established

1196-668: The 2nd century BCE, the Alans were pushed west by the Kangju people (known to Graeco-Roman authors as the Ἰαξάρται Iaxártai in Greek, and the Iaxartae in Latin), the latter of whom were living in the Syr Darya basin, from where they expanded their rule from Fergana to the Aral Sea region. The first mentions of names that historians link with the Alani appear at almost the same time in texts from

1248-616: The Alani. The 1st century CE Jewish historian Josephus supplements this inscription. Josephus reports in the Jewish Wars (book   7, ch.   7.4) how Alans (whom he calls a " Scythian " tribe) living near the Sea of Azov crossed the Iron Gates for plunder (72   CE) and defeated the armies of Pacorus , king of Media , and Tiridates , King of Armenia , two brothers of Vologeses I (for whom

1300-627: The Alans for the purpose of uniting a heterogeneous group of tribes through the invocation of a common, ancestral 'Aryan' origin. Like the name of Iran (* Aryānām ), the adjective * aryāna is related to Airyanəm Waēǰō ('stretch of the Aryas'), the mythical homeland of the early Iranians mentioned in the Avesta . Some other ethnonyms also bear the name of the Alans: the Rhoxolāni ('Bright Alans'), an offshoot of

1352-665: The Alans were "formerly called Massagetae ," while Dio Cassius wrote that "they are Massagetae." It is likely that the Alans were an amalgamation of various Iranian peoples , including Sarmatians , Massagetae and Sakas . Scholars have connected the Alans to the nomadic state of Yancai mentioned in Chinese sources. The Yancai are first mentioned in connection with late 2nd century BCE diplomat Zhang Qian's travels in Chapter 123 of Shiji (whose author, Sima Qian , died c. 90 BCE). The Yancai of Chinese records has again been equated with

1404-502: The Alans whose name may be linked to religious practices, and the Alanorsoi ('White Alans'), perhaps a conglomerate of Alans and Aorsi . The personal names Alan and Alain (from Latin Alanus ) may have been introduced by Alan settlers to Western Europe during the first millennium CE. The Alans were also known over the course of their history by another group of related names including

1456-470: The Alans'); Hebrew Alan (pl. Alanim ). Rarer Latin spellings include Alauni or Halani . The name was also preserved in the modern Ossetian language as Allon . The ethnonym Alān is a dialectal variant of the Old Iranian * Aryāna , itself derived from the root arya -, meaning ' Aryan ', the common self-designation of Indo-Iranian peoples . It probably came in use in the early history of

1508-558: The Caspian Sea. By the early 2nd century CE the Alans were in firm control of the Lower Volga and Kuban . These lands had earlier been occupied by the Aorsi and the Siraces , whom the Alans apparently absorbed, dispersed and/or destroyed, since they were no longer mentioned in contemporaneous accounts. It is likely that the Alans' influence stretched further westwards, encompassing most of

1560-621: The Huns, but in their manner of life and their habits they are less savage." Jordanes contrasted them with the Huns, noting that the Alans "were their equals in battle, but unlike them in their civilisation, manners and appearance". In the late 4th century, Vegetius conflates Alans and Huns in his military treatise –  Hunnorum Alannorumque natio , the "nation of Huns and Alans" – and collocates Goths, Huns and Alans, exemplo Gothorum et Alannorum Hunnorumque . The 4th century Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus noted that

1612-640: The Mediterranean, Middle East and China. In the 1st century CE, the Alans migrated westwards from Central Asia , achieving a dominant position among the Sarmatians living between the Don River and the Caspian Sea . The Alans are mentioned in the Vologases inscription which reads that Vologases I , the Parthian king between around   45 and 78 CE, in the 11th year of his reign (62 CE), battled Kuluk , king of

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1664-532: The Sarmatian world, which by then possessed a relatively homogenous culture. In 135  CE , the Alans made a huge raid into Asia Minor via the Caucasus, ravaging Media and Armenia. They were eventually driven back by Arrian , the governor of Cappadocia , who wrote a detailed report ( Ektaxis kata Alanoon or 'War Against the Alans') that is a major source for studying Roman military tactics . From 215 to 250,

1716-552: The above-mentioned inscription was made): Now there was a nation of the Alans, which we have formerly mentioned somewhere as being Scythians, and living around Tanais and Lake Maeotis . This nation about this time laid a design of falling upon Media , and the parts beyond it, in order to plunder them; with which intention they treated with the king of Hyrcania ; for he was master of that passage which king Alexander shut up with iron gates. This king gave them leave to come through them; so they came in great multitudes, and fell upon

1768-569: The breed for specific duties . The type was further developed in Spain , Portugal , France, Germany , England , and in Italy . The Molossus belonged to the tribe of the Molossians , from Epirus in northern Greece in about 1200 BC, coming from the north. However, their artifacts did not resemble the Mastiff prototype, as they had a long nose of a narrow type, and a long mane. Varro, however, described

1820-452: The breed in Spain is in a chapter of the fourteenth-century Libro de la Montería de Alfonso XI ("Book of the Hunt of Alfonso XI "), in which hunting dogs called Alani are described as having beautiful colours. Dogs of this type travelled with Spanish explorers and were used as war dogs in the subjugation of Native American peoples, as well as in the re-capture of slaves. Becerrillo ,

1872-526: The breed. A surviving breeding population was identified in the mountains of Enkarterri /Las Encartaciones in the Basque Country in the 1980s. A breed standard was drawn up and a stud-book was started. In collaboration with the Real Sociedad Canina de España and municipal administrations including those of Alanís de la Sierra , Archidona , Cazalla and El Ronquillo , a recovery project

1924-405: The cord with his sword and escaped. So the Alans, being still more provoked by this sight, laid waste the country, and drove a great multitude of the men, and a great quantity of the other booty from both kingdoms, along with them, and then retreated back to their own country. The fact that the Alans invaded Parthia through Hyrcania shows that at the time many Alans were still based north-east of

1976-407: The day for the Vandals in an armed encounter with the Franks at the crossing of the Rhine on December   31, 406). According to Gregory, another group of Alans, led by Goar , crossed the Rhine at the same time, but immediately joined the Romans and settled in Gaul. Under Beorgor ( Beorgor rex Alanorum ), they moved throughout Gaul, till the reign of Petronius Maximus , when they crossed

2028-425: The direct ancestors of the Balkan breeds, which in turn influenced all other white dogs in the Balkans. The Western Alans joined the Vandals on their raids through Europe , and by the 410s AD, their fierce dogs were influencing many breeds in France , Spain , Portugal , England , and other countries. This spread the use of the "Alaunt" name, which became synonymous with a type of a working dog rather than

2080-441: The duties they performed. The lightest type was the alant gentil , a greyhound -like dog. The original mastiff variety, known as the alant de boucherie , may have contributed to the development of the fighting and baiting dogs of France. The French alants de boucherie were known as alauntz o bouchery in England, famously dramatised by Chaucer in his " Knight's Tale " as the mythical hounds of Lycurgus , King of Thrace , and

2132-407: The face. Since the breed was used for hunting in packs, it is sociable with other dogs. The Alano was used from Mediaeval times as a war dog . It has since been used for hunting of boar and deer , as a guard dog , and in the management of cattle, both at pasture and at slaughterhouses . Until about the end of the nineteenth century it was used in the bull-ring ; this use declined with

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2184-420: The manner of hunting changed, and more use was made of imported hunting dogs of foreign breeds; extensive management of livestock became less common in parts of the country; and the handling of livestock in slaughterhouses was modernised and no longer made use of dogs. The Alano was no longer needed for its traditional tasks, and numbers fell rapidly, almost to the point of the disappearance or extinction of

2236-431: The name Ho-su 闔蘇, reconstructed in ‘Old Chinese’ as ĥa̱p-sa̱ĥ, can be compared with Abzoae found in Pliny VI, 38 (see also Pulleyblank (1968), p. 252). Also Humbach (1969), pp. 39–40, accepts the identification, though with some reserve. Around 370, according to Ammianus, the peaceful relations between the Alans and Huns were broken, after the Huns attacked the Don Alans, killing many of them and establishing an alliance with

2288-401: The neck, chest or paws are acceptable, but excessive white is discouraged. The head is large, strong, squarish and brachycephalic . The muzzle is short, ideally approximately 37% of the length of the head, with the lower jaw slightly concave; mild prognathism is tolerated. The ears are set high and are pendent if not cropped . The skin is very thick, with neck folds and some wrinkles on

2340-517: The present-day Dogo Argentino or like the Caucasian Shepherd Dog except with short hair and a mesocephalic head which made them excellent large-game hunters, the gentile was a large sighthound type. The Alaunt type may have been originally bred by the Alani tribes, the nomads of Indo-European Sarmatian ancestry who spoke an Iranian language. The Alans were known as superb warriors, herdsmen, and breeders of horses and dogs. The Alans bred their dogs for work and developed different strains within

2392-447: The regionally powerful kingdom of Alania . It survived until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century CE. Various scholars regard these Alans as the ancestors of the modern Ossetians. The Alans spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into the modern Ossetian language . The name Alan represents an Eastern Iranian dialectal form of Old Iranian term Aryan , and so

2444-412: The second century AD. In the 370s AD, Hun invasions divided the Alani into the Eastern and Western Alans. The Eastern Alani tribes merged with the Ossetians and other nations, introducing their dogs into the bloodlines of many Balkan breeds, such as the Šarplaninac , Metchkar, Qen Ghedje, Hellenikos Poimenikos and other livestock guardian dogs of the region. The white-coloured Alaunts may be

2496-404: The survivors. These Alans successfully invaded the Goths in 375 together with the Huns. They subsequently accompanied the Huns in their westward expansion. Following the Hunnic invasion in 370, other Alans, along with other Sarmatians , migrated westward. One of these Alan groups fought together with the Goths in the decisive Battle of Adrianople in 378   CE, in which emperor Valens

2548-408: The variations Asi , As , and Os ( Romanian Iasi or Olani , Bulgarian Uzi , Hungarian Jász , Russian Jasy , Georgian Osi ). It is this name at the root of the modern Ossetian . The Alans were formed out of the merger of the Massagetae , a Central Asian Iranian nomadic people, with some old tribal groups. Related to the Asii who had invaded Bactria in

2600-417: Was killed. As the Roman Empire continued to decline , the Alans split into various groups; some fought for the Romans while others joined the Huns, Visigoths or Ostrogoths . A portion of the western Alans joined the Vandals and the Suebi in their invasion of Roman Gaul . Gregory of Tours mentions in his Liber historiae Francorum ("Book of Frankish History") that the Alan king Respendial saved

2652-400: Was launched. There are two breed societies , the Asociación Nacional de Criadores de Alano Español (formed in 1995), and the Sociedad Española de Fomento y Cría del Alano Español. The Alano Español was officially recognised by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación , the Spanish ministry of agriculture, in 2004; together with the Pastor Garafiano , the Ratonero Valenciano ,

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2704-577: Was then known to be Alans, although they were no longer vassals of the Kangju. Dutch Sinologist A. F. P. Hulsewé noted that: Chavannes (1905), p. 558, note 5, approves of the identification of Yen-ts’ai with the ‘Αορσοι mentioned by Strabo, as proposed by Hirth (1885), p. 139, note 1 ; he believes this identification to be strengthened by the later name Alan, which explains Ptolemy's "Alanorsi". Marquart (1905), pp. 240–241, did not accept this identification, but Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 99 and 220, does, referring for additional support to HSPC 70.6b where

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