Since buzkashi was clearly an inappropriate ardour for a civilized monarch, polo crammed the invoice. Persian manuscripts from the 6th century refer to polo performed through the reign of Hormuz I (271–273). The sport was painted by miniaturists and celebrated by Persian poets corresponding to Ferdowsī (c. 935–c. 1020) and Ḥāfeẓ (1325/26–1389/90). By 627 polo had spread all through the Indian subcontinent and had reached China, where it turned a ardour amongst those rich sufficient to personal horses. (All sixteen emperors of the Tang dynasty [618–907] have been polo gamers.) As with most sports, the vast majority of polo players…