Since buzkashi was clearly an inappropriate passion for a civilized monarch, polo crammed the invoice. Persian manuscripts from the sixth century refer to polo performed through the reign of Hormuz I (271–273). The recreation was painted by miniaturists and celebrated by Persian poets such as Ferdowsī (c. 935–c. 1020) and Ḥāfeẓ (1325/26–1389/90). By 627 polo had spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and had reached China, the place it grew to become a ardour among those rich sufficient to personal horses. (All 16 emperors of the Tang dynasty [618–907] had been polo gamers.) As with most sports, the vast majority of…