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The Mastiff dog has a long history; these dogs have been domesticated for more than two thousand years. The Romans bred the ancestors of modern Mastiff dog breeds for use as guard dogs and hunting dogs and in brought these dogs to the British Isles in the 6th century when they conquered Britain. These dogs, already favorites with the Romans (including Julius Caesar, by many accounts) quickly became popular in Britain as well and became the ancestors of the modern English Mastiff. Mastiffs also were part of the war party when Hannibal crossed the Alps and were a favorite of the Kublai Khan, who kept a kennel of thousands of the dogs.