Chariot

A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to around 1950–1880 BC. These early chariots were important because they showed how people could travel quickly using horses and special wheels.

The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel. Chariots were fast, light, open vehicles with two wheeled parts, pulled by two or more equids, usually horses, that were hitched side by side. They were little more than a floor with a guard at the front and sides.

At first, chariots were used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Later, after other ways of fighting like light and heavy cavalries became better, chariots were still used for many things. People used them for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races. Chariots were important in many cultures for thousands of years.

Etymology

The word "chariot" started from the Latin word carrus. It then passed into French as chariot, which came from the Gaulish word karros.

In ancient Rome, a biga was a chariot pulled by two horses, a triga by three horses, and a quadriga by four horses.

Origins

The wheel may have been invented in several places, with early signs found in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Slovenia. Early wheeled vehicles appeared around the middle of the 4th millennium BC in places like the Northern Caucasus and Central Europe. These first vehicles might have been pulled by oxen.

A key step in developing the chariot was the domestication of animals, especially domestication of horses. Horses were likely first tamed around 3500 BC in the Eurasian Steppes, possibly by people of the Botai culture in modern-day Kazakhstan. Some think horses were domesticated even earlier in Eastern Europe.

The earliest known chariots were found in burial sites of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Russia and Kazakhstan. These chariots are thought to have spread across the Old World and were important in ancient warfare. Some experts debate whether these early finds were true chariots or simple carts.

Spread by Indo-Europeans

Chariots were very important in old stories from Indo-Iranian and early European cultures. Many gods in Persian mythology and Hindu mythology are shown riding chariots. The word for chariot in Sanskrit is rátha-, which comes from an old word meaning "having wheels." Nomadic tribes like the Scythians traveled in wagons, carts, and chariots during their journeys.

Hittites

The oldest proof of chariot battles in the ancient Near East comes from an old Hittite text from the 18th century BC. The first sure proof of chariots in the Hittite empire is from the late 17th century BC. The Hittites were famous charioteers. They made a new kind of chariot with lighter, four-spoked wheels that could carry three warriors. One would steer, another would shoot arrows, and the third would either fight with a spear or sword or protect everyone with a big shield.

Hittite success depended on controlling trade routes and resources like metals. Under Suppiluliuma I, the Hittites conquered areas like Syria. The Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC was probably the biggest chariot battle ever, with over 5,000 chariots.

Bronze Age Indian Subcontinent

Main article: Ratha

Old models of ox-drawn vehicles have been found in places like Chanhudaro, Daimabad, Harappa, and Nausharo. True horses were found in Pirak, Pakistan, around 1700 BC.

Pictures of horse-drawn chariots with armed passengers appear in rock paintings from the second millennium BC. These paintings are found in places like Chibbar Nulla and Morhana Pahar in Mirzapur. One painting shows a chariot being attacked by fighters with shields and bows.

Bronze Age solid-disk wheel carts were found in Sinauli in 2018. Some think these were horse-pulled "chariots," but others believe they were pulled by oxen. These findings may relate to early movements of people into the Indian subcontinent.

Horse-drawn chariots and their rituals spread with the Indo-Iranians. These people brought horses and chariots to India, starting the Vedic period around 1750 BC.

In religion

In old Indian texts called the Rigveda, the god Indra is described riding a chariot pulled by two bay horses. Other gods like the Sun God Surya, the dawn goddess Ushas, and Agni also ride chariots.

Hindu symbolism

In Hindu stories, the chariot (ratha) is a strong symbol of divine movement and order. A famous example is in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna acts as a charioteer for a hero named Arjuna. The chariot stands for the human body, the horses are the senses, and the charioteer represents the higher self guiding the mind.

Persia

Main article: Scythed chariot

The Persians took over after Elam. They might have been the first to use four horses to pull their chariots. They also used special chariots with blades called scythed chariots. A leader named Cyrus the Younger used many of these chariots in a big battle.

Herodotus wrote that areas like Ancient Libyan and Ancient Indian provided horses and chariots to a leader named Xerxes the Great. However, by this time, cavalry was better than chariots. A big battle in 331 BC showed that chariots were no longer the main way to fight, except in some places like India and China.

Introduction in the Near East

Chariots first appeared in the Near East between the 17th and 16th centuries BC. Some experts think the horse chariot was created there early in the second millennium BC. Archaeologist Joost Crouwel says that chariots did not appear suddenly but developed from earlier vehicles with disk or cross-bar wheels. This development is best seen in the Near East, where chariots with spoke wheels and horses are first known from the early part of the second millennium BC. They were even shown on a Syrian cylinder seal from either the 18th or 17th century BC.

According to Christoph Baumer, the earliest wheels found in Mesopotamia are from the first half of the third millennium BC, which is more than half a millennium later than wheels found in the Kuban region. At the same time, pictures of sleds on wooden rollers or wheels have been found in Mesopotamia. These pictures are from about the same time as early wheel discoveries in Europe and may show that people knew about wheels.

The oldest pictures of vehicles used in warfare are on the Standard of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, from about 2500 BCE. These were heavy wagons pulled by oxen or a mix of a donkey and an onager, called a Kunga. They were used by armies from Ebla, early Sumer, Akkad, and Ur III. The picture shows lines of these wagons, each with a driver and a fighter carrying axes or spears, moving over fallen enemies. These heavy wagons, with solid wooden wheels and covers of skin, might have been used for carrying things during important events instead of fighting.

The Sumerians had a lighter, two-wheeled cart pulled by four donkeys, with solid wheels. Spoked wheels did not appear in Mesopotamia until the middle of the second millennium BC.

Egypt

Chariots came to Egypt around 1650 BC during the Hyksos invasion and the start of the Fourteenth Dynasty. In 1659 BC, the Hittites attacked Babylon, showing how useful chariots were in old times.

The Hyksos invaders brought chariots and horses to Egypt from the 16th century BC onward. Discoveries in 2013 suggest chariots might have been used as early as Egypt's Old Kingdom, around 2686–2181 BC. Egyptian and Assyrian art often shows chariots with rich decorations. The Egyptians made a special saddle for chariot horses around 1500 BC. Usually, chariots had two people: one to guide the horses and another to shoot arrows. The best-preserved Egyptian chariots are from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Chariots could be pulled by two or more horses.

Ancient Canaan and Israel

See also: Merkabah

Chariots are often mentioned in the Hebrew Tanakh and the Greek Old Testament. They are talked about as tools for war or symbols of power and glory. They are first mentioned in the story of Joseph in Genesis 50:9. "Iron chariots" are mentioned in Joshua and Judges as weapons used by the Canaanites and Israelites. The Philistines, sometimes linked to the Sea Peoples or early Greeks, also had chariots, as mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:5.

Examples from The Jewish Study Bible of the Tanakh include references in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Psalms, and the Song of Songs. Examples from the King James Version of the Christian Bible include mentions in 2 Chronicles, Judges, and Acts.

Small horses might have lived in northern Negev before 3000 BC. Jezreel has been linked to King Ahab's chariot base. A decorated bronze tablet thought to be part of a Canaanite chariot was found at a site that may be Sisera's fortress Harosheth Haggoyim.

Urartu

In Urartu (860–590 BC), chariots were used by both nobles and soldiers. In Erebuni (Yerevan), King Argishti of Urartu is shown riding a chariot pulled by two horses. This chariot had two wheels, each with about eight spokes, and was used around 800 BC.

Introduction in Bronze-Age Europe

The earliest known wheeled vehicle, a wagon with two axles and four wheels, was found on the Bronocice pot from around 3500 BC in Poland. This clay pot was excavated in a settlement of the Funnelbeaker culture in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship. The oldest real wheel-axle combination discovered in Eastern Europe is the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel from around 3150 BC.

The Greeks began using chariots around 1600 BC, likely adopting them from the Hittites. These chariots were used in races, ceremonies, and public events like the Olympic and Panathenaic Games. They were simple vehicles with a seat on the axle, wooden wheels, and leather reins. Greek mythology tells stories of chariots, such as the sun chariot driven by Phaëton, son of Helios.

In Northern Europe, the Trundholm sun chariot from around 1500-1300 BC shows a horse-drawn vehicle with wheels. Petroglyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age also depict chariots. The Celts in Western Europe were known for their chariots, which influenced words like "car" and "carry" in modern English. British chariots were open in front, and Julius Caesar described how they were used in battle.

In Rome, chariots were mainly used for racing in circuses and for triumphal processions, not for war. The Circus Maximus in Rome was a major venue for these races, with teams competing in colorful costumes. Chariot racing remained popular in the Byzantine Empire as well.

Introduction in Ancient China

The oldest proof of chariots in China was found in 1933 near Hougang, Anyang in Henan. This discovery dates back to around 1250 BC, during the time of King Wu Ding of the Late Shang. Early writings suggest that their enemies used a few chariots in battles, but the Shang mostly used them for moving leaders around and for royal hunts.

During the Shang dynasty, important people were buried with their households, servants, chariots, horses, and even charioteers. A typical Shang chariot had two horses, but sometimes four were used.

After the Shang, the Zhou dynasty used chariots more often. They created a new way to connect four horses together. A chariot crew usually had an archer, a driver, and sometimes a third fighter with a spear or dagger-axe. From the 8th to the 5th centuries BC, chariots were very common, but foot soldiers often beat charioteers in fights.

Chariots as main battle tools stopped being used after the Warring-States period (476–221 BC). This was because new weapons like the crossbow, very long halberds, and pikes became common, and cavalry with mounted archery worked better. Chariots were still used by leaders during the Qin dynasty and the Han dynasty. In the Han dynasty, armored chariots fought against enemies in the Han–Xiongnu War, especially at the Battle of Mobei (119 BC).

Before the Han dynasty, how strong a country was often shown by how many chariots it had. A country with a thousand chariots was considered medium-sized, and one with ten thousand chariots was very powerful.