What do the medieval wagon, upholstered in leather, the elegant crew of the 19th century and the modern airplane have in common? All of them are different types of vehicles. For millennia, mankind has invented new and improved the modes of transport already known to him. One of them is the arba.
What encyclopedias say
Etymological and explanatory dictionaries refer us to the Turkic peoples. It was from them that the Europeans borrowed the word "arba." This happened so long ago that today it has become an integral part of many languages, in particular Russian. But what did Tatars, Tajiks or Turks mean by him?
It turns out that they called the high two-wheeled cart, and the driver who drove it - the arbakesh. It is noteworthy that such wagons had wheels without spokes. With a similar design, they resembled chariots used in Asia in the second millennium BC.
Most often, donkeys or oxen were harnessed to the arba. Perhaps this carriage was met by Pushkin in the Caucasus in 1829, traveling to Arzrum. On this arba, the body of Alexander Griboedov, who died in Persia, was transported to Tiflis.
Not two, but four
Two-wheeled carts in the Caucasus have been entering for quite some time, right up to the last century. However, over time, the meaning of the word "arba" has changed somewhat. They began to call them long carts with four, and not with two wheels, and with ordinary spokes. They are still used, for example, in the south of Ukraine.
However, based on the description, we can say that the arba is a cart that can be found in rural areas not only in Asia or Europe, but also in America, whether it is the northern or southern continent. It is noteworthy that such wagons are available with both two and four wheels. They still harness oxen to transport grain and other agricultural products. True, these wagons are not called a cart. Although what does it matter if they are used for the same purpose as the carts of the Turkic peoples of the past.