In ancient times, war chariots were extremely important on the battlefield. Often, the army that had such vehicles won the confrontation. In the Middle East and the Mediterranean, chariots were used up to 500 BC. e. By the beginning of a new era, they had disappeared in Western Europe. The longest chariots lasted in China and Southeast Asia, where they remained in demand until the late Middle Ages.
The importance of chariots
During battles, war chariots played the same role that tanks had in the future. They had to make a mess in the ranks of the enemy. It was with the help of carts that the enemy ranged in thick lines. On the chariots were spearmen, dart throwers or archers. They destroyed the living force of the enemy.
Like the cavalry, the chariots shocked and frightened the infantry unprepared for such a confrontation. Often on foot, militiamen scattered in horror from the carts, not waiting for the approach of death.
Chariots are also a significant indicator of the social stratification of society. They were owned only by privileged residents of the country. To reach a place on the gig, it was necessary to make a lot of effort. In addition, war chariots are a good incentive for the development of horse breeding in a single state.
Chariots in the Middle East
Researchers agree that the two-wheeler reached its greatest efficiency in the Middle East. They came here because of the penetration of Indian and Iranian language groups into the region.
In the III millennium BC, Syrian and Mesopotamian chariots appeared. They were distinguished by a typical rectangular shape with an elongated platform. Their width was about half the length. From here they came to Ancient Egypt, where they were especially popular.
Battle of Megiddo
In this regard, it is important to mention the Battle of Megiddo. This was the first documented battle in human history. It took place in 1468 BC. The opponents were the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and the Canaanite kings. What is a war chariot for that era? This is an elite unit of troops. Pharaoh himself led a column of gigs. He fired from the bow at the Syrians and Palestinians, who ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.
Arrows were an important component of the Egyptian squad. Under Thutmose, they received the most effective bows that a person could produce at that time. They were distinguished by high accuracy and mobility. Not one light armor could withstand their blow. Ancient war chariots allowed archers to rise above the infantry and seek out the necessary targets.
Battle of Kadesh
It was the golden age of carts. The most massive use of chariots was recorded at the Battle of Kadesh. The forces of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king Muwatalli II clashed in it. The battle took place in the 13th century BC.
In the battle, both sides in total used about 7 thousand chariots. It began with the fact that the Hittites suddenly attacked the Egyptian camp, which remained virtually defenseless due to enemy maneuvers. Already in this attack hundreds of chariots were used. The Hittites managed to win at this initial stage.
However, the main Egyptian army under the leadership of the pharaoh himself was a few kilometers from the camp. This army launched a retaliatory attack. The Egyptians also had chariots that sowed terror among the infantry. The Hittites did not have spearmen to counter this type of army. However, in their army, the infantry had iron armor. This metal was a military and state secret. The Egyptians did not know how to melt it. In fact, this was the last battle of the Bronze Age.
The battle did not reveal the winners. The number of chariots on both sides was approximately equal, which led to parity. As a result, the Egyptians and the Hittites agreed to sign a peace treaty. Moreover, each country attributed the victory to itself. Nevertheless, it was here that the Egyptian invasion of the Middle East was stopped. This was largely facilitated by the Hittite war chariots.
Mastering riding and the decline of chariots
At the end of the second millennium BC, the decline of chariots began. It was associated with the fact that a person mastered horseback riding. Initially, this did not cancel the gigs. However, economically keeping cavalry was much cheaper than carts. Therefore, over time, war chariots began to disappear from the army due to their inefficiency. The high cost was caused by the need to create various equipment.
How is a war chariot arranged? For her, first of all, harnesses are needed. They were too expensive for widespread use. The blow was especially strong among the nomads. At the same time, an example of ancient China is indicative. During the battles in the Yellow River valley, only six hundred harnesses were carried out for six thousand foot soldiers.
Socio-economic reasons for abandoning chariots
The use of the wagons was still warranted from a military point of view. However, a knockout blow to them came after the social layer of people who were brought up to become owners of chariots disappeared.
She entered to know. In many societies, the chariot also had a sacred meaning as a sign of power and power. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Roman emperors, after important victories by triumphs, drove into the capital in a gig. With the advent of new types of metal, as well as other types of troops, the chariot came to naught. She was successfully replaced by cavalry.
Weighted harnesses in Assyria
Many peoples created their own modifications of this type of troops. For example, the Assyrians began to use new shock harnesses. In these wagons there were 4 horses and as many warriors. One of them always had a shield with him in order to protect his crewmates from the attacks of the spearmen. Such a "weighting" over time has become characteristic of other states.
Chariots in China
What is a war chariot for the Chinese? Eastern civilization began to use it for defensive purposes (and not offensive, as was customary in other societies). For this, a detachment of 5-7 chariots was built in the form of a tower, which was surrounded by dense infantry. In the event of an enemy attack, such defensive redoubts fired on approaching enemies. Also in the east, another feature manifested itself. Instead of bows, slingshots were used here.
Nevertheless, lightweight strollers were still used in volatile attacks on the enemy system. If heavy chariots were effective in defense, then mobile and fast small gigs quickly pushed on the opponent.
The use of carts in China was also associated with the proximity of the steppes. It was from them that the Han people received the first horses, which, incidentally, long adapted to new living conditions. The owners of the carts were the military elite of the Chinese principalities. Each small local state had about 200-300 chariots in the army.
Over time, the carts gradually increased in size. Become more and their crew. At the same time, the number of accompanying foot soldiers decreased (from 80 to 10). This meant that the battles between the armies turned into huge clashes of chariots. In such battles, the role of infantry became increasingly insignificant. A similar ratio is similar to the situation when, in medieval Europe, the troops began to form the basis of units of armed knights.
Steppe trees
For the steppe inhabitants, chariots became an advantage that allowed numerous wild peoples to organize deafening raids into vast territories. From the Mediterranean to the Pacific, invasions led to the decline of sedentary crops. Chariots allowed the steppemen to gain an advantage on the battlefield.
They had the most enduring and strongest horses in the world. Animals fed on high-quality fodder and steppe grasses became a formidable force, including in a cart of chariots.
A particularly strong blow fell on the Chinese living in the valleys of Mesopotamia. For several millennia, the struggle between landowners and nomads continued. In it, the presence of chariots was one of the important trump cards.
The blow of the inhabitants of the steppes came even in Ancient Egypt. However, the people of this great civilization were more fortunate than the Chinese. They were further from the steppe regions. In addition, they were able to effectively adopt the technology of chariots from nomads.
Infantry tactics
For several centuries of war with chariots, the infantry managed to develop several methods against this type of enemy. One of the most common was the tactic in which a wagon was passed to the rear, where it was choked and became easy prey for land warriors.
The Romans in the era of Julius Caesar managed to negate the advantage of chariots with braids. The infantry began to operate in a loose formation, in which such weapons became useless. Because of this, the Romans won wars with the Seleucids, in the army of which the carts occupied a significant place.
In Greece and Rome
In Greece, the war chariots of antiquity lasted especially long until the Persian Wars in the 4th century BC. e. The use of such phalanges was necessary to increase the maneuverability of the army. In addition, in ancient Greece, chariots survived in sports competitions. At the Olympics, wheelchair races were met with particular impatience by the public.
What is a war chariot for ancient Rome? The attitude towards her in this society was similar to Greek. This was due to the fact that the Romans never destroyed the orders of the conquered peoples. On the contrary, they often adopted all the best in the culture and achievements of their neighbors.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Romans had their own war chariot. The definition of its role in the war depended on a specific case. Especially many strollers were used in the Punic Wars against Carthage.
The Romans built racecourses for chariot races. Circus Maximus could accommodate up to 150 thousand spectators. Julius Caesar rebuilt it and expanded. This, in turn, means that the Romans continued to use war chariots until BC. Interestingly, during the technological evolution, Europeans began to use old strollers as carriages for mobile ballistas.
What is a war chariot? It is also a symbol of antiquity. By the time the Roman Empire surrounded the Mediterranean, chariots began to disappear from the legions. They were ineffective against numerous northern barbarians. Instead of the old carts, cavalry familiar to the Middle Ages came.
Chariots with braids
Among the many modifications, the chariots with iron braids were especially noteworthy. The first they appeared among the Assyrians. These residents of the Middle East decided to perfect the old chariots. Long knives were attached to the wheels. They injured the numerous enemy infantry that surrounded the carts during fierce battles. Intimidating braids scared away warriors who shunned them and fled in panic.
Later, other technical solutions appeared. What did this type of war chariot look like? Braids were also added to the drawbar of such carts, which allowed them to ram the enemy cavalry in a head-on collision.
Similar chariots were popular in Persia. They harnessed 4 horses. The crew consisted of 3 people. One of them was a charioteer. The other two were warriors who smashed the enemy.
Scythe helped to destroy the order in the construction of infantry. If the system did not dissipate completely, then at least noticeable gaps appeared in it. Friendly soldiers rushed into them, who did not allow the enemy to close the defeated ranks. What does a war chariot mean in such a situation? She was the guarantor of success in a head-on collision of armies.
Unlike ordinary cavalry, carts with braids allowed literally cutting through the ranks of the enemy. Against this background, ordinary equestrian warriors were weak against the dense Greek phalanges. In addition, the oldest cavalry did not have comfortable saddles, spurs and other useful things, which appeared only in the Middle Ages. Therefore, up to our era, chariots successfully competed with riders on horses, despite the relatively high cost.