Post by Galadriel on Jul 12, 2007 19:54:47 GMT
A chariot is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle. In Latin biga is a two-horse chariot, and quadriga is a four-horse chariot (the word "chariot" itself comes from Latin carrus). It was used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and continued to be used for travel, processions and in games after it had been superseded militarily.
The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots for use in battle was the spoked wheel. In these times, most horses could not support the weight of a man in battle; the original wild horse was a large pony in size. With a chariot the horse does not have to carry anything. It was once thought that chariots were effective in war only on fairly flat, open terrain, however modern reconstructions have shown that they were stable weapon platforms over a wide variety of terrain. The faster it went, the smoother the ride and the better the gun platform.
As horses were gradually bred to be larger and stronger, chariots gave way to cavalry. The main reason was probably economic - 2 Chronicles 1:17 records that chariots cost 600 shekels, horses 150 - thus the cost of a complete 2 horse chariot was 900 shekels. Once cavalry could perform reasonably well the enormous cost of the chariot could be saved.
However for reasons not yet clear chariots remained in use in considerable numbers for hundreds of years after the introduction of effective cavalry.
The earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca. 2000 BC and their usage peaked around 1300 BC (see Battle of Kadesh). Chariot races continued to be popular in Constantinople until the 6th century.
I like those a lot, looks sportive and I would like to be carried in one by a good hunky looking Roman... ;D
The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots for use in battle was the spoked wheel. In these times, most horses could not support the weight of a man in battle; the original wild horse was a large pony in size. With a chariot the horse does not have to carry anything. It was once thought that chariots were effective in war only on fairly flat, open terrain, however modern reconstructions have shown that they were stable weapon platforms over a wide variety of terrain. The faster it went, the smoother the ride and the better the gun platform.
As horses were gradually bred to be larger and stronger, chariots gave way to cavalry. The main reason was probably economic - 2 Chronicles 1:17 records that chariots cost 600 shekels, horses 150 - thus the cost of a complete 2 horse chariot was 900 shekels. Once cavalry could perform reasonably well the enormous cost of the chariot could be saved.
However for reasons not yet clear chariots remained in use in considerable numbers for hundreds of years after the introduction of effective cavalry.
The earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca. 2000 BC and their usage peaked around 1300 BC (see Battle of Kadesh). Chariot races continued to be popular in Constantinople until the 6th century.
I like those a lot, looks sportive and I would like to be carried in one by a good hunky looking Roman... ;D