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A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses [note 1] 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 c. 1950–1880 BC [1] [2] and are depicted on cylinder seals from Central Anatolia in Kültepe dated to ...
Powerful landlord in chariot. Eastern Han 25–220 CE. Anping, Hebei. Model recreation of Han dynasty chariot, from Tomb of Liu Sheng.. Ancient Chinese chariots were typically two wheeled vehicles drawn by two or four horses [14] with a single draught pole measuring around 3 m long that was originally straight but later evolved into two curved shafts.
The bronze age was the heyday of the chariot. It was one of the main technological advances that allowed for the Indo-european migration throughout Eurasia [page needed] and the chariot remained a key status symbol and weapon of war of Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Hittites and Mycenaeans until the bronze age collapse. [1]
The chariot was so powerful for transportation and warfare that it became the key weapon in the Ancient Near East in the 2nd millennium BC. The typical chariot was worked by two men: one would be a bowman who would fire at enemy forces, while the other would control the vehicle. Over time, chariots were developed to carry up to five warriors.
Egyptian War Chariot. Chariots were very expensive, heavy and prone to breakdowns, yet in contrast with early cavalry, chariots offered a more stable platform for archers. [citation needed] Chariots were also effective for archery because of the relatively long bows used, and even after the invention of the composite bow the length of the bow was not significantly reduced.
The earliest reference to a chariot race in Western literature is an event in the funeral games of Patroclus in the Iliad. [4] In Homeric warfare, elite warriors were transported to the battlefield in two-horse chariots, but fought on foot; the chariot was then used for pursuit or flight. [5]
The scythed chariot was a modified war chariot. The blades extended horizontally for about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) to each side of the wheels. The Greek general Xenophon (430−354 BC), an eyewitness at the battle of Cunaxa, tells of them: "These had thin scythes extending at an angle from the axles and also under the driver's seat, turned toward the ground".
The noun merkavah "thing to ride in, cart" is derived from the consonantal root רכב r-k-b with the general meaning "to ride". The word "chariot" is found 44 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible—most of them referring to normal chariots on earth, [5] and although the concept of the Merkabah is associated with Ezekiel's vision (), the word is not explicitly written in Ezekiel 1.