Editing Chariot (section)

==Spread by Indo-Europeans==
[[File:Andronovo culture.png|thumb|The area of the spoke-wheeled chariot finds within the [[Sintashta-Petrovka]] [[Proto-Indo-Iranians|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] culture is indicated in purple.]]

Chariots figure prominently in Indo-Iranian and early European mythology. Chariots are also an important part of both [[Hindu mythology|Hindu]] and [[Persian mythology]], with most of the gods in their [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] portrayed as riding them. The [[Sanskrit]] word for a chariot is ''rátha-'' ([[Masculine gender|m.]]), which is cognate with [[Avestan language|Avestan]] ''raθa-'' (also m.), and in origin a substantiation of the adjective [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{PIE|*rot-h₂-ó-}}'' meaning "having wheels", with the characteristic accent shift found in Indo-Iranian substantivisations. This adjective is in turn derived from the collective noun ''{{PIE|*rot-eh₂-}}'' "wheels", continued in Latin ''rota'', which belongs to the noun ''{{PIE|*rót-o-}}'' for "wheel" (from ''{{PIE|*ret-}}'' "to run") that is also found in Germanic, Celtic and Baltic ([[Old High German]] ''rad'' n., [[Old Irish]] ''roth'' m., [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] ''rãtas'' m.).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rix|first1=Helmut|title=Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben|last2=Kümmel|first2=Martin|last3=Zehnder|first3=Thomas|last4=Lipp|first4=Reiner|last5=Schirmer|first5=Brigitte|date=2001|publisher=Ludwig Reichert|isbn=3-89500-219-4|edition=2nd|location=Wiesbaden|page=[https://archive.org/details/livlexikonderind00rixh/page/n256 507]|language=de|title-link=Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben}}</ref> Nomadic tribes of the Pontic steppes, like [[Scythians]] such as [[Hamaxobii]], would travel in [[wagon]]s, [[cart]]s, and chariots during their migrations.

===Hittites===
[[File:Hittite Chariot.jpg|left|thumb|[[Hittites|Hittite]] chariot (drawing of an [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] relief)|207x207px]]

The oldest testimony of chariot warfare in the ancient Near East is the [[Hittite language|Old Hittite]] [[Anitta text]] (18th century BC), which mentions 40 teams of horses (in the original [[cuneiform]] spelling: 40 ''ṢÍ-IM-TI'' ANŠE.KUR.RA<sup>ḪI.A</sup>) at the siege of [[Salatiwara]]. Since the text mentions ''teams'' rather than ''chariots'', the existence of chariots in the 18th century BC is uncertain. The first certain attestation of chariots in the Hittite empire dates to the late 17th century BC ([[Hattusili I]]). A Hittite horse-training text is attributed to [[Kikkuli the Mitanni]] (15th century BC).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Morillo |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=to-UCgAAQBAJ&q=chariot+history&pg=PA11 |title=War in World History: Society, Technology, and War from Ancient Times to the Present |publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education |isbn=978-0-07-739166-9 |volume=1}}</ref>

The [[Hittites]] were renowned charioteers. They developed a new chariot design that had lighter wheels, with four spokes rather than eight, and that held three rather than two warriors. It could hold three warriors because the wheels were placed in the middle of the chariot and not at the back as in Egyptian chariots. Typically one Hittite warrior steered the chariot while the second man was usually the main archer; the third warrior would either wield a spear or sword when charging at enemies or hold up a large shield to protect himself and the others from enemy arrows.

Hittite prosperity largely depended on their control of trade routes and natural resources, specifically metals. As the Hittites gained dominion over Mesopotamia, tensions flared among the neighboring [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Hurrian]]s, and [[Egyptians]]. Under [[Suppiluliuma I]], the Hittites conquered [[Kadesh (Syria)|Kadesh]] and, eventually, the whole of [[Syria]]. The [[Battle of Kadesh]] in 1274 BC is likely to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving over 5,000 chariots.<ref>{{cite book|first=Aaron |last=Ralby |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofworldmili0000ralb |title=Atlas of Military History |publisher=Parragon |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4723-0963-1 |pages=54–55 |chapter=Battle of Kadesh, c. 1274 BC: Clash of Empires|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>

===Bronze Age Indian Subcontinent ===
{{Main|Ratha}}
[[File:Bullock cart with driver, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg|thumb|right|Copper sculpture of a bull-cart and rider, from a hoard at [[Daimabad]], Maharashtra - Late Harappan, c2000 BC]]

Models of single axled, solid wheeled ox-drawn vehicles, have been found at several mature Indus Valley cites, such as [[Chanhudaro]], [[Daimabad]], [[Harappa]], and [[Nausharo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toys and Civilization {{!}} Harappa |url=https://www.harappa.com/blog/toys-and-civilization |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=www.harappa.com}}</ref> While the late Harappan site of [[Pirak]], Pakistan, offers evidence of true horses present in South Asia, from c. 1700 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Baivab |date=2014-10-07 |title=The Identity of Aryan Culture (With Diagram) |url=https://www.historydiscussion.net/articles/the-identity-of-aryan-culture-with-diagram/2141 |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=History Discussion - Discuss Anything About History |language=en-US}}</ref>

Spoked-wheeled, horse-drawn chariots, often carrying an armed passenger, are depicted in second millennium BC [[Chalcolithic]] period rock paintings, examples are known from Chibbar Nulla, Chhatur Bhoj Nath Nulla, and Kathotia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Prehistoric Rock Art of India |first1=Erwin |last1=Neumayer |year=2013 |publisher=OUP India |isbn=978-0198060987}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Chariots in the Chalcolithic Rock Art of India |url=https://www.harappa.com/content/chariots-chalcolithic-rock-art-india |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=harappa.com}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Neumayer 1800–1200 BCE;<ref name="Neumayer_Chariots_slideshow">{{cite web | title=Chariots in the Chalcolithic Rock Art of Indian | last=Neumayer| first=Erwin | url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/WHEELS%20in%20Indian%20Rock%20Art%20Erwin%20Neumayer.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Harappan_Neumayer">harappa.com, [https://www.harappa.com/content/chariots-chalcolithic-rock-art-india Chariots in the Chalcolithic Rock Art of India]</ref> Celeste Paxton 2300–1000 BCE).<ref name="Paxton">Celeste Paxton (2016), in [https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/07/22/voices-past-researcher-mystery-40-centuries/ Voices from the past: Researcher explores a mystery across 40 centuries ].</ref> See Bradshaw Foundation, [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/india/pachmarhi/index.php The Prehistoric Paintings of the Pachmarhi Hills], for proto-historic/chalocolithic.}} There are some depictions of chariots among the [[petroglyphs]] in the sandstone of the [[Vindhya]] range. Two depictions of chariots are found in Morhana Pahar, [[Mirzapur]] district. One depicts a biga and the head of the driver. The second depicts a quadriga, with six-spoked wheels, and a driver standing up in a large chariot box. This chariot is being attacked. One figure, who is armed with a shield and a mace, stands in the chariot's path; another figure, who is armed with a bow and arrow, threatens the right flank. It has been suggested (speculated) that the drawings record a story, most probably dating to the early centuries BC, from some center in the area of the [[Ganges]]–[[Yamuna]] plain into the territory of still Neolithic hunting tribes.{{sfn|Sparreboom|1985|p=87}} The very realistic chariots carved into the [[Sanchi]] [[stupa]]s are dated to roughly the 1st century.

[[File:Sinauli chariot ASI.jpg|thumb|Copper plated, solid wheeled chariot, discovered [[Sinauli]], c. 1865–1550 BC]]
[[Bronze Age]] solid-disk wheel carts were found in 2018 at [[Sinauli]],{{sfn|Parpola|2020}} which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled "chariots," predating the arrival of the horse-centered Indo-Aryans.{{sfn|Witzel|2019|p=5}}{{sfn|Parpola|2020}}{{r|Subramanian2018_Royal|group=web}}{{r|Daniyal2018|group=web}}{{r|Pattanaik2020|group=web}}{{refn|group=note|name=chariot|However, these carts dubbed as "chariots" do not have any spokes on the wheels like the chariots (Sanskrit: ''[[Ratha]]'') mentioned in Vedic literature.{{sfn|Parpola|2020}}}} They were ascribed by Sanjay Manjul, director of the excavations, to the [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture]] (OCP)/[[Copper Hoard Culture]], which was contemporaneous with the Late Harappan culture,{{r|Rai2018|group=web}}{{r|Subramanian2018_Royal|group=web}}{{refn|group=note|name=Uesugi}} and interpreted by him as horse-pulled chariots.{{r|TheEconomicTimes2019|group=web}}{{r|Subramanian2018_Royal|group=web}} Majul further noted that "the rituals relating to the Sanauli burials showed close affinity with Vedic rituals.{{r|Subramanian2018_Royal|group=web}}{{r|TheEconomicTimes2019|group=web}} According to [[Asko Parpola]] these finds were ox-pulled carts, indicating that these burials are related to an [[Indo-Aryan migrations#Multiple waves of migration into northern Indian|early Aryan migration]] of [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] speaking people into the Indian subcontinent,{{sfn|Parpola|2020|p=191}} "forming then the ruling elite of a major Late Harappan settlement."{{sfn|Parpola|2020|p=176}}

Horse-drawn chariots, as well as their cult and associated rituals, were spread by the Indo-Iranians,{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|pp=321–322}} and horses and horse-drawn chariots were introduced in India by the Indo-Aryans.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=34}}{{sfn|Witzel|2001|pp=12, 21}}{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=11}} These [[Aryan]] people migrated southward into South Asia, ushering in the [[Vedic period]] around 1750 BC. 

====In religion====
[[File:Chariot detail, Airavatesvara, Tamil Nadu.jpg|thumb|Chariot detail at [[Airavatesvara Temple]] built by [[Rajaraja Chola II]] of the [[Chola Empire]] in the 12th century AD]]
In ''Rigveda'', [[Indra]] is described as strong willed, armed with a [[Vajra|thunderbolt]], riding a chariot:{{blockquote|May the strong Heaven make thee the Strong wax stronger: Strong, for thou art borne by thy two strong Bay Horses. So, fair of cheek, with mighty chariot, mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunder armed, in battle.

— RigVeda, Book 5, Hymn XXXVI: Griffith<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv05036.htm|title=Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 5: Hymn XXXVI. Indra.|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-02-24}}</ref>}}Among [[Rigvedic deities]], notably the Vedic [[Sun God]] [[Surya]] rides on a one spoked chariot driven by his charioteer [[Aruṇa]]. [[Ushas]] (the dawn) rides in a chariot, as well as [[Agni]] in his function as a messenger between gods and men.

The [[Jain]] [[Vyākhyāprajñapti|Bhagavi Sutra]] states that Indian troops used a chariot with a club or mace attached to it during the [[Magadha-Vajji war|war]] against the [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavis]] during the reign of [[Ajatashatru]] of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nefiodkin|first=Alexander K.|year=2004|title=On the Origin of the Scythed Chariots|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume=53|issue=3|pages=369–378}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The State in Indian Tradition|last=Scharfe|first=Hartmut|year=2022|isbn= 978-9004491441|publisher=Brill|page=193}}</ref>

=== Hindu symbolism ===
In Hindu mythology, the chariot ('''ratha''') is a powerful symbol representing divine movement and cosmic order. The most famous depiction is in the '''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''', where '''[[Krishna]] serves as Arjuna's charioteer''', guiding him through the moral and spiritual dilemmas of the Kurukshetra War. Symbolically, the chariot represents the human body, the horses symbolize the senses, and the charioteer (''Atman'') represents the higher self controlling the mind.<ref>Zaehner, R. C. (1969). ''Hinduism''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195016668.</ref>


===Persia===
{{Main|Scythed chariot}}
[[File:A vase discovered in the southeast of Iran dating back to 2000 BC.jpg|thumb|200x200px|A vase showing a warrior riding a chariot pulled by a horse, from southeastern Iran, c. 2000–1800 BC.]]
[[File:Oxus chariot model.jpg|thumb|A golden chariot made during [[Achaemenid Empire]] (550–330 BC)|200x200px]]

The [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] succeeded [[Elam]] in the mid 1st millennium. They may have been the first to yoke four horses to their chariots. They also used [[scythed chariot]]s. [[Cyrus the Younger]] employed these chariots in large numbers at the [[Battle of Cunaxa]].

[[Herodotus]] mentions that the [[Ancient Libya]]n and the [[Ancient India]]n ([[Sattagydia]], [[Gandhara]] and [[Hindush]]) [[satrapies]] supplied cavalry and chariots to [[Xerxes the Great]]'s army. However, by this time, [[cavalry]] was far more effective and agile than the chariot, and the defeat of [[Darius III]] at the [[Battle of Gaugamela]] (331 BC), where the army of Alexander simply opened their lines and let the chariots pass and attacked them from behind, marked the end of the era of chariot warfare (barring the Seleucid and Pontic powers, India, China, and the Celtic peoples).