Editing Chariot (section)

===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>