Editing Chariot

{{Short description|Carriage using animals to provide rapid motive power}}
{{Other uses}}

[[File:Biga. Festa do esquecemento. Xinzo de Limia, Ourense, Galicia.jpg|thumb|250px|Reconstructed Roman chariot drawn by horses.]]
[[File:Chariot spread.png|thumb|250px|Approximate historical map of the spread of the spoke-wheeled chariot, 2000—500 BC]]

A '''chariot''' is a type of vehicle similar to a [[cart]], driven by a charioteer, usually using horses{{refn|group=note|There were rare exceptions to the use of horses to pull chariots, for instance, the lion-pulled chariot described by [[Plutarch]] in his ''[[Parallel Lives|Life of Antony]]''.}} to provide rapid [[Propulsion|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<ref name="Kuznetsov" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Lindner |first=Stephan |date=April 2020 |title=Chariots in the Eurasian Steppe: a Bayesian approach to the emergence of horse-drawn transport in the early second millennium BC |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=94 |issue=374 |pages=361–380 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2020.37 |s2cid=216205961 |issn=0003-598X|doi-access=free }}</ref> and are depicted on [[cylinder seal]]s from [[Central Anatolia Region|Central Anatolia]] in [[Kültepe]] dated to c. 1900 BC.<ref name=":2" /> The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the [[spoke]]d [[wheel]].

The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-[[wheel]]ed conveyance drawn by two or more [[Equidae|equids]] (usually horses) that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor with a waist-high guard at the front and sides. It was initially used for [[ancient warfare]] during the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age|Iron]] Ages, but after its military capabilities had been superseded by [[Light cavalry|light]] and [[Heavy cavalry|heavy]] cavalries, chariots continued to be used for [[travel]] and transport, in [[Parade|processions]], for [[game]]s, and in [[Chariot racing|races]].

==Etymology==
The word "chariot" comes from the [[Latin]] term ''carrus'' through French ''chariot'', a loanword from [[Gaulish]] ''karros''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-27 |title=Definition of CHARIOT |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chariot |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref>

In [[ancient Rome]] a ''[[Biga (chariot)|biga]]'' described a chariot requiring two horses, a ''[[Triga (chariot)|triga]]'' three, and a ''[[quadriga]]'' four.

== Origins ==

The [[wheel]] may have been invented at several places, with early evidence found in [[Ukraine]], [[Poland]], [[Germany]], and [[Slovenia]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chandler |first=Graham |date=2017 |title=Why Reinvent the Wheel? |url= https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/July-2017/Why-Reinvent-the-Wheel |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=[[Aramco World]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Standage |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Standage |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YoQWEAAAQBAJ&dq=wheel+originated+eastern+europe&pg=PA2 |title=A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-63557-361-9 |location=New York |pages=2–5 |oclc=on1184237267}}</ref> Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid [[4th millennium BC]] near-simultaneously in the [[North Caucasus|Northern Caucasus]] ([[Maykop culture]]), and in Central Europe. These earliest vehicles may have been [[Bullock cart|ox carts]].{{sfn|Anthony|2010|p=416}} A necessary precursor to the invention of the chariot is the [[domestication of animals]], and specifically [[domestication of the horse|domestication of horses]] – a major step in the development of civilization. Despite the large impact horse domestication has had in transport and communication, tracing its origins has been challenging.{{sfn|Outram et al.|2009}} Evidence supports horses having been domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes, with studies suggesting the [[Botai culture]] in modern-day [[Kazakhstan]] were the first, about 3500 BC.{{sfn|Outram et al.|2009}} Others say horses were domesticated earlier than 3500 BC in Eastern Europe (modern Ukraine and [[West Kazakhstan Region|Western Kazakhstan]]), 6000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whence the Domestic Horse? |url= https://www.science.org/content/article/whence-domestic-horse |access-date=2023-08-01}}</ref>

[[File:Sintashta culture artefacts 2.png|thumb|Artefacts and burials of the [[Sintashta culture]], c. 2000 BC]]
[[File:Аркаим 2015.jpg|thumb|Remains of the fortified settlement of [[Arkaim]] where early chariot burials have been found]]

The spread of spoke-wheeled chariots has been closely associated with early [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] migrations.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|pp=321–322}} The earliest known chariots have been found in [[Sintashta culture]] burial sites, and the culture is considered a strong candidate for the origin of the technology, which spread throughout the [[Old World]] and played an important role in [[ancient warfare]].<ref name="Kuznetsov">{{Cite journal|last=Kuznetsov|first=P.F.|date=2006-09-01|title=The emergence of Bronze Age chariots in eastern Europe|journal=Antiquity|volume=80|issue=309|pages=638–645|doi=10.1017/s0003598x00094096|s2cid=162580424|issn=0003-598X}}</ref> It is also strongly associated with the ancestors of modern domestic horses, the DOM2 population. (DOM2 horses originated from the Western Eurasia steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don, but not in Anatolia, during the late fourth and early third millennia BC. Their genes may show selection for easier domestication and stronger backs.)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Librado |first1=Pablo |last2=Khan |first2=Naveed |last3=Fages |first3=Antoine |last4=Kusliy |first4=Mariya A. |last5=Suchan |first5=Tomasz |last6=Tonasso-Calvière |first6=Laure |last7=Schiavinato |first7=Stéphanie |last8=Alioglu |first8=Duha |last9=Fromentier |first9=Aurore |last10=Perdereau |first10=Aude |last11=Aury |first11=Jean-Marc |last12=Gaunitz |first12=Charleen |last13=Chauvey |first13=Lorelei |last14=Seguin-Orlando |first14=Andaine |last15=Der Sarkissian |first15=Clio |date= 2021|title=The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=598 |issue=7882 |pages=634–640 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8550961 |pmid=34671162|bibcode=2021Natur.598..634L }}</ref>

The earliest fully developed spoke-wheeled horse chariots are from the [[chariot burial]]s of the [[Andronovo culture|Andronovo]] (Timber-Grave) sites of the [[Sintashta-Petrovka]] [[Proto-Indo-Iranians|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] culture in modern Russia and Kazakhstan from around 2000 BC.<ref name="Kuznetsov" /> This culture is at least partially derived from the earlier [[Yamna culture]]. It built heavily fortified settlements, engaged in [[Bronze Age|bronze]] metallurgy on an industrial scale, and practiced complex burial rituals reminiscent of [[Hindu]] rituals known from the ''[[Rigveda]]'' and the ''[[Avesta]]''. Over the next few centuries, the [[Andronovo culture]] spread across the steppes from the [[Urals]] to the [[Tien Shan]], likely corresponding to the time of early [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian cultures]].

Not everyone agrees that the Sintashta culture vehicle finds are true chariots.

In 1996, [[Mary Aiken Littauer]] and Joost Crouwel wrote:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Littauer |first1=Mary Aiken |author1-link=Mary Aiken Littauer |last2=Crouwel |first2=Joost H. |date=1996 |title=The origin of the true chariot |url= https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00084192 |journal=Antiquity |volume=70 |issue=270 |pages=938–939 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00084192 |s2cid=161568465 |via=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Let us consider what is actually known of the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero vehicles. At Sintashta, there remained only the imprints of the lower parts of the wheels in their slots in the floor of the burial chamber; Krivoe Ozero also preserved imprints of parts of the axle and naves. At Sintashta, the wheel tracks and their position relative to the walls of the tomb chamber limited the dimensions of the naves, hence the stability of the vehicle. Ancient naves were symmetrical, the part outside the spokes of equal length to that inside.

The present reconstructions of the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero vehicles above the axle level raise many doubts and questions, but one cannot argue about something for which there is no evidence. It is from the wheel track measurements and the dimensions and positions of the wheels alone that we may legitimately draw conclusions and these are alone sufficient to establish that the Sintashta-Petrovka vehicles would not be manoeuverable enough for use either in warfare or in racing.}}

Peter Raulwing and Stefan Burmeister consider the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero finds from the steppe to be carts rather than chariots:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Raulwing |first1=P. |last2=Burmeister |first2=S. |date=2012 |title=Chariotry, ancient Near East and Egypt |url= https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah24050 |journal=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah24050 |isbn=9781444338386 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref>

{{blockquote|However, recent discoveries in the Eurasian steppe have provided fresh support to the claim that the chariot originated there, rather than in the Near East itself, and may be attributed to speakers of an Indo-Iranian (or Indo-Aryan) language. In particular, archaeological remains of horse gear and spoked wheeled vehicles have been found at the sites of Sintashta (Russia) and Krivoe Ozero (northern Kazakhstan), with calibrated radiocarbon dating to ca. 2000–1800. These finds, however, provide evidence of a <em>two-wheeled spoked cart that does not fit the definition of the ancient Near Eastern chariot</em>. Before these discoveries can help answer the question of where the chariot originated, thorough studies of the spoked wheeled vehicles and horse gear of the steppes, as well as of interconnections and transfer of knowledge, are necessary (cf. Epimachov and Korjakova in Fansa and Burmeister 2004).}}

==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).

== Introduction in the Near East ==
Chariots were introduced in the Near East in the 17(18)th–16th centuries BC.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p=321}} Some scholars argue that the horse chariot was most likely a product of the ancient Near East early in the 2nd millennium BC.{{sfn|Raulwing|2000}} Archaeologist Joost Crouwel writes that "Chariots were not sudden inventions, but developed out of earlier vehicles that were mounted on disk or cross-bar wheels. This development can best be traced in the Near East, where spoke-wheeled and horse-drawn chariots are first attested in the earlier part of the second millennium BC..." and were illustrated on a Syrian cylinder seal dated to either the 18th or 17th century BC.<ref name="Crouwel">{{cite book|author1=Joost Crouwel|title=Chasing Chariots: Proceedings of the First International Chariot Conference (Cairo 2012)|date=2013|publisher=Sidestone Press|isbn=978-9088902093|editor1-last=Veldmeijer|editor1-first=Andre J.|page=74|chapter=Studying the Six Chariots from the Tomb of Tutankhamun – An Update|editor2-last=Ikram|editor2-first=Salima}}</ref>

===Early wheeled vehicles in the Near East===
[[File:Denis Bourez - British Museum, London (8747049029) (2).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Standard of Ur]] in southern Mesopotamia, {{circa|2500 BCE}}, depicting solid four wheeled, [[Kunga (equid)|Kunga]] drawn, war vehicles.]]
According to [[Christoph Baumer]], the earliest discoveries of wheels in Mesopotamia come from the first half of the third millennium BC – more than half a millennium later than the first finds from the Kuban region. At the same time, in Mesopotamia, some intriguing early pictograms of a sled that rests on wooden rollers or wheels have been found. They date from about the same time as the early wheel discoveries in Europe and may indicate knowledge of the wheel.<ref name="asianreviewofbooks.com">Christoph Baumer, [http://www.asianreviewofbooks.com/pages/?ID=1478 ''The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors''.] I.B. Tauris, 2012 {{ISBN|1780760604}} p. 90</ref>

The earliest depiction of vehicles in the context of warfare is on the [[Standard of Ur]] in southern Mesopotamia, {{circa|2500 BCE}}. These are more properly called [[wagon]]s which were double-axled and pulled by oxen or a [[equid hybrid|hybrid]] of a [[donkey]] and a female [[onager]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Elena Efimovna Kuzʹmina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA134|title=The Origin of the Indo-Iranians|year=2007|page=134| publisher=BRILL |isbn = 9789004160545}}</ref> named [[Kunga (equid)|Kunga]] in the city of [[Tell Brak#Kingdom of Nagar|Nagar]] which was famous for breeding them.<ref name="kunga1">{{cite book|author=Paolo Matthiae, Nicoló Marchetti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AaZg0ypYrnQC&pg=PA436|title=Ebla and its Landscape: Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East|year=2013|page=436| publisher=Left Coast Press |isbn = 9781611322286}}</ref> The hybrids were used by the [[Ebla#First kingdom|Eblaite]],<ref name="kunga1" /> [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|early Sumerian]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] and [[Ur III]] armies.{{sfn|Anthony|2010|p=403}} The seal depicts a line of vehicles, each carrying a standing charioteer (driver), accompanied by a standing axe or spearman, with a rack of three to four spare spears, driving over a smattering of dead bodies. Such heavy wagons, borne on solid wooden wheels and covered with skins, may have been part of the baggage train (e.g., during royal funeral processions) rather than vehicles of battle in themselves.{{according to whom|date=December 2024}}

The Sumerians had a lighter, two-wheeled type of [[cart]], pulled by four [[Donkey|asses]], and with solid wheels. The spoked wheel did not appear in Mesopotamia until the mid second millennium BC.<ref name="HA_(2015)">{{cite web|url=http://subscriptions.teachtci.com/shared/sections/6398?program_id=13|title=History Alive! The Ancient World: Lesson 5 – Ancient Sumer, Section 8 – Technology|website=learntci.com|publisher=History Alive|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref>

===Egypt===
{{Main|Chariotry in ancient Egypt}}
[[File:Ramsés II en Qadesh, relieve de Abu Simbel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ramses II]] fighting from a chariot at the [[Battle of Kadesh]] with two archers, one with the reins tied around the waist to free both hands (relief from [[Abu Simbel]], 13th century BC)]]

Chariot use made its way into [[History of Egypt|Egypt]] around 1650 BC during the [[Hyksos]] invasion of Egypt and establishment of the [[Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourteenth Dynasty]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1659 BC the Indo-European [[Hittites]] sacked [[Babylon]], which demonstrated the superiority of chariots in antiquity.<ref name=":1" />

The chariot and horse were used extensively in [[Egypt]] by the [[Hyksos]] invaders from the 16th century BC onwards, though discoveries announced in 2013 potentially place the earliest chariot use as early as Egypt's [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] ({{circa|2686}}–2181 BC).<ref>{{cite web |first=Nevine |last=El-Aref |title=Old Kingdom leather fragments reveal how ancient Egyptians built their chariots |work=English Ahra |date=22 April 2013 |url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/69897/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Old%20Kingdom-leather-fragments-reveal-how-ancient-E.aspx }}</ref> In the remains of [[Art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Assyria]]n art, there are numerous representations of chariots, which display rich ornamentation. The chariots of the Egyptians and Assyrians, with whom the bow was the principal arm of attack, were richly mounted with quivers full of arrows. The Egyptians invented the yoke saddle for their chariot horses in {{circa|1500 BC}}. As a general rule, the Egyptians used chariots as mobile archery platforms; chariots always had two men, with the driver steering the chariot with his reins while the main archer aimed his bow and arrow at any targets within range. The best preserved examples of Egyptian chariots are the four specimens from the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]]. Chariots can be pulled by two or more horses.

===Ancient Canaan and Israel===
{{See also|Merkabah}}

Chariots are frequently mentioned in the Hebrew [[Tanakh]] and the [[Greek Old Testament]], respectively, particularly by the prophets, as instruments of war or as symbols of power or glory. First mentioned in the story of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 50:9), "Iron chariots" are mentioned also in [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] (17:16, 18) and [[Book of Judges|Judges]] (1:19,4:3, 13) as weapons of the [[Canaan]]ites and [[Israelites]]. [[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] 13:5 mentions chariots of the [[Philistines]], who are sometimes identified with the [[Sea Peoples]] or [[Mycenaean Greece|early Greeks]].

Examples from [[Jewish English Bible translations#New JPS .281985.29|The Jewish Study Bible]]<ref name="TJSB">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7 The Jewish Study Bible]'' (2014, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-997846-5}})</ref> of the [[Tanakh]] (''Jewish Bible'') include:

*[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 2:7 ''Their land is full of silver and gold, there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, there is no limit to their chariots.''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "Criticism of the nation's sins: magic, amassing extraordinary amounts of wealth, pursuing military power, and idolatry. All these vices embody inappropriate confidence in humanity's own powers. This confidence is not only mistaken, but offensive to God."; TJSB 2014, p. 771}}
*[[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 4:13 ''Lo, he'' <small>[I.e., the invader of v. 7.]</small> ''ascends like clouds, his chariots are like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, we are ruined!''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "A second passage on the enemy's approach, this time using weather images (''clouds'' and ''whirlwind'') and fauna (''horses'' and ''eagles'', see [[Habakkuk|Hab.]] 1:8)"; TJSB 2014, p. 917}}
*[[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 26:10 ''From the cloud raised by his horses dust shall cover you; from the clatter of horsemen and wheels and chariots, your walls shall shake−when he enters your gates as men enter a breached city.''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "[[Nebuchadrezzar]] conquered [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] using cavalry and chariots surrounding the city and embankments placed against the city walls (...) the city was sacked and covered with water (...) In contrast, Ezekiel's description presupposes the tactics and weapons of land war, which were useless against an island state."; TJSB 2014, p. 1079}}
*[[Psalms]] 20:8 ''They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the [[YHWH|L<small>ORD</small>]] our [[Elohim|God]].''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "The strength of [[divine Presence]] over military might is a central biblical theme."; TJSB 2014, p. 1289}}
*[[Song of Songs]] 1:9 ''I have likened you, my darling, to a mare in Pharaoh's chariots''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "Throughout the Song, the lovers use comparison to praise one another's beauty and charm. ''Mare in Pharaoh's chariots,'' either an image of adorned majesty (...) or a reference to an ancient battle strategy in which a mare was let loose among cavalry to distract the stallions."; TJSB 2014, p. 1562.}}

Examples from the [[King James Version]] of the [[Christian Bible]] include:
*{{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=2 Chronicles|chapter=1|verse=14}} ''And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.''
*{{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Judges|chapter=1|verse=19}} ''And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.''{{refn|group=note|TJSB commentary: "Only in the case of [[Judah (biblical person)|Judah]] is there a justification for non-dispossessing."; TJSB 2014, p. 499}}
*[[Book of Acts|Acts]] 8:37–38 ''Then [[Philip the Evangelist|Philip]] said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that [[Jesus]] [[Christ]] is the [[Son of God]]." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the [[eunuch]] went down into the water, and he baptized him.''

Small domestic horses may have been present in the northern Negev before 3000 BC.<ref>Thomas E. Levy, David Alon, Yorke Rowan, Edwin C. M. van den Brink, Caroline Grigson, Augustin Holl, Patricia Smith, Paul Goldberg, Alan J. Witten, Eric Kansa, John Moreno, Yuval Yekutieli, Naomi Porat, Jonathan Golden, Leslie Dawson, and Morag Kersel, "Egyptian-Canaanite Interaction at Nahal Tillah, Israel (ca. 4500–3000 B.C.E.): An Interim Report on the 1994–1995 Excavations", Bulletin of the  American Schools of Oriental Research, 307/August 1997, pp. 1–51</ref> [[Jezreel (city)]] has been identified as the chariot base of King [[Ahab]].<ref name="Ussishkin">David Ussishkin, "Jezreel{{snd}}Where Jezebel Was Thrown to the Dogs", ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', July / August 2010.</ref> And a decorated bronze tablet thought to be the head of a [[lynchpin]] of a Canaanite chariot was found at a site that may be [[Sisera]]'s fortress [[Harosheth Haggoyim]].<ref name="Haifa">[http://newmedia-eng.haifa.ac.il/?p=3309 "Archaeological mystery solved"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705114906/http://newmedia-eng.haifa.ac.il/?p=3309|date=2010-07-05}}, University of Haifa press release, July 1, 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Long time archaeological riddle solved |url=https://www.jpost.com/christian-in-israel/features/long-time-archaeological-riddle-solved |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=2 July 2010 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Urartu ===
In [[Urartu]] (860–590 BC), the chariot was used by both the nobility and the military. In Erebuni ([[Yerevan]]), King Argishti of Urartu is depicted riding on a chariot which is pulled by two horses. The chariot has two wheels and each wheel has about eight spokes. This type of chariot was used around 800 BC.

==Introduction in Bronze-Age Europe==

As [[David W. Anthony]] writes in his book ''[[The Horse, the Wheel, and Language]]'', in Eastern Europe, the earliest well-dated depiction of a wheeled vehicle (a wagon with two axles and four wheels) is on the [[Bronocice pot]] ({{circa|3500 BC}}). It is a clay pot excavated in a [[Funnelbeaker culture|Funnelbeaker]] settlement in [[Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship|Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship]] in Poland.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=67}} The oldest securely dated real wheel-axle combination in Eastern Europe is the [[Ljubljana Marshes Wheel]] ({{circa|3150 BC}}).<ref name="Slovenia">{{cite web|url=http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_room/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/|title=World's Oldest Wheel Found in Slovenia|author=Gasser, Aleksander|date=March 2003|publisher=Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826021129/http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_room/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/|archive-date=2016-08-26|access-date=2015-11-29}}</ref>

=== Greece ===
[[File:NAMA 1428 - Stele of Grave Circle A Mycenae.jpg|thumb|Stone stele from [[Grave Circle A, Mycenae|Grave Circle A]] at [[Mycenae]], c. 1600 BC|239x239px]]

The later [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] of the first millennium BC had a (still not very effective) [[cavalry]] arm (indeed, it has been argued that these early horseback riding soldiers may have given rise to the development of the later, heavily armed foot-soldiers known as hoplites<ref>{{cite web |title=BABESCH Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology |url=https://www.babesch.org/82brouwers.html |website=From Horsemen to Hoplites |access-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230181111/https://www.babesch.org/82brouwers.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>), and the rocky terrain of the [[Geography of Greece|Greek mainland]] was unsuited for wheeled vehicles. The chariot was heavily used by the Mycaenean Greeks, most probably adopted from the Hittites, around 1600 BC. [[Linear B]] tablets from Mycenaean palaces record large inventories of chariots, sometimes with specific details as to how many chariots were assembled or not (i.e. stored in modular form).On a gravestone from the royal Shaft-grave V in Mycenae dated LH II (about 1500 BC) there is one of the earliest depiction of the chariot in Achaean art. This sculpture shows a single man driving a two-wheeled small box chariot. Later the vehicles were used in games and processions, notably for races at the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic]] and [[Panathenaic Games]] and other public festivals in ancient Greece, in ''[[hippodrome]]s'' and in contests called ''[[agon]]s''. They were also used in ceremonial functions, as when a ''[[paranymph]]'', or friend of a bridegroom, went with him in a chariot to fetch the bride home.

[[Herodotus]] (''Histories'', 5. 9) Reports that chariots were widely used in the [[Black Sea|Pontic]]–[[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] steppe by the [[Sigynnae]].

Greek chariots were made to be drawn by two [[horse]]s attached to a central pole. If two additional horses were added, they were attached on each side of the main pair by a single bar or ''trace'' fastened to the front or ''prow'' of the chariot, as may be seen on two prize [[vase]]s in the [[British Museum]] from the [[Panathenaic Games]] at [[Athens, Greece]], in which the driver is seated with feet resting on a board hanging down in front close to the legs of the horses. The biga itself consists of a seat resting on the axle, with a rail at each side to protect the driver from the wheels. Greek chariots appear to have lacked any other attachment for the horses, which would have made turning difficult.

The body or ''basket'' of the chariot rested directly on the [[axle]] (called ''beam'') connecting the two wheels. There was no [[suspension (vehicle)|suspension]], making this an uncomfortable form of transport. At the front and sides of the basket was a semicircular guard about 3&nbsp;ft (1 m) high, to give some protection from enemy attack. At the back the basket was open, making it easy to mount and dismount. There was no seat, and generally only enough room for the driver and one passenger.

The reins were mostly the same as those in use in the 19th century, and were made of leather and ornamented with studs of ivory or metal. The reins were passed through rings attached to the [[horse collar|collar]] bands or yoke, and were long enough to be tied round the waist of the charioteer to allow for defense.

The wheels and basket of the chariot were usually of wood, strengthened in places with bronze or iron. The wheels had from four to eight spokes and tires of bronze or iron. Due to the widely spaced spokes, the rim of the chariot wheel was held in tension over comparatively large spans. Whilst this provided a small measure of shock absorption, it also necessitated the removal of the wheels when the chariot was not in use, to prevent warping from continued weight bearing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=J. E.|title=Structures, or Why Things Don't Fall Down|year=1978|publisher=Pelican|location=London|isbn=9780140219616|page=146}}</ref> Most other nations of this time had chariots of similar design to the Greeks, the chief differences being the mountings.

According to Greek mythology, the chariot was invented by [[Erichthonius of Athens]] to conceal his feet, which were those of a dragon.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/81/3390.html Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Char'iot.] Bartleby.com: Great Books Online – Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and hundreds more. Retrieved March 5, 2008.</ref>

The most notable appearance of the chariot in Greek mythology occurs when [[Phaethon|Phaëton]], the son of [[Helios]], in an attempt to drive the chariot of the sun, managed to set the earth on fire. This story led to the archaic meaning of a ''phaeton'' as one who drives a chariot or coach, especially at a reckless or dangerous speed. [[Plato]], in his ''[[Chariot Allegory]]'', depicted a chariot drawn by two horses, one well behaved and the other troublesome, representing opposite impulses of human nature; the task of the charioteer, representing reason, was to stop the horses from going different ways and to guide them towards enlightenment.

The [[Greek language|Greek]] word for chariot, ἅρμα, ''hárma'', is also used nowadays to denote a [[tank]], properly called άρμα μάχης, ''árma mákhēs'', literally a "combat chariot".

<gallery widths="150" heights="150">
File:Delphi charioteer front DSC06255.JPG|The ''[[Charioteer of Delphi]]'' was dedicated to the god [[Apollo]] in 474 BC by the tyrant of [[Gela#Ancient era|Gela]] in commemoration of a [[Pythian games|Pythian racing victory]] at [[Delphi]].
File:Atenas, Estoa de Átalo 18.jpg|Chariot, armed warrior and his driver. Greece, 4th century BC
File:Racing chariot. Fresco from Lucanian tomb.jpg|Fresco depicting an [[Italic peoples|Italic]] chariot from the Lucanian tomb, 4th century BC.
File:The Abduction of Persephone by Pluto, Amphipolis.jpg|A [[mosaic]] of the [[Kasta Tomb]] in [[Amphipolis]] depicting the abduction of [[Persephone]] by [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], 4th century BC.
File:2547 - Milano - Museo archeologico - Piatto apulo - Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto - 1 feb 2014.jpg|The [[Nike (mythology)|goddess Nike]] riding on a two-horse chariot, from an [[Apulia]]n [[patera]] (tray), [[Magna Graecia]], 4th century BC.
File:Parade charriots Louvre CA2503.jpg|Procession of chariots on a [[Geometric art|Late Geometric]] [[amphora]] from Athens ({{circa|720}}–700 BC).
</gallery>

=== Central and Northern Europe ===
[[File:Rock carving Kivik Sweden.jpg|thumb|A [[petroglyph]] in [[the King's Grave|a double burial]], c. 15th century BC (the [[Nordic Bronze Age]])]]

The [[Trundholm sun chariot]] is dated to c. 1500-1300 BC (see: [[Nordic Bronze Age]]). The horse drawing the solar disk runs on four wheels, and the Sun itself on two. All wheels have four spokes. The "chariot" comprises the solar disk, the axle, and the wheels, and it is unclear whether the sun is depicted as the chariot or as the passenger. Nevertheless, the presence of a model of a [[horse-drawn vehicle]] on two spoked wheels in Northern Europe at such an early time is astonishing.

In addition to the Trundholm chariot, there are numerous [[petroglyph]]s from the Nordic Bronze Age that depict chariots. One petroglyph, drawn on a stone slab in a [[the King's Grave|double burial]] from c. 1000 BC, depicts a biga with two four-spoked wheels.

The use of the [[composite bow]] in chariot warfare is not attested in northern Europe.

=== Western Europe ===

The [[Celts]] were famous for their chariots and modern English words like ''car'', ''carriage'' and ''carry'' are ultimately derived from the native [[Common Brittonic|Brythonic language]] ([[Welsh language|Modern Welsh]]: ''Cerbyd''). The word ''chariot'' itself is derived from the [[French language|Norman French]] ''charriote'' and shares a Celtic root ([[Gaulish]]: ''karros''). Some 20 [[Iron Age|iron-aged]] [[chariot burial]]s have been excavated in Britain, roughly dating from between 500 BC and 100 BC. Virtually all of them were found in [[East Yorkshire]] – the exception was a find in 2001 in [[Newbridge, Edinburgh|Newbridge]], 10&nbsp;km west of [[Edinburgh]].

[[File:Tombe à char Châlons 1901.jpg|thumb|[[Celts|Celtic]] chariot burial, France, [[La Tène culture]], c. 450 BC]]

The Celtic chariot, which may have been called [[wikt:Appendix:Proto-Celtic/karbantos|''karbantos'']] in [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] (compare Latin ''carpentum''),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Karl|first=Raimund|editor-first=John T|editor-last=Koch|editor-link=John T. Koch|encyclopedia=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia|title=Chariot and wagon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&q=celtic+chariot+koch&pg=PA401|access-date=29 August 2014|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|volume=2|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=1-85109-440-7|pages=401}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Delamarre|first1=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise|date=2003|publisher=Éditions Errance|location=Paris|isbn=2-87772-369-0|language=fr}}</ref> was a ''[[biga (chariot)|biga]]'' that measured approximately {{convert|2|m|ftin|frac=8|abbr=on}} in width and {{convert|4|m|ftin|frac=8|abbr=on}} in length.

British chariots were open in front. [[Julius Caesar]] provides the only significant eyewitness report of British chariot warfare:
{{Blockquote|
Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the meantime withdraw some little distance from the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus they display in battle the speed of horse, [together with] the firmness of infantry; and by daily practice and exercise attain to such expertness that they are accustomed, even on a declining and steep place, to check their horses at full speed, and manage and turn them in an instant and run along the pole, and stand on the yoke, and thence betake themselves with the greatest celerity to their chariots again.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10657/10657.txt| title = The Project Gutenberg EBook of "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries by Caius Julius Caesar, translated by W. A. MacDevitt (1915).}}</ref>}}

Chariots play an important role in [[Irish mythology]] surrounding the hero [[Cú Chulainn]].

[[File:Cratère de Vix 0010.jpg|thumb|Procession of chariots and warriors on the [[Vix krater|Vix ''krater'']] ({{circa|510 BC}}), a vessel of [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Greek]] workmanship found in a [[Gaul|Gallic]] burial.]]

Chariots could also be used for ceremonial purposes. According to [[Tacitus]] (''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' 14.35), [[Boudica]], queen of the [[Iceni]] and a number of other tribes in a formidable uprising against the occupying Roman forces, addressed her troops from a chariot in 61:

: "Boudicca curru filias prae se vehens, ut quamque nationem accesserat, solitum quidem Britannis feminarum ductu bellare testabatur"

: ''Boudicca, with her daughters before her in a chariot, went up to tribe after tribe, protesting that it was indeed usual for Britons to fight under the leadership of women.''

The last mention of chariot use in battle seems to be at the [[Battle of Mons Graupius]], somewhere in modern Scotland, in 84 CE. From [[Tacitus]] (''[[Agricola (Tacitus)|Agricola]]'' 1.35–36) "The plain between resounded with the noise and with the rapid movements of chariots and cavalry." The chariots did not win even their initial engagement with the Roman auxiliaries: "Meantime the enemy's cavalry had fled, and the charioteers had mingled in the engagement of the infantry."

Later through the centuries, the chariot was replaced by the "[[war wagon]]". The "war wagon" was a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] development used to attack rebel or enemy forces on battle fields. The wagon was given slits for archers to shoot enemy targets, supported by infantry using pikes and flails and later for the invention of gunfire by hand-gunners; side walls were used for protection against archers, crossbowmen, the early use of gunpowder and cannon fire.

It was especially useful during the [[Hussite Wars]], c. 1420, by [[Hussite]] forces rebelling in [[Bohemia]]. Groups of them could form defensive works, but they also were used as hardpoints for Hussite formations or as firepower in pincer movements. This early use of gunpowder and innovative tactics helped a largely peasant infantry stave off attacks by the [[Holy Roman Empire]]'s larger forces of mounted [[knight]]s.

=== Etruria ===
[[File:Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory MET DP137936.jpg|thumb|The [[Monteleone Chariot]] at the Met (c. 530 BC)]]
The only intact [[Monteleone chariot|Etruscan chariot]] dates to c. 530 BC and was uncovered as part of a [[chariot burial]] at [[Monteleone di Spoleto]]. Currently in the collection of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/04/eust/hod_03.23.1.htm| title = METmuseum.org}}</ref> it is decorated with bronze plates decorated with detailed low-relief scenes, commonly interpreted as depicting episodes from the life of [[Achilles]].<ref>[http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/885645 The Golden Chariot of Achilles<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316221124/http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/885645 |date=March 16, 2008 }}</ref>

=== Rome ===
[[File:Winner of a Roman chariot race.jpg|thumb|A winner of a Roman [[chariot racing|chariot race]]]]
[[File:San Marco horses.jpg|thumb|The [[Triumphal Quadriga]] is a set of Roman or Greek [[bronze statue]]s of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a [[quadriga]]. They date from late [[Classical Antiquity]] and were long displayed at the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]]. In 1204 AD, [[Doge of Venice|Doge]] [[Enrico Dandolo]] sent them to Venice as part of the loot sacked from Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade.]]

In the [[Roman Empire]], chariots were not used for warfare, but for [[chariot racing]], especially in [[circus (building)|circuses]], or for triumphal processions, when they could be pulled by as many as ten horses or even by dogs, tigers, or ostriches.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} There were four divisions, or ''factiones'', of charioteers, distinguished by the colour of their costumes: the red, blue, green and white teams. The main centre of chariot racing was the [[Circus Maximus]],<ref>[http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/885645 The Charioteer of Delphi: Circus Maximus.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316221124/http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/885645 |date=March 16, 2008 }} The Roman Mysteries books by Caroline Lawrence.</ref> situated in the valley between the [[Palatine Hill|Palatine]] and [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] Hills in Rome. The track could hold 12 chariots, and the two sides of the track were separated by a raised median termed the ''spina''. Chariot races continued to enjoy great popularity in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] times, in the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]], even after the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] had been disbanded, until their decline after the [[Nika riots]] in the 6th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cassel |first1=Elaine |last2=Bernstein |first2=Douglas A. |title=Criminal Behavior |date=3 April 2007 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-135-61476-8 |page=121 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKp7Utw4VcsC |language=en}}</ref> Byzantium racing factions and races continued, to some extent, until the imperial court was moved to [[Blachernae]] during the 12th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cameron |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NkEbAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y |title=Circus Factions: Blues and Greens at Rome and Byzantium |date=1976 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-814804-3 |pages=308 |language=en}}</ref> The starting gates were known as the Carceres.

An ancient Roman car or chariot pulled by four horses abreast together with the horses pulling it was called a ''[[Quadriga]]'', from the Latin ''quadriugi'' (of a team of four). The term sometimes meant instead the four horses without the chariot or the chariot alone. A three-horse chariot, or the three-horse team pulling it, was a ''triga'', from ''triugi'' (of a team of three). A two-horse chariot, or the two-horse team pulling it, was a ''biga'', from ''biugi''.

A popular legend that has been around since at least 1937 traces the origin of the 4&nbsp;ft {{frac|8|1|2}}&nbsp;in [[Standard gauge|standard railroad gauge]] to Roman times,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62159153 |title=Standard Railways |newspaper=[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]] |location=Queensland |date=5 October 1937 |access-date=3 June 2011 |page=12 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> suggesting that it was based on the distance between the ruts of rutted roads marked by chariot wheels dating from the [[Roman Empire]]. There is no evidence of the distance being used in the millennium and a half between the departure of the Romans from Britain and the adoption of the gauge on the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] in 1825.

== Introduction in Ancient China ==
{{Main|Chariots in ancient China|South-pointing chariot}}

The earliest archaeological evidence of chariots in China, a chariot burial site discovered in 1933 at Hougang, [[Anyang]] in [[Henan]] province, dates to the rule of King [[Wu Ding]] of the [[Late Shang]] ({{circa|1250 BC}}). [[Oracle bone inscription]]s suggest that the western enemies of the Shang used limited numbers of chariots in battle, but the Shang themselves used them only as mobile command-vehicles and in royal hunts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last= Shaughnessy |first= Edward L. |title= Historical Perspectives on The Introduction of The Chariot Into China |journal= Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume= 48 |issue= 1 |year= 1988 |pages= 189–237 |doi= 10.2307/2719276 |jstor= 2719276}}</ref>

[[File:Shang Chariot Burial 04.jpg|thumb|War chariots at [[Shang dynasty]] [[Yinxu]] ruins, c. 1200 BC]]

During the Shang dynasty, members of the royal family were buried with a complete household and servants, including a chariot, horses, and a charioteer. A Shang chariot was often drawn by two horses, but four-horse variants are occasionally found in burials.

[[Jacques Gernet]] claims that the [[Zhou dynasty]], which conquered the Shang ca. 1046 BC, made more use of the chariot than did the Shang and "invented a new kind of harness with four horses abreast".<ref>{{cite book |last=Gernet |first=Jacques |title=A History of Chinese Civilization |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=2nd |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-49781-7 |page=51 }}</ref> The crew consisted of an archer, a driver, and sometimes a third warrior who was armed with a spear or [[dagger-axe]]. From the 8th to 5th centuries BC the Chinese use of chariots reached its peak. Although chariots appeared in greater numbers, infantry often defeated charioteers in battle.

Massed-chariot warfare became all but obsolete after the [[Warring States period|Warring-States period]] (476–221 BC). The main reasons were increased use of the [[crossbow]], use of long halberds up to {{convert|18|ft|m|2}} long and pikes up to {{convert|22|ft|m|2}} long, and the adoption of standard cavalry units, and the adaptation of [[mounted archer]]y from nomadic cavalry, which were more effective. Chariots would continue to serve as command posts for officers during the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206 BC) and the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BC–220 AD), while armored chariots were also used during the Han dynasty against the [[Xiongnu]] Confederation in the [[Han–Xiongnu War]] (133 BC to 89 AD), specifically at the [[Battle of Mobei]] (119 BC).

Before the Han dynasty, the power of Chinese states and dynasties was often measured by the number of chariots they were known to have. A country of a thousand chariots ranked as a medium country, and a country of ten thousand chariots ranked as a huge and powerful country.<ref>[Mencius · Liang Hui Huang (King the Hui of Liang, Hui is a posthumous name) Volume One] 'The kingslayer of a country of ten thousands chariots, must be the house of thousand chariots. The kingslayer of a country of thousand chariots, must be the house of hundred chariots.' [Zhao Qi's note] Zhao Qi's note: ' Ten thousands chariots, is the son of heaven (King of Zhou).'</ref><ref>[Zhan Guo Ce·Zhao Ce] 'Nowadays, Kingdom of Qin is a country of ten thousands chariots, Kingdom of Liang (Kingdom of Wei, 'Da Liang' is the capital of Wei) is also a country of ten thousands chariots.'</ref>

<gallery widths="150" heights="150">
Warring States Chariot Model a.jpg|Model of a chariot, [[Warring States period]]
Charioteer figure, bronze, Eastern Zhou Dynasty.JPG|Bronze Chinese charioteer from the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC).
Powerful landlord in chariot. Eastern Han 25-220 CE. Anping, Hebei.jpg|Powerful landlord in chariot ([[Eastern Han]], 25–220 AD, [[Anping County]], Hebei).
File:Eastern Han Bronze Cavalry & Chariots - from Gansu.jpg|[[Han dynasty]] bronze models of cavalry and chariots
File:Han Chariot Model (11867134353).jpg|Model recreation of [[Han dynasty]] chariot, from Tomb of [[Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan|Liu Sheng]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Cavalry]]
* [[Chariot burial]]
* [[Chariot clock]]
* [[Chariot tactics]]
* [[Chuckwagon]]
* [[Chuckwagon racing]]
* [[Merkava]]
* [[Ratha]]
* [[South-pointing chariot]]
* [[Sulky]]
* [[Tachanka]]
* [[Tank]]s
* [[Technical (vehicle)]]
* [[Temple car]]
* [[Wagon]]
* [[Zamburak]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note|35em|refs=
{{refn|group=note|name=Uesugi|According to archaeologist Akinori Uesugi, Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (c. 1900-1300 BC), to which Sinauli's burials belong, was a Late Harappan expansion of the previous Bara style (c. 2300–1900), a regional culture of the Harappan Civilization from the Ghaggar valley, calling it the ''Bara-OCP cultural complex'':<br>"During the early second millennium BCE, the Bara-OCP (Ochre-Coloured pottery) cultural complex expanded from the Ghaggar valley to the western part of the Ganga valley. This cultural complex [...] has its origin rooted in the Indus Civilization in the preceding period, its eastward expansion indicates the colonization of the  western Ganga valley probably giving great impetus to the Neolithic-Chalcolithic communities in the Ganga valley to transform into a more complex society."{{sfn|Uesugi|2018|p=6}}}}
}}

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{{Reflist}}

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<ref group=web name=Daniyal2018>Shoaib Daniyal (2018), [https://scroll.in/article/882188/putting-the-horse-before-the-cart-what-the-discovery-of-4000-year-old-chariot-in-up-signifies ''Putting the horse before the cart: What the discovery of 4,000-year-old 'chariot' in UP signifies''], Scroll.in</ref>
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==Further reading==
* Chamberlin, J.&nbsp;Edward. ''Horse: How the horse has shaped civilizations''. N.Y.: United Tribes Media&nbsp;Inc., 2006 ({{ISBN|0-9742405-9-1}}).
* Cotterell, Arthur. ''Chariot: From chariot to tank, the astounding rise and fall of the world's first war machine''. Woodstock & New York: [[The Overlook Press]], 2005 ({{ISBN|1-58567-667-5}}).
* Crouwel, Joost H. ''Chariots and other means of land transport in Bronze Age Greece'' (Allard Pierson Series, 3). Amsterdam: [[Allard Pierson Museum]], 1981 ({{ISBN|90-71211-03-7}}).
* Crouwel, Joost H. ''Chariots and other wheeled vehicles in Iron Age Greece ''(Allard Pierson Series, 9). Amsterdam: Allard Pierson Museum:, 1993 ({{ISBN|90-71211-21-5}}).
* [[Robert Drews|Drews, Robert]]. ''The coming of the Greeks: Indo-European conquests in the Aegean and the Near East''. Princeton: [[Princeton University Press]], 1988 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0-691-03592-X}}); 1989 (paperback, {{ISBN|0-691-02951-2}}).
* Drews, Robert. ''The end of the Bronze Age: Changes in warfare and the catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0-691-04811-8}}); 1995 (paperback, {{ISBN|0-691-02591-6}}).
* Drews, Robert. ''Early riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe''. N.Y.: [[Routledge]], 2004 ({{ISBN|0-415-32624-9}}).
* Fields, Nic; Brian Delf (illustrator). ''Bronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard)''. Oxford; New York: [[Osprey Publishing]], 2006 ({{ISBN|978-1841769448}}).
* Greenhalg, P A L. ''Early Greek warfare; horsemen and chariots in the Homeric and Archaic Ages''. [[Cambridge University Press]], 1973. ({{ISBN|9780521200561}}).
* Kulkarni, Raghunatha Purushottama. ''Visvakarmiya Rathalaksanam: Study of Ancient Indian Chariots: with a historical note, references, Sanskrit text, and translation in English''. Delhi: Kanishka Publishing House, 1994 ({{ISBN|978-8173-91004-3}})
* {{cite journal| last=Lee-Stecum| first=Parshia| title=Dangerous Reputations: Charioteers and Magic in Fourth-Century Rome| journal=Greece & Rome| volume=53| issue=2|date=October 2006| pages=224–234| doi=10.1017/S0017383506000295| s2cid=162107855| issn=0017-3835}}
* Littauer, Mary A.; Crouwel, Joost H. ''Chariots and related equipment from the tomb of Tutankhamun'' (Tutankhamun's Tomb Series, 8). Oxford: The [[Griffith Institute]], 1985 ({{ISBN|0-900416-39-4}}).
* Littauer, Mary A.; Crouwel, Joost H.; Raulwing, Peter (Editor). ''Selected writings on chariots and other early vehicles, riding and harness'' (Culture and history of the ancient Near East, 6). Leiden: [[Brill Academic Publishers]], 2002 ({{ISBN|90-04-11799-7}}).
* Moorey, P.R.S. "The Emergence of the Light, Horse-Drawn Chariot in the Near-East c.&nbsp;2000–1500&nbsp;B.C.", ''World Archaeology'', Vol.&nbsp;18, No.&nbsp;2. (1986), pp.&nbsp;196–215.
* Piggot, Stuart. ''The earliest wheeled transport from the Atlantic Coast to the Caspian Sea''. Ithaca, New York: [[Cornell University Press]], 1983 ({{ISBN|0-8014-1604-3}}).
* Piggot, Stuart. ''Wagon, chariot and carriage: Symbol and status in the history of transport''. London: [[Thames & Hudson]], 1992 ({{ISBN|0-500-25114-2}}).
* Pogrebova M. ''The emergence of chariots and riding in the South Caucasus'' in ''[[Oxford Journal of Archaeology]]'', Volume&nbsp;22, Number&nbsp;4, November 2003, pp.&nbsp;397–409.
* Sandor, Bela&nbsp;I. ''The rise and decline of the Tutankhamun-class chariot'' in ''Oxford Journal of Archaeology'', Volume&nbsp;23, Number&nbsp;2, May 2004, pp.&nbsp;153–175.
* Sandor, Bela&nbsp;I. ''Tutankhamun's chariots: Secret treasures of engineering mechanics'' in ''Fatigue&nbsp;& Fracture of Engineering Materials&nbsp;& Structures'', Volume&nbsp;27, Number&nbsp;7, July&nbsp;2004, pp.&nbsp;637–646.
* {{cite journal| ref ={{sfnref|Taylor|2021}} |last1=Taylor |first1=William Timothy Treal |last2=Barrón-Ortiz |first2=Christina Isabelle |title=Rethinking the evidence for early horse domestication at Botai |journal=Scientific Reports |date=2 April 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=7440 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-86832-9 |pmid=33811228 |publisher=Nature |pmc=8018961 |bibcode=2021NatSR..11.7440T |language=en |issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite news|title=Remaking the Wheel: Evolution of the Chariot|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/22/science/remaking-the-wheel-evolution-of-the-chariot.html|first=John Noble|last=Wilford|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=1994-02-22|access-date=2015-07-29}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chariot |volume=5 |short=x}}
* [http://sumerianshakespeare.com/66701.html Sumerian war chariots reconstructed. Photographic restoration of three of the chariots on the Standard of Ur.]
* [http://sumerianshakespeare.com/84201.html Sumerian war chariots deconstructed. What did a Sumerian war chariot really look like?]
*[https://archive.org/details/horsewheelandlanguage "The Horse, the Wheel and Language, How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes shaped the Modern World", David W Anthony, 2007]
* [http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/chariot.htm Ancient Egyptian chariots: history, design, use.] Ancient Egypt: an introduction to its history and culture.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080304161951/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11152003-164515/ Chariot Usage in Greek Dark Age Warfare, by Carolyn Nicole Conter: Title page for Electronic Theses and Dissertations ETD etd-11152003-164515.] Florida State University ETD Collection.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071015205955/http://mlahanas.de/Greeks/GreekChariot.html Chariots in Greece.] Hellenica – Michael Lahanas.
* [http://www.kamat.com/database/pictures/klk531.htm Kamat Research Database – Prehistoric Carts.] Varieties of Carts and Chariots in prehistoric cave shelter paintings found in Central India. Kamat's Potpourri – The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India.
* [http://www.societasviaromana.net/Collegium_Historicum/ludihis2.php Ludi circenses (longer version).] SocietasViaRomana.net.

{{Horse-drawn carriages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2nd-millennium BC introductions]]
[[Category:Animal-powered vehicles]]
[[Category:Archaeological artefact types]]
[[Category:Bronze Age]]
[[Category:Chariots| ]]
[[Category:Ancient warfare]]
[[Category:Archaeological artifacts]]
[[Category:Iron Age]]
[[Category:Sintashta culture]]