Chariot
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[[Image:Hittite Chariot.jpg|right|thumb|250px|<center>[[Hittites|Hittite]] chariot (drawing of an [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] relief)</center>]]
[[Image:Chariot spread.png|right|thumb|250px|<center>Approximate historical map of the spread of the chariot, 2000–500 BC.</center>]]
[[Image:Cibeles con Palacio de Linares closeup.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A fountain in Madrid depicting [[Cybele]] in her chariot drawn by lions, in the Plaza de Cibeles]]
The '''chariot''' is the earliest and simplest type of [[carriage]], used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. and in China during the 2d millennium BC. The original chariot was a fast, light, open, two- or four-[[wheel]]ed conveyance drawn by two or more [[horses]] hitched side by side. The car was little else than a floor with a waist-high semicircular guard in front. The chariot, driven by a '''charioteer''', was used for [[ancient warfare]] during the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]]s, armor being provided by bronze shields. The vehicle continued to be used for [[travel]], [[parade|procession]]s and in [[game]]s and [[Chariot racing| races]] after it had been superseded militarily.
The word "chariot" comes from Latin ''carrus'', which itself was a loan from [[Gaulish]]. A chariot of war or of triumph was called a ''car''. In [[ancient Rome]] and other [[Ancient history#Europe and Mediterranean|ancient Mediterranean countries]] a '''biga''' was a two-horse chariot, a '''triga''' utilized three horses and a '''[[quadriga]]''' was drawn by four horses abreast. Obsolete terms for chariot include ''chair'', ''charet'' and ''wain''.
The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots for use in battle was the [[spoke]]d wheel. Most [[domestication of the horse|horses at the time]] could not support the weight of a man in battle. As horses were gradually bred to be larger and stronger, '''chariotry''' (the part of a military force that fought from chariots) gave way to [[cavalry]].<ref>[http://www.xenograg.com/excerpts/war/early_iron_age.php Early Iron Age Armies.]Library of Xenograg the Sorcerer.</ref>
The earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca. 2000 BC and their usage peaked around 1300 BC (see [[Battle of Kadesh]]). Chariots ceased to have military importance in the 4th century BC, but [[Chariot racing|chariot races]] continued to be popular in [[Constantinople]] until the 6th century.
==Early wheeled vehicles in Sumer==
[[Image:Standard of Ur chariots.jpg|500px|thumb|right|<center>Relief of early chariots on the [[Standard of Ur]], ca. 2500 BC</center>]] The chariot probably originated in [[Mesopotamia]] about 3000 BC. The earliest depiction of vehicles in the context of warfare is on the [[Standard of Ur]] in southern Mesopotamia, ''ca''. 2500 BC. These are more properly called [[wagon]]s or [[cart]]s, still double-axled and pulled by oxen or [[donkeys|tamed asses]] before the introduction of horses ''ca''. 2000 BC. Although sometimes carrying a spearman along with the ''charioteer'' (driver), such heavy proto-chariots, 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. The Sumerians had also a lighter, two-wheeled type of chariot, pulled by four asses, but still with solid wheels. The spoked wheel did not appear in Mesopotamia until the mid-2000s BC.
==Indo-Iranians==
===Proto-Indo-Iranians===
{{main|Ratha}}
[[Image:Andronovo culture.png|thumb|250px|The area of the spoke-wheeled chariot finds within the [[Sintashta-Petrovka]] culture is indicated in purple.]]
The earliest fully developed chariots known are from the [[chariot burial]]s of the [[Andronovo culture|Andronovo]] (Timber-Grave) sites of the [[Sintashta-Petrovka]] culture in modern [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]] from around 2000 BC. This culture is at least partially derived from the earlier [[Yamna culture]]. It built heavily fortified settlements, engaged in [[Bronze Age|bronze]] metallurgy on a scale hitherto unprecedented and practiced complex burial rituals reminiscent of [[Aryan]] rituals known from the ''[[Rigveda]]''. The Sintashta-Petrovka chariot burials yield spoke-wheeled chariots. The [[Andronovo culture]] over the next few centuries spread across the steppes from the [[Urals]] to the [[Tien Shan]], likely corresponding to early [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian cultures]] which eventually spread to [[Iran]] and [[India]] in the course of the [[2nd millennium BC]].
Chariots figure prominently in Indo-Iranian 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 ''ratha'', a collective ''{{PIE|*ret-h-}}'' to a [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] word ''{{PIE|*rot-o-}}'' for "wheel" that also resulted in [[Latin]] ''rota'' and is also known from Germanic, Celtic and Baltic.
===India===
There are a few 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 is shows a team of two horses, with the head of a single driver visible. The other one is drawn by four horses, has six-spoked wheels, and shows a driver standing up in a large chariot-box. This chariot is being attacked, with a figure wielding a shield and a mace standing at its path, and another figure armed with bow and arrow threatening its right flank. It has been suggested (Sparreboom 1985:87) that the drawings record a story, most probably dating to the early centuries BC, from some center in the area of the [[Ganges]]–[[Jamuna]] plain into the territory of still Neolithic hunting tribes. The drawings would then be a representation of foreign technology, comparable to the [[Arnhem Land]] [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] rock paintings depicting Westerners. The very realistic chariots carved into the [[Sanchi]] [[stupa]]s are dated to roughly the 1st century.
The [[scythed chariot]] was invented by the King of [[Magadha]], [[Ajatashatru]] around 475 BC. He used these chariots against the [[Licchavi]]s. A [[scythe]]d chariot was a war chariot with a sharp, sickle-shaped blade or blades mounted on each end of the [[axle]]. The blades, used as weapons, extended horizontally for a meter on the sides of the chariot.
===Persia===
The [[Persian Empire|Persians]] succeeded [[Elam]] in the mid 1st millennium. They may have been the first to yoke four horses (rather than two) to their chariots. They also used scythed chariots. [[Cyrus the Younger]] employed these chariots in large numbers. [[Herodotus]] mentions that the Libyans and the [[Indus River|Indus]] [[satrapy]] supplied cavalry and chariots to [[Xerxes]]' 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.
==Near East==
Some scholars argue that the chariot was most likely a product of the ancient Near East early in the 2nd millennium BC.<ref>Raulwing 2000</ref>
===Armenia===
In the Armenian Kingdom of Van ([[Urartu]]), the chariot was used by the nobility and the military. In Yerevan,Armenia king Argishti of Urartu is depicted riding on a chariot which is dragged by two horses. The chariot has two wheels and each wheel has about eight spokes. This type of chariot was used around 800 BC.
===Hittites===
The oldest testimony of chariot warfare in the Ancient Near East is the [[Hittite language|Old Hittite]] [[Anitta text]] (18th century BC), mentioning 40 teams of horses (40 ''?Í-IM-DÌ'' ANŠE.KUR.RA<sup>?I.A</sup>) at the siege of [[Salatiwara]]. Since only ''teams'' are mentioned rather than explicitly ''chariots'', so the presence of chariots in the 18th century is considered somewhat uncertain. The first certain attestation of chariots in the Hittite Empire dates to the late 17th century ([[Hattusili I]]). A Hittite horse training text survives, attributed to [[Kikkuli the Mitanni]] (15th century BC).
The [[Hittites]] were renowned charioteers. They developed a new chariot design, which had lighter wheels, with four spokes rather than eight, and which held three warriors instead of two. 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 [[Assyrians]], [[Hurrian]]s and [[Egyptians]]. Under [[Suppiluliuma I]], the Hittites conquered [[Kadesh]] and eventually the whole of [[Syria]]. The [[Battle of Kadesh]] in 1299 BC is likely to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving some five thousand chariots.
[[Image:Ramses II at Kadesh.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Relief of [[Ramses II]] located in [[Abu Simbel]], depicted fighting at the [[Battle of Kadesh]]; note that there are two archers riding in the chariot, one with the reins tied around the waist, to free both hands]]
===Egypt===
The chariot, together with the horse itself, was introduced to [[Egypt]] by the [[Hyksos]] invaders in the 16th century BC and undoubtedly contributed to their military success. In the remains of [[Art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Assyria]]n art there are numerous representations of chariots, from which it may be seen with what richness they were sometimes ornamented. 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 ca. 1500 BC. The best preserved examples of Egyptian chariots are the four specimens from the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]].
===Chariots in the Bible===
:''See also [[Merkabah]].''
Chariots are frequently mentioned in the [[Old Testament]], 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]] ([[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. [[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]]. Such examples from the [[KJV]] here 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.''
*[[Song of Solomon]] 1:9 ''I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.''
*[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 2:7 ''Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.''
*[[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 4:13 ''Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.''
==China==
[[Image:Charioteer figure, bronze, Eastern Zhou Dynasty.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A bronze Chinese charioteer figurine made during the [[Warring States Period]] (403–221 BC)]]
The earliest chariot burial site in China, discovered in 1933 at [[Hougang]], Anyang of central China's [[Henan]] Province, dates to the rule of King [[Wu Ding]] of the late [[Shang Dynasty]] (ca. 1200 BC). But chariots may have been known before, from as early as the [[Xia Dynasty]] (17th century BC) [http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/28792.htm]. During the Shang dynasty, members of the royalty were buried with a complete household and servants, including a chariot, horses, and a charioteer. Shang chariot was often drawn by two horses, but four are occasionally found in burials. The crew consisted of an archer, a driver, and sometimes a third armed with a spear or [[dagger-axe]]. During the 8th to 5th centuries, Chinese use of chariots reached its peak, they appeared in greater number, but infantry often defeated them in battle.
The chariot became obsolete during the Age of the [[Warring States Period|Warring States]]; the main reasons were the invention of the crossbow and the adaptation of nomadic cavalry ([[mounted archer]]y), which was more effective.
==Europe==
===Northern Europe===
[[Image:Kiviksgraven slab 2.jpg|right|thumb|150px||A [[petroglyph]] in [[the King's Grave|a double burial]], c. 1000 BC (the [[Nordic Bronze Age]])]]
The [[Trundholm sun chariot]] is dated to ca. 1400 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" consists solely of the solar disk, the axle, and the wheels, and it is unclear if the sun is imagined as being itself a chariot, or as riding in a chariot. The presence of a model of a horse-drawn vehicle on two spoked wheels in Northern Europe at such an early time is in any case astonishing.
In addition to the Trundholm chariot, there are a number of [[petroglyph]]s from the Nordic Bronze Age showing chariots, such as on one of the slabs of stone in a [[the King's Grave|double bural]] from c. 1000 BC, showing a chariot with two four-spoked wheels drawn by a team of two horses.
The use of the [[composite bow]] from chariots is not attested in northern Europe.
===Central Europe and the British Isles===
The [[Celts]] were famous chariot-makers, and the English word ''car'' is believed to be derived, via [[Latin]] ''carrum'', from [[Gaulish]] ''karros'' (English ''chariot'' itself is from 13th century [[French language|French]] ''charriote'', an augmentative of the same word). Some 20 [[Iron Age]] [[chariot burial]]s have been excavated in [[Great Britain|Britain]], dating roughly from between 500 BC and 100 BC, virtually all of them in [[East Yorkshire]], with the exception of one find of 2001 from [[Newbridge, Edinburgh|Newbridge]], 10 km west of [[Edinburgh]].
The Celtic chariot may have been called ''carpentom'', was drawn by a team of two horses, and measures approximately 2 m (6.56 ft) in width and 4 m (13 ft) in length. The one-piece iron rims for chariot wheels were probably a Celtic invention. Apart from the iron wheel rims and iron fittings of the hub, it was constructed from wood and wicker-work. In some instances, iron rings reinforced the joints. Another Celtic innovation was the free-hanging axle, suspended from the platform with rope. This resulted in a much more comfortable ride on bumpy terrain. There is evidence from French coins of a leather 'suspension' system for the central box, and a complex system of knotted cords for its attachment; this has informed recent working reconstructions by archaeologists.
British chariots were open in front, had a curved wall behind, often had seats and sometimes had scythes on the wheels. [[Julius Caesar]] provides the only significant eyewitness report of British chariot warfare: "XXXIII.--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>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10657/10657.txt 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 [[Cu Chulainn]]. The Celts in the Bronze Age used an ancient four-spoked wheel design called a '''[[sun cross]]''' or '''wheel cross''' to represent the chariot of the sun.<ref>[http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/29/291.html Symbols.com - Symbol 29:1.]</ref>
[[Image:boudiccastatue.jpg|thumb|300px|Sculpture by [[Thomas Thornycroft]] of [[Boudica]] and her daughters in her chariot, addressing her troops before the battle]]
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 CE:
:"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 chariotry in battle seems to be at the [[Battle of Mons Graupius]], somewhere in modern Scotland, in 84 AD. 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."
===Southern Europe===
The earliest records of chariots are the arsenal inventories of the [[Mycenaean]] palaces, as described in [[Linear B]] tablets from the 15th-14th centuries BC. The tablets distinguish between "assembled" and "disassembled" chariots.
[[Herodotus]] reports that chariots were widely used in the [[Black Sea|Pontic]]-[[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] steppe by the [[Sigynnae]].
The only [[Etruscan chariot]] found intact dates to ca. 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]] [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/04/eust/hod_03.23.1.htm], it is decorated with bronze plates decorated with detailed low-relief scenes, commonly interpreted as depicting episodes from the life of [[Achilles]] [http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/885645]. Possibly unique to Etruscan chariots, the Monteleone chariot's wheels have nine spokes. As part of a chariot burial, the Monteleone chariot may have been intended primarily for ceremonial use and may not be representative of Etruscan chariots in general.
===Greece===
[[Image:The Chariot of Zeus - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png|right|thumb|250px|right|<center>The Chariot of Zeus (1879 illustration from ''Stories from the Greek Tragedians'' by [[Alfred Church]])</center>]]
The classical [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] had a (still not very effective) [[cavalry]], and the rocky terrain of the [[Geography of Greece|Greek mainland]] was unsuited for wheeled vehicles. Consequently, in Greece (as later in Rome) the chariot was never used to any extent in war. Nevertheless, the chariot retained a high status and memories of its era were handed down in [[epic poetry]]. 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.
[[Image:Delphi charioteer front DSC06255.JPG|left|thumb|150px|<center>Chariot races were held in all pan Hellenic games. The statue of this driver was found at [[Delphi]].</center>]]
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 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.
[[Image:Sarcophagus Selene Endymion Glyptothek Munich 328.jpg|thumb|right|350px|<center>The chariot of Gaia depicted on a sarcophagus</center>]]
The central pole was probably attached to the middle of the axle, though it appears to spring from the front of the basket. At the end of the pole was the [[yoke]], which consisted of two small [[horse tack|saddle]]s fitting the necks of the horses, and fastened by broad bands round the chest. Besides this the harness of each horse consisted of a [[bridle]] and a pair of [[rein]]s.
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. They had from four to eight spokes and tires of bronze or iron.
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 [[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.
==Roman Empire==
[[Image:RomanChariotBig.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>A winner of a Roman [[chariot racing|chariot race]].</center>]]
The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] probably borrowed chariot racing from the Etruscans, who would themselves have borrowed it either from the Celts or from the Greeks, but the Romans were also influenced directly by the Greeks especially after they conquered mainland Greece in 146 BC. 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 drawn by as many as ten horses or even by dogs, tigers, or ostriches. There were four divisions, or ''factions'', of charioteers, distinguished by the color 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.] 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 10 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 [[Olympic Games]] had been disbanded, until their decline after the [[Nika riots]] in the 6th century.
An ancient Roman car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast together with the horses drawing it was called a ''quadriga'', from the Latin ''quadrijugus'' (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 drawing it, was a ''triga'', from ''trijugus'' (of a team of three).
==Russian Tachanka==
[[Image:Taczanka.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Russian WWI tachanka captured by the Germans and put on display in Berlin]]
It might be said that the chariot was briefly revived during the [[Russian civil war]] of 1918–1920, when the "[[tachanka]]", a [[cart]] or [[wagon]] with a machine-gun mounted on it, enjoyed a limited tactical success in the [[Red Army]]. Since the gun had to be pointed away from the horses, it operated by firing in a direction opposite or lateral to the direction in which the tachanka was moving. One man drove the horses, while another, or a team of two, operated the gun.
This may have been done for the sake of a morale-boosting film but its practical effect when firing on the move, would be negligible{{Fact|date=August 2007}} as until its ordinary, non-[[artillery wheel]]s collapsed or a horse was shot, it would be bouncing about too much to be of any use. Inspection of the photograph shows that the weapon shown in the taczanka article was designed in the same way as a horse artillery carriage. In other words it was designed to accompany or to just precede cavalry, to halt and to suppress enemy infantry fire while the cavalry approached.
It is interesting to note that, in the photograph, the gun carriage has an artillery wheel but the [[Caisson (military)|limber]] has not. In 1898, Vickers, Sons and Maxim were making a four-horse limber which towed a 37 mm naval machine gun on a carriage. At the same time they had a two-horse gun carriage which carried a limited supply of its own ammunition for artillery support and a one-horse carriage similarly with some of its own ammunition. These latter guns were Vickers-Maxim .303 inch weapons.
==See also==
*[[Chariot burial]]
*[[Chariot racing]]
*[[Chariot tactics]]
*[[Ratha]] Indian name for chariot
*[[Temple car]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*Anthony, D. W., & Vinogradov, N. B., ''Birth of the Chariot'', Archaeology vol.48, no.2, Mar & April 1995, 36-41
*Anthony, David W., 1995, ''Horse, wagon & chariot: Indo-European languages and archaeology'', Antiquity Sept/1995
*Di Cosmo, Nicolo, ''The Northern Frontier in Pre-Imperial China'', Cambridge History of Ancient China ch. 13 (pp. 885-966).
*Litauer, M.A., & Grouwel, J.H., ''The Origin of the True Chariot', "Antiquity" vol.70, No.270, December 1996, 934-939.
*Sparreboom, M., ''Chariots in the Veda'', Leiden (1985).
==Further reading==
* Chamberlin, J. Edward. ''Horse: How the horse has shaped civilizations''. N.Y.: United Tribes Media 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).
* 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).
* {{cite journal
| last=Lee-Stecum
| first=Parshia
| title=Dangerous Reputations: Charioteers and Magic in Fourth-Century Rome
| journal=Greece & Rome
| volume=53
| issue=2
| year=2006
| month=October
| pages=224–234
| id={{ISSN|0017-3835}}
| doi=10.1017/S0017383506000295
}}
* 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 [Eng.] 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)
* 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. 2000–1500 B.C.", ''World Archaeology'', Vol. 18, No. 2. (1986), pp. 196–215.
* Piggot, Stuart. ''The earliest wheeled transport from the Atlantic Coast to the Caspian Sea''. Ithaca, NY: 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 22, Number 4, November 2003, pp. 397–409.
* Raulwing, Peter. ''Horses, Chariots and Indo-Europeans: Foundations and Methods of Chariotry Research from the Viewpoint of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics''. Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2000 (ISBN 9638046260).
* Sandor, Bela I. ''The rise and decline of the Tutankhamun-class chariot'' in ''Oxford Journal of Archaeology'', Volume 23, Number 2, May 2004, pp. 153–175.
* Sandor, Bela I. ''Tutankhamun's chariots: Secret treasures of engineering mechanics'' in ''Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures'', Volume 27, Number 7, July 2004, pp. 637–646.
* Sparreboom M. ''Chariots in the Veda'' (Memoirs of the Kern Institute, Leiden, 3). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 1985 (ISBN 90-04-07590-9).
==External links==
*[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/browser?object=Coin&field=Keyword&keyclass=Objects&keyword=chariot 30 Coins whose Keyword is "chariot".] Perseus Digital Library.
*[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/browser?object=Vase&field=Keyword&keyclass=Objects&keyword=chariot 114 Vases whose Keyword is "chariot".] Perseus Digital Library.
*[http://www.applewarrior.com/celticwell/ejournal/beltane/warfare.htm Ancient Celtic Warfare.] Apple Warrior.
*[http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/chariot.htm Ancient Egyptian chariots: history, design, use.] Ancient Egypt: an introduction to its history and culture.
*[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/chariots.htm The Chariot in Egyptian Warfare.] Tour Egypt Travel, Tours, Vacations, Ancient Egypt, History and shopping.
*[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Chariot Chariot - LoveToKnow 1911.] 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
*[http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/chariot-tactics-in-the-bronze-age Chariot Tactics in the Bronze Age « War and Game.] WordPress.com.
*[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.
*[http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/charioteer.html Charioteers and Racing Factions.] VRoma: A Virtual Community for Teaching and Learning Classics.
*[http://www.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://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Currus.html LacusCurtius • Greek and Roman Chariots (Smith's Dictionary, 1875).]
*[http://www.societasviaromana.net/Collegium_Historicum/ludihis2.php Ludi circenses (longer version).] SocietasViaRomana.net.
*[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01EEDD103BF931A15751C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 Remaking the Wheel: Evolution of the Chariot - New York Times.] [[February 22]], [[1994]].
[[Category:Warfare of the Ancient era]]
[[Category:Chariots]]
[[Category:Animal-powered vehicles]]
[[Category:Archaeological artefact types]]
[[Category:Indo-European]]
[[Category:Bronze Age]]
[[Category:Iron Age]]
[[ca:Carro de guerra]]
[[de:Streitwagen]]
[[es:Carro de guerra]]
[[fr:Char (Antiquité)]]
[[it:Biga]]
[[hak:Mâ-tshâ]]
[[he:מרכבה (רכב)]]
[[nl:Strijdwagen]]
[[ja:チャリオット]]
[[pl:Rydwan]]
[[pt:Biga]]
[[ru:Колесница]]
[[fi:Sotavaunu]]
[[sv:Häststridsvagn]]
[[uk:Колісниця]]