chariots

     

The chariot is the earliest an 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-wheeled 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 and Iron Ages, armor being provided by bronze shields. The vehicle continued to be used for travel, processions and in games and races after it had been superseded militarily.

Trivia about chariots

  • A race of these vehicles was the most prestigious event of the ancient Olympics
  • The wheels of these ancient Egyptian vehicles usually had 6 spokes
  • The Romans didn't usually use these vehicles in battle; they were reserved for the victory parades
  • Pharaoh & his men pursued the children of Israel into the Red Sea aboard these horse-drawn vehicles
  • When Sumerians used these in war, they had 4 wheels & were drawn by big-eared equines called onagers
  • Sisere commanded a fleet of 900 of these vehicles
  • In Microids' "Ben Hur" you race these vehicles
  • The army had 3-man crews & an elaborate system of horse training for these vehicles
  • In Judges 1:19 these war vehicles are "of iron"
  • Egyptians began riding around in these horse-drawn vehicles during the reign of the Hyksos
  • During the Shang dynasty, China developed these horse-drawn vehicles for warriors to ride in during battle
  • Nero's indulgences included poetry, acting & racing these vehicles
  • Diocles, kind of the Jimmie Johnson of ancient Rome, earned over 30 million sesterces with his daring racing of these

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