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:For the torpedo-shaped underwater vehicle ridden by two frogmen sometimes referred to as 'chariot', see Human torpedo.
250px Hittite chariot (drawing of an egyptian relief)
A chariot is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle. In Latin biga is a two-horse chariot, and quadriga is a four-horse chariot. It was used for battle during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and continued to be used for travel, processions and in games after it had been superseded militarily. Early forms may also have had four wheels, although these are not usually referred to as chariots. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots for use in battle was the spoked wheel. In these times, most horses could not support the weight of a man in battle; the original wild horse was a large pony in size. Chariots were effective in war only on fairly flat, open terrain. As horses were gradually bred to be larger and stronger, chariots gave way to cavalry. The earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca. 2300 BC and their usage peaked around 1300 BC (see Battle of KadeshThe Battle of Kadesh (also spelled Qadesh took place between Egypt and the Hittite forces of Muwatallis, on the Orontes River, during the reign of Ramesses II ( 1304 1237 BC). It was probably the largest chariot-battle ever fought, with some 5000 vehicles). Chariot racesChariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek and Roman sports. Early chariot racing Achilles arranged the first documented chariot race for the funeral games of his friend Patroclus. It is unknown exactly where chariot racing began, but it may continued to be popular in ConstantinopleConstantinople (Roman name: Constantinopolis; Greek: Konstantinoupolis or ) is the former name of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Its original name was Byzantium ( Greek: Byzantion or Bυζαντιο&nu pronounced roughly B until the 6th century5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known.
In modern warfare, the tactical role of the chariot is played by the tankM1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. The turret is low-profile, well-integrated into the overall shape of the vehicle. A tank is a tracked and armoured combat vehicle ( armoured fighting vehicle), designed primarily to destroy enemy grou. In World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, just before the introduction of the first tanks, motorcycles with machine-guns mounted on a sidecar constituted a mechanized version of the chariot, and the RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Withn tachankaThe tachanka was a horse-driven fighting vehicle, usually a cart or an open wagon with a stationary heavy machine gun, often called Maxim, installed in the back. It had a crew of 2 or 3 (one driver and a gun crew). A regular civilian horse cart could be e briefly re-introduced horse-drawn chariots, armed with machine-guns.
1 Early forms
The earliest depiction of chariots is on the "battle standard" of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, ca. 2600 BC. The vehicles depicted are more properly called carts, still double-axled and pulled by tamed asses or onagers. Such heavy chariots may have been part of the baggage train rather than vehicles of battle in themselves. The Sumerians had also a lighter, two-wheeled type of chariot, pulled by four onagers, but still with solid wooden wheels.
