How the Chariots Became Outdated - Ancient History

Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the Ancient Civilizations and evolution of the armies continues. Journey through the epochs of ancient warfare as we unveil the rise, diverse variations, and eventual decline of chariots. Explore their pivotal role in shaping civilizations from the Sumerians to the Hittites, Egyptians, Chinese, and beyond. Witness their transformation from cumbersome war carts to symbols of power in epic battles like Kadesh, Qaqar, and Muye.

Discover how chariots symbolized might and terror on Bronze Age battlefields, their evolution influenced by diverse cultures, and their strategic importance in battles across the globe. Uncover the crucial factors that led to their eventual demise, including the emergence of cavalry, advancements in weaponry, and the shift towards professional armies.

Join us in exploring the legacy of this iconic weapon, its significance in ancient military history, and the testament it stands as to the innovation and ingenuity of ancient civilizations.

#Documentary #Chariots #BronzeAge

[oslonorway]

The chariot didn't become outdated, it slowly metamorphosed for centuries and returned as Toyota Hiluxes. 😎

[veramae]

Retired elementary school librarian -- I had a kid looking to compare 3 types of chariots. Man, I searched everywhere I could think, not just our little library of course but the then-new Internet. Nothing. (I think it was Egyptian, Roman and maybe Greek ... or Syrian)
Finally emailed the British Museum. (It's surprising how often long shots work out.) They replied! They didn't have the info either, but would start someone researching it. Though it interesting! Awesome!
Kid got full credit from teacher as she wrote down all the search techniques and sources we'd used!

[tyranitararmaldo]

Shame India wasn't covered more. Chariot warfare there was very interesting. Due to (like Britain) isolation, chariots persisted throughout the sub-continent for far longer. Western India (due to more common interactions with nomadic steppe peoples) started to adopt horse breeds strong enough to act as cavalry as a replacement like most other places...but further east, in Bengal, these horse breeds took a lot longer to arrive, meaning the Ratha lasted for far longer. Even out-lasting the British chariots, being recorded even into the Early Middle Ages before finally succumbing.

[JonathanRivera-djmm]

You should do a video about the use of Elephants beyond India and Southeast Asia (the Diadochi Kingdoms, Ancient Rome, Carthage, Epirus, and Persia).

[LoneWanderer]

It's really interesting how, despite the Chariot falling out of use in most forms of warfare - there are still many prominent uses for it in social spheres, events, etc that continued for a while after they fell out.

The most obvious would be the races in the circus/hippodrome. Those were very prominent even in the early days of the Byzantine Empire, and continued well into its later years.

And we still have a sense of "regality" that comes with them today, I think. If you imagine a Roman triumph, you would probably envision a general riding into Rome on a chariot. You probably think of a Roman Emperor, riding around gloriously on a chariot. Probably well past the period they have fallen out of use.

[philtkaswahl]

I remember when I was a child I thought that chariots were more "advanced" simply because they had wheels.

It blew my little mind that people riding the horses generally themselves came after chariots in the history of warfare.

[vitorpereira]

During ancient times in China, war chariots held significant prominence in warfare. Prior to the Han dynasty, the strength of Chinese states and dynasties was frequently assessed based on the quantity of chariots they possessed. A nation with a thousand chariots was considered a medium-sized country, while a nation with ten thousand chariots was seen as immense and formidable.

[mortache]

I was expecting more discussion of chariots in Indian Subcontinent where the Rathas were supposedly used for quite a long time after the bronze age

[alex_spartan]

I just finished up a wonderful documentary on ancient Egypt from History Hit TV (YouTube) that explained that Egypt and Mesopotamia lacked the breed of horses that allowed them to be ridden. They were too small and light for horseback riding but perfect for chariots. Later, the Middle East would have the horses imported from invaders such as the Greeks and Mamluks.

[MicaiahBaron]

So funny that the chariot dominated in AoE I specifically because it lacks all its real life weaknesses (you can't kill the horses, you can't shoot the riders, they don't get bogged down in bad terrain or on slopes, and they cost only food and wood while cavalry require gold).

[BobdaButcher]

A lot of people don’t realize how small horses used to be. They were originally simply too small to ride, which is why we got them to pull and carry stuff before people could ride them. And without stirrups using them in combat is difficult even once you can ride them.

But chariots didn’t disappear since they are still useful for fast transportation, so messengers and elite people would still use them. Which is why we see them being used ceremonially/recreationally even as late as the Romans.

[psyconaut]

The chariot was one of the main weaponry in the Indian epic Mahabharata, they were massive, powered by 4 horses and all.

[mennorach]

I appreciate how you brought up many different cultures and places that used similar technologies. I had no real knowledge of the Chinese chariots so it was interesting to hear about them.

[arturkaptyug]

Man this video is getting me really excited to play some more Rome 2

[georgepatton]

Before watching, My guess, the moment when people learn how to ride horses more efficiently, cavalries became a much more flexible and less expensive option

[Wolfeson]

Really, most of those weaknesses mentioned for chariots (more effective ranged weapons, better and more prevalent armor, and better-drilled infantry) apply to regular horse cavalry too. It's just that chariots have far more potential points of failure for those issues to exploit. A cavalryman is always vulnerable since hitting either the soldier *or* the horse (a much bigger target that's also harder to armor) effectively disables it as a combat unit. But with a chariot, there's (usually) *two* horses and *two* soldiers - any one of which being killed or wounded disables the chariot - *plus* the potential for failure of the chariot itself (through enemy action or just hitting a rock).

[thornyrumble]

Hello K&G, last year i was going through rough time and your channel helped me alot go through it, thanks alot to everyone behind the channel you guys are awesome, sending love to all of you ❤

[warmth]

Two point:

There was an important horse breed tranfer done after the explorer Zhang Qian reached deep into central asia, though maybe 114 BC was outside the chariot history relevance.

Did the breeding of camels affect the abandonement of chariots? They were widespread across the middle east, india, central and northern asia. Maybe that could be another video.

[jmhinnen]

Another reason for cavalry supplanting chariots: stirrups. Being able to plant your feet on horseback made you more stable when swinging a weapon. Before stirrups, cavalry were either archers or mounted infantry that would ride to a battle and then dismount.

[robertflanagan]

The oldest proper chariots are found in the steppe surrounding the southern Ural mountains. They were created by the Indo-European Sintashta culture around 2050-1750 BC. There is ample additional archaeological evidence to suggest they were used for war by this culture. Although they predate the Sintashta chariot, holding up Sumerian war wagons as the ancestor of the war chariot is not exactly correct. Effective war chariots as we normally think of them spread from the steppes around the Urals, not from Sumer.