The Chariot By: Jakob Gries

History The Chariot was invented by the Mesopotamians around 3000 BC.It had two wheels and was pulled by two horses. The vehicle was built for war and carried a driver and an archer. Even though there is no proof the chariot was thought to have reached Egypt by way of the Hyksos when they took over Lower Egypt.

Design The Egyptians improved the chariot in many ways from the Mesopotamians. They made it lighter which meant it would go faster. They also moved the axle and added some metal sleeves to reduce the friction with the wooden chariot which would also make it faster. The Egyptians also secured the horses better and made them more comfortable.

Use You could not drive the chariot on rocky or bumpy terrain because there was no springs or anything else to keep the chariot from tipping over. For this reason all battles were fought on flat ground. Since they had to fight in fields the Egyptians couldn’t sneak up on their enemies so they all attacked at once to still have the advantage. They used 2 horses so that if the chariot broke or was overrun then the people riding it could each ride a horse to safety.

Use 2 The Egyptians had two kinds of chariots, the war chariot and the carriage chariot. The war chariot’s wheels had 6 spokes while the carriage chariot had 4. The war chariot was lighter and faster while the carriage chariot was heavier and built for carrying heavy loads.

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