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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Chariots Run Through!

Chariots Run Through!

Lalgarh villagers vow to resist security forces




Troubled Galaxy destroyed Dreams, Chapter 266



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Lalgarh: State forces battle on empty stomach


24 Jun 2009, 0447 hrs IST,
Caesar Mondal, TNN



LALGARH: The state armed forces are
fighting more than just the Maoists in the rugged terrain of Jangalkhand. They
are battling hunger, thirst,

heat, and lack of sleep. Until Monday afternoon,
members of the state police and RAF had to survive on muri (puffed rice), saag
(greens) and a few spoonfuls of khichri borrowed from central forces, who are
carrying their own ration, cooks and tents. Many have fallen and ill and several
senior officers have sought relief from their duties.



Since the
operation commenced six days ago, the 3,000-odd state forces have been marching
on all but empty stomachs. They had reached Midnapore town on Wednesday evening
and started for Pirakata at the crack of dawn. After camping in the heat for
several hours, all they got was a plateful of khichri. The march started again.
After battling Maoists and PCPA mobs, at the end of the first day's operation,
they had to camp on the road at Pirrakhuli. There was no food for them that
night.



"We gulped down some water and lay on the road," a policeman
said. On Friday morning, there was no breakfast. After walking 7 km, they
reached Binpur camp where they got some water but there was no arrangement for
food since rations hadn't arrived. State officers borrowed rice and vegetables
from CRPF and cooked khichri — just enough for everyone to get a few
spoonfuls.


Related Stories


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Lalgarh-State-forces-battle-on-empty-stomach/articleshow/4694769.cms


Maoists flex muscle as DM plans peace in war zone


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The Roman Army and Chariot Experience (RACE), Jerash Jordan

Experience
a Roman army performance with fully equipped legionaries and gladiators
in action, followed by a race between four two-horse chariots,
...
www.jerash
chariots.com/ - Cached - Similar -




puri rath jatra  





 














Rath Jatra Festival







Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated
every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of
India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord
Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial
wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in an
elaborate ritual procession to
 


their respective chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots,
are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the
grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
After a stay for seven days, the deities return to their abode in
Srimandira.
... read full writeup »


http://www.rathjatra.nic.in/

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Chariot



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



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 by the Mesopotamians as
early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd 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 shields. The vehicle continued to be used for travel, processions and in games and 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 Mediterranean countries a biga was a two-horse chariot, a triga used 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 spoked wheel. Cavalry had been in use in Central Asia since 3000 BC and eventually replaced chariotry (the part of a military force that fought from chariots).[1]


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 racesConstantinople until the 6th century CE (AD). continued to be popular in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot

Rath Yatra



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Jump to: navigation, search





Ratha Yatra Festival in Puri, India. Painting by James Fergusson



Ratha Yatra (Oriya: ରଥ ଜାତ୍ରା) is a major Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July (Rainy Season). Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath (Krishna) with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area. The festival commemorates Krishna's return to his home in Vrindavan after a long period of separation from the people there.






Contents


[hide]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rath_Yatra

Lalgarh villagers vow to resist security forces! 


Amid allegations that
security forces were ransacking homes and even throwing away food, villagers in
this trouble zone where operations
to flush out Maoists have been on for a week
said on Wednesday they would continue to put up resistance!

The AGE Old Chariot, the Mythical war machine RUN THROUGH the ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, Minority Communities loaded with KILLER MACHINES for Ethnic Cleansing and Mass Destruction!


Last day, Me and Sabita accompanied a team from Mumbai Mulnivasi Mahila Sangh comprising of Shibani Biswas and former Air Hostess Prabha Tai and Bamcef Activists Bijoy Paswan, Shakti and Lalamjee to attend a programme in Bagula, Nadia, West Bengal, the RURAL Heart of Bengal, base of CHAITNAYA MAHAPRUBHU who practiced and introduced the philosophy of love. It was, in fact, a part of the Women`s awareness campaign in 168 districts countrywide organised by Mulnivasi Bamcef.

The Programme was successful as housewives, young girls and students participated and shared the experience. The History, Economics, Society and Politics and the Status and role of Indian Woman were discussed very well.

It was a great opportunity for me to know the mindset of committed BAMCEF Activists Man as well woman. At the same time, we succeeded to interact the masses on Alternative subaltern activism.

In reference to Lalgarh Stand Off and lack of Political Process I had been interacting with very intellectual people, professionals and masses. I was trying to understand why the political parties, Ambedkarites, Bamcef factions,BSP, Social activists out of the Ruling Manusmriti Hegemony failed to address nationality and Identity problems! Why do they fail to try any initiative to include the SEGREGATED Tribals into Political Process and Mainstream? Why only Maoists, RSS and NGOS succeed to be PHYSICALLY Present and Effective all over the TRIBAL Belts?  Why the MEDIA only en cashes the Poverty, Food insecurities, Starvation and revolts ADVOCATING only REPRESSION?

Neither any Faction of Bamcef  nor BSP or any other Ambedkarite set up does recognise nationalities and identities despite BANKING on the ABORIGINAL MULNIVASI Identity as a BRAND name. They have nothing to do anything with the TRIBALS? Understandably, Bamcef strategy and casteology and social engineering EXCLUDE tribals as NEAR IMPOSSIBLE Vote bank? What about those, who boast to lead the SOCIAL Movement, National Liberation movement?

I have been asking my friends in South India, Himalayan zone, New Delhi and Mumbai, Nagpur, Ranchi and Raipur, Bangalore and elsewhere all these questions.

Today, I had a prolonged discussion with Major Siddharth Burves and last days I had long discussions with the Bamcef ladies from Mumbai! I have talked to the Trade Union Activists as well as Bamcef and NGO activists in Mumabi. We discussed time to time on PSU Disinvestment, Divestment and Sell OFF. Today also we discussed updates from Air India and aviation Industry, Oil Blocks and ONGC and OIL Companies to be disinvested.

During my student life, we show the waves of students movement and INVOLVEMENT of the Teaching Community and Professionals in mass awakening and Mobilising. But these Social forces are are not ENABLED or Addressed these days as the Trade Unions and Peasant movements remain JUNKED!

Why Marxists, Bamcef factions, BSP, regional Political Parties, nationalty Movements, Social and Environment Activists fail to address social and ECONOMIC ISSUES, it remains a MYSTERY.



I told them that total AMBEDKARITE ideology is based on the materialist analysis of history, Solid ECONOMICS with an OBJECT of EQUALITY, Real Democracy and Social Justice. But Bamcef leaders as well as activists, BSP and other Ambedkarites miserably fail to follow AMBEDKARITE Ideology in reference to INCLUSION of Social and Productive forces, Production system, land holding, revenue and resource management, trade union activism, woman empowerment, fiscal and monetary polices! Our people adopted only single POINT, CAPTURE the POLITICAL Power! We damn care for INCLUSION or EMPOWERMENT and Internal democracy! The Mind set is still IMMATURE to run any system because the HOMEWORK is quite DIS SATISFACTORY.

I have been interacting every social and resistance unit to LAUNCH a Global and National RESISTANCE against MONOPOLISTIC aggression. I have been writing on the captured ECONOMY and Society! I have been writing the Hundred days ` action Plan for Mass genocide, manipulated mandate and Economic Reforms, DISINVESTMENT and Divestment. I mailed all those write ups all through these years to our Marxist as well as No Marxist and AMBEDKARITE friends.

We all EXPECTED the DECOUPLED LEFT should lead the RESISTANCE. But the LEFT is DYING for COPULATION. It has learnt nothing from Nandigram and Singur.

Specially, West BENGAL Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has not broken away from the POWER AXIS Trio of BUDDHA, ADWANI and Pranab. The AXIS is strengthened further co opting Mamata Baneerjee and chettiyar Chidambarma!

Some Journalists also continue to call me. Some editors, too. They use my analysis and information but dare not publish me!

But I do write for SAMAYANTAR regularly.

Today Me and the editor of Samayantar, Pankaj Bisht  discussed Lalgarh Stand OFF and the ban on Maoists in detail.

Pankaj da asked me, `WHILE Banning has never helped, why they pursue the policy once again?'

`JUST because EXPLOITATION and capture of NATURAL  and human Resources depend on COMPLETE SEGREGATION of the Tribals! Just because they tend to revolt, they must be SUBORDINATED. SURRENDERED or KILLED! Brand them Maoist. And CURB them. All routes pen for SEZ, PCPIR, BIG DAMS, Infrastructure, Development projects for the Effluents, MINING, Bottling, retail chain, Nuclear Power, Industrialisation, urbanisation and Indiscriminate Land Acquisition', I answered! 

The SEGREGATED Tribals have nothing to share with. They just Strave and REVOLT. We may use them. The DEAD BODIES may be good PILLARS for the IVORY Towers in the Power hegemony but alternative politics and activism and media never EXPECT any Package, DEAL, RECHARGE, Fund Raising, Resource generation! Thus the PHYSICAL ABSENCE accommodates the MAOISTS!

Have all the People, TWO Millions of them in Two Thousand villages have adopted MAOISM? If it is, then no STATE should have any right to violate the UN Mandate for INDIGENOUS Self determination Right! They must be set FREE. The state should withdraw from Lalgarh Immediately!

But it is not reality at all. All the TRIBALS are not MAOISTS. But the REPRESSION would make them as it has happened in Kashmir and all over North east.

But BUDDHADEB has aligned with the CENTRE Hegemony and AXIS defying the Political Process Option Resolution of CPIM as well as Left Front. Prakash jaisawaal exposed Buddha in the WRITERS just after  meeting him that the BAN is declared with the CONSENT of West Bengal Government.

The Legacy of Hypocrisy and betrayal never ENDS. The Marxists supported the Citizenship amendment Act depriving DALIT Partition Victims from East bengal of CITIZENSHIP. the Bill was passed with Parliamentary Consensus. But The Marxists claimed to HAVE OPPOSED it and even today, Marxists do their best to Mislead the dalits and refugees!





"Lot of
people have fled the villages. But some have decided to stay back in their
houses. And they feel they will suffer at the hands of the forces whether they
remain in the villages or not, so they have chosen to die resisting the forces,"
Sidhu Soren of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) said.




Another PCAPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato indicated that the agitators
would lie low for some time and resume their movement once the central forces
comprising the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Border Security Force
(BSF) leave.



"We know we can't resist such a massive force. But the
central forces will not stay for ever. Once they leave, we will resume our
agitation in the scale we did last November," Mahato told reporters.




Alleging that the forces were committing atrocities against innocent
villagers, including women and children, ransacking houses and even throwing
away food, Mahato said thousands of villagers have fled their homes fearing
torture.



The PCAPA, backed by the Maoists, had since last November
established virtual control over 42 villages in Lalgarh, 200 km west of the
state capital Kolkata, and surrounding areas by driving away the civil and
police administration.



But the combined forces of the centre and the
West Bengal government have re-established the writ of the state in more than
half of these villages since the operation was launched June 18.



On
Tuesday night, Communist Party of India-Maoist spokesperson Gour Chakraborty was
arrested in Kolkata, a day after the organisation was banned by the union
government. Till now, 21 Maoists, including top ranking leaders, have been
arrested.



Before he was arrested, Chakraborty had told the media
that the Maoists were willing to talk to the central and state government, but
only in the presence of anti-Left Front intellectuals like filmmaker Aparna Sen,
who had visited Lalgarh Sunday.



The state cabinet has decided to set
up a university named after three tribal heroes - Sidhu, Kanhu and Birsa Munda -
in the neighbouring districts where the tribal people have a strong presence.
The Sidhu Kanhu Birsa University will have campuses in Purulia and Bankura
districts.



"There will be lot of scope for higher studies in
Santhali in the university. We will prepare a bill and present it in the
assembly soon," Higher Education Minister Sudarshan Chakraborty told reporters
in Kolkata.



Lalgarh has been on the boil since last November when a
landmine exploded on the route of the convoy of Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada.




Complaining of police atrocities after the blast, angry tribals
backed by Maoists launched an agitation virtually cutting off the area from the
rest of West Midnapore district.



The Left radicals torched police
camps, set ablaze offices of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)
and drove out the civil administration to establish a virtual "free zone" in the
enclave of West Midnapore district.



The Maoists have been active in
three backward districts - Purulia, West Midnapore and Bankura - in the western
part of the state.



CHARIOTS Run Through the World History. Indian Vedic Culture and Manusmriti Rule as well as CURRENT LPG Monopolistic AGGRESSION may be described well with inputs from the history of Ancient Indian Warfare.

Rama accomplished and Executed SHUDRAYAN Hinduization of Indigenous aboriginal communities demonising them with the RATH YATRA.

The Rathyatra is associated with AGGRESSION, Conversion and Ethnic Cleansing. Again it is glorified as Hindu Religious Ritual. It exposes the Non Violence philosophy of Hindutva as we know the realities of World Peace and UNESCO, NGOS under TR IBLIS Global Zionist Manusmriti Apartheid Corporate ILLUMINATI Neo GLOBAL Order of UNIPOLAR US Imperialism!

Did most of the Aryans who came to India, possess chariots ?
... The Aryan chariots imported into India must have been dismantled and loaded on horseback ... chariots in India were larger, requiring four horses and carrying as many as six men. ... Spears, swords, shields, and axes dominated warfare. ...Warfare in ancient India centered around the chariot. Indian chariots were nothing like the light, sleek chariots of Egypt. They were massive, made of wood ...

"The Art of War in Ancient India" by P.C. Chackravarti is a relevant source from which we may have the IDEA about Chariots Running through Indian History!

One of the historical aspects of India is that it had a shortage of
local horses. A breeding program in the tropics did not provide the
great numbers of them required for the chariot armies. (The Medieval
period required them for cavalry) Nearly all of the horses were
acquired from trading via the north or west, and for the southern
kingdoms, by sea trade.

Elephants and elephant training were also key to vast armies of
Elephants during the Mahabharata, and were also key to the historical
aspect of the early and Medieval eras. These two elements (horse supply
and elephants) would be key to any India Mod.
 "The Art of War in Ancient India" by P.C. Chackravarti.


Nearly 300,000 devotees, braving the scorching heat,
gathered in Puri town of Orissa to have a glimpse of lord Jagannath at
an 11-day Rath Yatra (chariot festival) which began Wednesday.Sources said last year at least 93 companies of forces were deployed in
Rath Jatra but 6 pilgrims died in a stampede while this time, around 70
Companies of security men would guard the festival.The Central Intelligence inputs have always cautioned the State
Government to be vigilant at religious shrines, particularly the
Jagannath temple, against possible terrorist violence.




“Despite the heat wave, nearly 300,000 devotees have already arrived.
We are expecting a gathering of about a million by (Wednesday)
evening,” public relations officer of Jagannath temple administration
Laxmidhar Pujapanda told IANS.He said the deities of lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and
sister Subhadra would be pulled by the devotees in three gigantic
chariots in Puri town that recorded a temperature of 34.1 degrees
Celsius Tuesday. However, other parts of the state recorded
temperatures of over 40 degrees.


Chariots were modeled on two patterns, either the biga with two horses,
or the quadriga, with four horses. If its at all possible to get the
animations made, that upgrading a 2 horse chariot would show an extra
horsie... up to 4 horses.


"In the 4th century BC, the Indians placed their chief reliance in
warfare on elephants tamed and trained for the purpose, in the epics
the chief strength of the army consisted in chariots, as reported by
Greek writers..


The general trend for early Indian armies was:
Archer>Chariot>Elephant>Cavalry, with Chariots phasing out by
early Medieval era.


One of the principal weapons of the Ancient Hindu armies were bowmen.
They went through extensive training. Skill with the bow was necessary
for promotion. It was an art form for the nobility, who had to master
the bow, as they were the caste of the military.


In the Vedic period the army appears to have consisted of two
divisions, the archers and the chariots. During the post-Vedic period
the horse and elephant were incorporated in the corps... by the time of
the Islamic kingdoms in India, there were no more chariots in the army.
They had been gradually replaced by horsemen.


Another view of the organization of the armies was the six-fold
division, which consisted of the hereditary troops, mercenaries, guild
levies, soldiers supplied by feudatory chiefs or allies, troops
captured or won over from the enemy, and forest tribes... this came
from inscriptions dated from the 6th to 11th century AD.


Of the different classes of troops, ancient military opinion seems to
have attached greatest importance to the hereditary troops. The
mercenaries came next, then guild levies (drafted units), next the
allied troops while the forest tribes were placed at the bottom.


In a passage from the Mahabharata, the guild levies are considered as
important as the mercenary troops... guild levies did not receive any
regular wages from the royal exchequer.


There were wild tribes in central India who were often employed for
military purposes by Hindu kings, as the same manner as American
Indians were employed by the English and French in the wars in North
America. They brought their own war apparatus to the theater of war,
but they fought for pay and plunder. Their services were considered
helpful when the army had to pass through forests and defiles, morasses
or mountains, or when it was the intention of the invader to ravage and
devastate the enemy's country.


Huien Tsiang, a Chinese pilgrim in the 12th century reported.... "On
the even of his famous campaigns of conquest, king Harsa of Kanau,
606-647 AD possessed an army which comprised of 50,000 infantry, 20,000
cavalry, and 5,000 elephants. When he had finished his task, the
cavalry are said to have been increased to 100,000, and the elephants
to 60,000."













“Although temperature has remained low here compared to other parts
of the state, the humidity level is very high,” Pujapanda said.



Every year, idols of lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and
sister Subhadra are taken from the Jagannath temple to another shrine
called Gundicha in Puri during the procession.



The chariots of the three deities are pulled by the devotees with
the help of ropes. The annual procession is a celebration of
Jagannath’s journey from Dwarka to Kurukshetra along with Subhadra and
Balabhadra some 5,000 years ago.


The use of war chariots were found in early history of Indian warfare.
They were employed as early as the Vedic age. In the epics, they
constitute the most important arm. The car-warrior is the main strength
of the epic army. So completely does he dominate in the battle scenes,
so controlling is the role that he fills, that the period represented
by the epics may well be designated as the Chariot age of Indian
history.


Both Vedic and epic evidence, prove that chariots were more or less a
monopoly of warriors belonging to the noble classes. The rank and file
fought on foot. The chariot was followed by by two wheel guards, and
attended by a retinue of foot men.


When we come down to the age of Alexander, we are struck by a profound
change in the Indian military situation. The chariots were still in
use, but no longer the most important arm. Unlike the average epic
knight, king Porus came to the field of battle riding, not a chariot,
but an elephant. Megasthenes reports.. "No one invested with kingly
power ever keeps on foot a military force without a very great number
of elephants and foot and cavalry." He omits war chariots completely.
(Circa 300 BC) Porus had some 300 chariots, but the elephants
frightened the Macedonian horses and caused a rout. Chariots required
perfect ground, or they became mired in the mud, rocks etc., and became
useless, while the cavalry and elephants would be effective on most
terrain. Chariots seemed to disappear after the Mauryan era.


Vedic period saw light 2 horse chariots, and developed in time to those
with 4 or more horses. Heavy Chariots could have 4 wheels or more, were
drawn by at least 4 horses, and gradually supplanted the lighter ones.





A senior district administration official said more than 3,000
policemen have been deployed in and around Puri to ensure safety of
devotees and smooth conduct of the festival.



“About 50 beds have been reserved for the devotees and adequate
medicines kept in the city hospital to deal with the heat wave
conditions,” the official said.



Meanwhile, sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik has created a five feet high
sand sculpture in the city’s golden beach with beautiful images of the
three deities using coloured sand with a message – “Help Us Fight
Global Warming”.



Patnaik said the students of his sand art institute devoted about
eight hours and used 15 tonnes of sand Tuesday to create the images.



“More than a million people come to Puri during the Rath Yatra. We
made the images to create awareness among them on global warming,” he
told IANS.


Lalgarh fire reaches Purulia, CPM demands more Central forces


Express News Service
Posted: Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009 at 0401 hrs IST









Kolkata:


fter the Maoists ransacked a CPM
office and set fire to it at Bhavanipur in Purulia on Tuesday, local
Left leaders demanded deployment of more Central forces in the area.

Nakul Mahato,
Purulia CPM district committee secretary, alleged that the Maoists are
trying to create another Lalgarh in Barrabazar and Balarampur blocks,
which share border with Jharkhand.

He said that a
group of Maoists had come from Jharkhand — which is only two kms away —
and raided the party office. Superintendent of Police (Purulia) Sharad
Jadav said no one was injured in the attack.

Since 2008, over
15 local CPM leaders have lost their lives in various attacks carried
out by the Maoists who have established a strong base in Dalma hills,
said Mahato. He also said that the ultras have been operating under the
banner of various frontal tribal organisations and succeeded in
spreading their influence in Ahyadhaya hills.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lalgarh-fire-reaches-purulia-cpm-demands-more-central-forces/480632/


Mayawati to unveil 40 statues, six of them of herself


24 Jun 2009, 1200 hrs IST,
Abantika Ghosh , TNN






NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Mayawati is all set to unveil 40 statues — including six of her
own — on July 3, along with the Kanshi


Ram Memorial and the Gautam
Buddhasthals, which has cost the state exchequer dear.



According to
the reply of an RTI filed in the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), statues of
Mayawati and Kanshi Ram at various places in Lucknow and erected by LDA, cost Rs
6.68 crore. And, the 60 marble elephants at the Ambedkar memorial cost Rs 52
crore, according to the reply. If the figures in the Uttar Pradesh budget are
anything to go by, this is just the tip of the iceberg.



The Uttar
Pradesh culture department's budget for 2009-10 shows that in 2008-09, the
department had allocated more than Rs 194 crore for building statues of "great
leaders" — the entire amount was spent.


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24 Jun, 2009 [11:29 AM]

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Chariot



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Jump to: navigation, search






Hittite chariot (drawing of an Egyptian relief)








Approximate historical map of the spread of the chariot, 2000–500 BC.








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 by the Mesopotamians as
early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd 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 shields. The vehicle continued to be used for travel, processions and in games and 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 Mediterranean countries a biga was a two-horse chariot, a triga used 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 spoked wheel. Cavalry had been in use in Central Asia since 3000 BC and eventually replaced chariotry (the part of a military force that fought from chariots).[1]


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 racesConstantinople until the 6th century CE (AD). continued to be popular in








Contents


[hide]





[edit] Early wheeled vehicles in Sumer






Relief of early chariots on the Standard of Ur, ca. 2500 BC




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 wagons or carts, still double-axled and pulled by oxen or 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.


[edit] Early Indo-Iranians






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 burials of the 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 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-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 and Persian mythology, with most of the gods in their pantheon portrayed as riding them. The Sanskrit word for a chariot is ratha, a collective *ret-h- to a Proto-Indo-European word *rot-o- for "wheel" that also resulted in Latin rota and is also known from Germanic, Celtic and Baltic.



[edit] Ancient Near East


Some scholars argue that the chariot was most likely a product of the ancient Near East early in the 2nd millennium BC.[2]



[edit] Hittites


The oldest testimony of chariot warfare in the Ancient Near East is the Old Hittite Anitta text (18th century BC), mentioning 40 teams of horses (40 ?Í-IM-DÌ ANŠE.KUR.RA?I.A) at the siege of Salatiwara. Since only teams are mentioned rather than explicitly chariots,
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 that had
lighter wheels, with four spokes rather than eight, and which held
three warriors instead of two. It could hold 3 warriors as the wheel
was placed in the middle of the chariot and not at the back as in the
Egyptian chariots. 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, Hurrians and Egyptians. Under Suppiluliuma I, the Hittites conquered KadeshSyria. The Battle of Kadesh in 1299 BC is likely to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving some five thousand chariots.
and eventually the whole of






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




[edit] 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 Egyptian and Assyrian
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.



[edit] Armenia


In the Armenian Kingdom of Van (Urartu), the chariot was used by the nobility and the military. In Erebuni (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.



[edit] 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 (Genesis 50:9), "Iron chariots" are mentioned also in Joshua (17:16,18) and Judges (1:19,4:3,13) as weapons of the Canaanites. 1 Samuel 13:5 mentions chariots of the Philistines, who are sometimes identified with the Sea Peoples or early Greeks. Such examples from the KJV here include:


  • 2 Chronicles 1:14 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.
  • Judges 1:19 And
    the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the
    mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley,
    because they had chariots of iron.
  • Song of Solomon 1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.
  • 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.
  • 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.


[edit] Persia


The 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 YoungerHerodotus mentions that the Libyans and the Indus satrapyXerxes' 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.
employed these chariots in large numbers. supplied cavalry and chariots to



[edit] India














Horse-drawn chariot carved onto the mandapam of Airavateswarar temple, Darasuram (left), c.a. 12th century AD. The chariot and its wheel (right)are so finely sculpted that they include even the faintest details
Horse-drawn chariot carved onto the mandapam of Airavateswarar temple, Darasuram (left), c.a. 12th century AD. The chariot and its wheel (right)are so finely sculpted that they include even the faintest details

Horse-drawn chariot carved onto the mandapam of Airavateswarar temple, Darasuram (left), c.a. 12th century AD. The chariot and its wheel (right)are so finely sculpted that they include even the faintest details




Chariots figure prominently in the Rigveda, evidencing their presence in India in the 2nd millennium BC. They were most likely brought to the region by the Indo-European-speaking migrants from Central Asia, probably derived in part from their moving wagons. Among Rigvedic deities, notably Ushas (the dawn) rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men.


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 that the drawings
record a story, most probably dating to the early centuries BC, from
some center in the area of the GangesJamuna plain into the territory of still Neolithic hunting tribes.[3] The drawings would then be a representation of foreign technology, comparable to the Arnhem Land Aboriginal rock paintings depicting Westerners. The very realistic chariots carved into the Sanchi stupas 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 Licchavis.[citation needed] A scythed 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.



[edit] China






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) [1].
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 BC, Chinese use of chariots reached its
peak. Although they appeared in greater number, infantry often defeated
them in battle.


Jacques Gernet[4] claims that the Zhou dynasty,
which conquered the Shang, made more use of the chariot than the Shang
and "invented a new kind of harness with four horses abreast".


The chariot became obsolete after the Age of the Warring States; the main reasons were the invention of the crossbow, the adoption of standard cavalry units, and the adaptation of nomadic cavalry (mounted archery),
which was more effective. Chariots would continue to serve as command
posts for officers during the Qin and Han Dynasty though.





[edit] Europe



[edit] Northern Europe



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 petroglyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age showing chariots, such as on one of the slabs of stone in a 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.



[edit] Central Europe and Britain and Ireland


The Celts were famous chariot-makers, and the English word car is believed to be derived, via Latincarrum, from Gaulish karros (English chariot itself is from 13th century French charriote, an augmentative of the same word). Some 20 Iron Age chariot burials have been excavated in 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, 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."[5]


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.[6]






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 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 AD:


"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
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."



[edit] 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 Pontic-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 [2],
it is decorated with bronze plates decorated with detailed low-relief
scenes, commonly interpreted as depicting episodes from the life of Achilles [3].
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.



[edit] Greece






The Chariot of Zeus (1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church)




The classical Greeks had a (still not very effective) cavalry arm, and the rocky terrain of the 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 Olympic and Panathenaic Games and other public festivals in ancient Greece, in hippodromes and in contests called agons. 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.






Chariot races were held in all pan Hellenic games. The statue of this driver was found at Delphi.




Greek chariots were made to be drawn by two horses
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 vases 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,
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.






The chariot of Gaia depicted on a sarcophagus




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 saddles
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 reins.


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 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.[7]


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.



[edit] Rome






A winner of a Roman chariot race.




The 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 circi,
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 factiones, 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,[8] situated in the valley between the Palatine and 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 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 quadrijugi
(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 trijugi (of a team of three).



[edit] Russian Tachanka






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.


Although the accuracy would be negligible on the move, this device served well as a highly mobile machine gun position.


In the photograph above the gun carriage has an artillery wheel but the limber
does 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.



[edit] See also




[edit] Notes



  1. ^ Newby, Jonica, Jared Diamond and David Anthony (1999-11-13). "The Horse in History". The Science Show. Radio National. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s70986.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-17. 
  2. ^ Raulwing 2000
  3. ^ Sparreboom 1985:87
  4. ^ Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization, Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 1996, ISBN 0-521-49781-7, p51.
  5. ^ The
    Project Gutenberg EBook of "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries by
    Caius Julius Caesar, translated by W. A. MacDevitt (1915).
  6. ^ Symbols.com - Symbol 29:1.
  7. ^ Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Char’iot. Bartleby.com: Great Books Online – Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and hundreds more. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
  8. ^ The Charioteer of Delphi: Circus Maximus. The Roman Mysteries books by Caroline Lawrence.



[edit] 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).


[edit] Further reading


  • Anthony, David W. The Horse, The Wheel and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007 (ISBN 9780691058870).
  • 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.ISBN 0-691-04811-8); 1995 (paperback, ISBN 0-691-02591-6). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993 (hardcover,
  • Drews, Robert. Early riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe. N.Y.: Routledge, 2004 (ISBN 0-415-32624-9).
  • Lee-Stecum, Parshia (October 2006). "Dangerous Reputations: Charioteers and Magic in Fourth-Century Rome". Greece & Rome 53 (2): 224–234. doi:10.1017/S0017383506000295. ISSN0017-3835. 
  • 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).


[edit] External links



The Chariot in Egyptian Warfare

by Troy Fox

























A chariot removed and reassembled from the tomb of TutankhamunActually,
the chariot is difficult to classify as a piece of military
equipment.
It was certainly a mode of transportation, but at the same
time, most analyst consider it a weapon. Clearly, in the hands
of the Hittites, one of Egypt's chief opponents during the New
Kingdom
, their heavy machines were weapons used to crash
into the troops of their enemies. However, the Egyptian
chariots were not used in the same manner, and their use was
more of a supporting role to the archers who manned
them. 









History


Chariots are the culmination of a natural technical
evolution. In the Middle East, no sooner do we find evidence
of utility wagons drawn by donkeys, mules, oxen and even
goats, than we The Sumerian Standard of Ur find these same primitive vehicles used in
warfare. It was on the fertile plains of Mesopotamia and
Anatolia that the precursor to the chariot was created. The
famous Sumerian "Standard of Ur" depicts this
earliest form of military wagon with four wheels drawn by four
asses or ass/onager hybrids, together with a driver and a
warrior armed with spears
and axes riding into battle over the
corpses of the slain. In fact, Sir Leonard Woodlley uncovered
several burials among the Royal Tombs of Ur where warriors and
the kings were buried not only with their carts and wagons,
but also with the draft animals and the driver!


A burial with warrior, horses and chariot... from China!A later development in Mesopotamia was a type of two-wheeled vehicle whose solitary
occupant sat astride a central beam as if riding an animal. However, it is likely that the first true
chariots were developed on the Eurasian steppes, as shown by the burials discovered along the
border between Russia and Kazakhstan, although this is still the subject of scholarly debate.


Radio-carbon dating of horse remains interred with chariots now indicates that this ancient
grassland culture, called by archaeologists the Sintashta-Petrovka people, began using chariots
around the beginning of the Middle Bronze period, two hundred years before the first evidence
of Middle Eastern chariots. (Based on the style of the artifacts found at the burial sites, Russian
researchers previous dated the Sintasta chariots to two centuries after the first evidence of
chariot use in the Middle East. More accurate radio-carbon testing is required to settle this dispute.)


The chariot quickly became the transport of the elite, whether for war, religion or affairs of
state, though the humble donkey remained an important and dignified mode of transport until
the introduction of the horse. It was this development that gave the real impetus to the chariot,
which now became an even greater weapon, combining high speed, strength, durability and
mobility that could not be matched by infantry.


At about the same time the "cross-bar" form of construction gave way to the extremely light
spoked-wheel. This gave the chariot even greater speed and maneuverability
without compromising stability and strength. 




This expensive weapon spread throughout the Middle East and
is thought to have reached Egypt with the conquering

Hyksos
during the Second Intermediate
Period
.
It spread into Asia Minor, Greece and
was known in Northern Europe by 1500
BC. 


From the 18th Dynasty, the top chariot pulled by horses, while the lower chariot is pulled by mules.
The Egyptian chariot betrayed its
Asiatic origin in a number of ways, by the names of its parts which were
Semitic and by its decorations which often
took the form of date palm branches or animals opposing each
other, both Syrian motifs. 


However, by the 15th century BC, Pharaoh Tutmoses III had over a thousand chariots at his disposal; by 1400 BC
the Great King of the Mitanni had amassed several times that number.
We can picture these huge numbers of vehicles charging across the plain straight towards the
enemy; the psychological impact of such a charge would have been enormous on untrained and
unsteady troops.


With the advent of horseback riding by 1000 BC it lost most of its military
importance and from that time on, the chariot was mostly
replaced by the use of mounted cavalry. Yet chariots continued
to be used particularly for hunting, and sometimes for sport
racing, long after the demise of its usefulness in war.



Design


A typical Egyptian horse drawn chariotThe Egyptian horse drawn chariot (wrrt or mrkbt) typically
consisted of a light wooden semicircular framework with an
open back surmounting an axle and two wheels of four or six
spokes. 


Some analysis of ancient chariots provide that the
Egyptians greatly improved the design of this  vehicle.
However, while they certainly did make improvements to certain
parts of the chariot, it is arguable whether the Egyptian
chariot was better, or simply designed for a different purpose
and terrain than others in the Middle East. For example, the
Egyptian chariot had a metal covering for the axes, which
reduced friction, and this was certainly an improvement. Also,
some wooden parts were strengthened by covering them with metal sleeves. 


However, the fact that the Egyptian chariots were lighter
and faster than those of other major powers in the Middle East
may not have been considered an absolute improvement in the
chariot's design. It really all depended on the use that the
chariot was put to, and the terrain where it would operate, and
as we shall see, the smaller, lighter chariot of the Egyptians
suited their specific needs, though they might not have filled
the requirements of others.


Ramesses III in his chariot from the walls at Medinet Habu
The
chariot was built of pieces of wood which had been bent into
the required shape possibly
by immersing them in boiling hot water for
several hours, bending them and then letting
them dry. Various kinds
of wood were used: elm, ash for the axles and sycamore for
the foot board. 


The Egyptians knew two types of
chariots. These consisted of the four wheeled chariot which,
by the late 18th
and early 19th
dynasties
,
were mostly abandoned for the superior six spoke vehicles.
The six spoked wheels could be made lighter
and were better supported than the heavier four spoked wheels, making the
whole chariot more reliable.



The spokes of the wheels were made
by bending six pieces of wood into a V-shape. These were glued
together in such a way that every spoke was composed
of two halves of two Ramesses II with his chariot runner and pet lion
V-shaped pieces, forming a hexagonal star.
The tips of the V's were fastened to the hub by wet cattle intestines, which
hardened when they dried.  


The
tires were made of sections of wood, tied to the wheel with leather lashings
which passed through slots in the tire
sections. The thongs didn't come in contact with the ground, making the chariot
more reliable by reducing the wear and
tear. German carpenters who reconstructed such a chariot needed about six
hundred hours to complete it. 


Two horses were yoked to the chassis by saddle-pads that were placed
on the horses' backs. Leather girths around the
horses' chests and
bellies prevented them
from slipping. A single shaft attached to the
yoke pulled the chariots.  


Crew, Upkeep and Status


A model of the chariot of Ramesses IIIn
Egypt, war chariots were manned by a driver holding a whip and the reigns
and a fighter, generally wielding a bow
or, after spending all his arrows,
a short spear of which he had a few. When hunting, the pharaohs would
sometimes dispense with the driver and enjoy
chasing after their prey on their own. However, in warfare,
chariot runners would also usually accompany the vehicle
into battle.



Serving in the charioteer corps did not
come cheap. The recruit was allotted a team of horses from the royal
stables and five attendants, whom he had to
equip. The chariot itself cost him, according to a possible
prejudiced scribe, three deben of silver for the shaft
and five for the body, a small fortune, which only
noblemen could afford. However, after the
chariot was Ramesses II firing arrows from his chariot constructed, considerable work
was needed in order to maintain the vehicle in good working
order. 


Hence, the chariot was of paramount social and political
significance since it heralded the appearance of the chariot
corps which consisted of a new aristocratic warrior class
modeled on the ubiquitous Asiatic military elite known to the
Egyptians as the maryannu (young heroes). The depiction of the
triumphant New Kingdom pharaoh as a charioteer shows that the
chariot was quickly absorbed into the royal regalia, becoming
a powerful symbol of domination. Interestingly, the royal
chariot itself was treated as a heroic personality with gods
overseeing each of its named parts. 


Implementation





Primary to the understanding of Egyptian chariots is the
fact that the infantry remained the primary force within their
military, while elsewhere, the army was built around the
chariot forces. Hence, while the enemy's chariots were built
to defeat the opposing infantry, the Egyptian chariots were
designed to provide their own foot soldiers with a defense
from the enemy's chariots. 





Tutankhamun who probably never went to battle, nevertheless smiting the enemy from his chariot

The Young Tutankhamun in his Chariot






The real difference in the Egyptian chariots can be seen in
their use as opposed to the implementation they were put to by
Egypt's enemies. Perhaps this is most obvious when comparing the
Egyptian chariot to those of the Hittites, an important New
Kingdom opponent. 





Compared to the Egyptian chariot, the Hittite (as well as
other Mid Eastern) style chariot was considerably heavier,
with a central axes. It usually carried a crew of three,
consisting of a driver, shield bearer and an archer. In fact,
under the proper conditions and circumstances, the Hittite
chariot was probably superior to that of the Egyptians. 





A typical, heavier Hattite ChariotThese
heavy chariots were ideal for their primary purpose, which was
to charge an enemy line using the weight of the machine itself
to crash through and brake up the opposing infantry, causing
chaos, much like what happened to the Army of Re at the Battle
of Kadesh
. These large vehicles presupposed the availability
of open terrain in order to allow acceleration and momentum to
build up during the charge and their general design created an
inherent instability over rough terran. 





On the other hand, such vehicles would have been totally
inappropriate either for the primary tasks required of
Egyptian  chariots, which was to protect the infantry, or
for the terrain of Egypt or Canaan. Deserts and uplands are
not at all suitable for heavy chariots. Also, in order to
protect the troops from an advancing charge, the Egyptian
chariots needed to be able to accelerate rapidly which heavier
chariots could not accomplish.





Ramesses II in battle, often depicted without a driverHence,
the more easily maneuverable Egyptian chariots could charge
the enemy chariots in a well spaced line abreast. The distance
between each chariot was deliberate, in order to allow a rapid
wheel and turn once the enemy line had been penetrated, and to
prevent too close a passage through the line by the enemy.
Archery was used at longer range, while close in weaponry
consisted of spears and sometimes swords. 





Part of the effectiveness of the chariots were the armed
chariot runners, equipped with bows and spears. Following the
charge, they would capture or dispatch enemy crewmen and where
possible, rescue those of their own. Most importantly, they
were to be prepared to receive opposing chariots as they
penetrated the Egyptian line and deal with as many as possible
before they could wheel and return. Since the Egyptian
vehicles could turn much more quickly than the enemy chariots,
those of the enemy were often caught between the chariot
runners and Egypt's chariot forces.





Of course, chariots were also useful when the enemy was
routed. They were the perfect tool to allow their crews to
spear the fleeing opposition in the aftermath of a glorious
victory. 





Finally, it should be noted that the chariot was probably
used, on the whole, much more for hunting and common transport
that it was for war. It seems to have been ideally suited to
hunting lions, where the noble owner most often drove himself
while firing arrows at his pray. 





References:























































































































TitleAuthorDatePublisherReference Number


Armies of the Pharaohs


Healy, Mark


1992


Osprey Publishing


ISBN 1 85532 939 5


Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, The


Shaw, Ian; Nicholson, Paul


1995


Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers


ISBN 0-8109-3225-3


Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Tiradritti, Francesco, Editor

1999


Harry N. Abrams, Inc.


ISBN 0-8109-3276-8


Egyptian Warfare and Weapons
Shaw, Ian

1991


Shire Publications LTD


ISBN 0 7478 0142 8


History of Ancient Egypt, A
Grimal, Nicolas

1988


Blackwell


None Stated




Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The


Shaw, Ian


2000


Oxford University Press


ISBN 0-19-815034-2


Warrior Pharaoh, The: Rameses II and the Battle of Qadesh
Healy, Mark

1993


Osprey Publishing


ISBN 1 84176 039 0








Archives

























 











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to Tour Egypt

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/chariots.htm


Chariot tactics



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Contents


[hide]







[edit] Development






Relief of early wagons on the Standard of Ur, ca. 2600 BCE




First depictions of four wheeled wagons pulled by semi-domesticated onagers and other available animals come from the Sumerians.






Approximate historical map of the spread of the chariot, 2000 –500 BCE.




Against infantry the fast chariots used tactics of wearing down the
enemy by missile fire, deploying heavy troops and running down enemies.






The area of the oldest spoke-wheeled chariot finds within the Sintashta-Petrovka culture is indicated in purple.



The next step was towards faster chariots with spoke-wheels.
Lighter wheels made altogether lighter constructions possible. This
made it feasible to outrun light infantry and other chariots. Plus the
development of short composite Bows that made it such a devastating weapon. [1]


Slingers and javeliners
who could counterattack and protect the other troops, had no armor
protection. They were skirmishers, keeping out of enemy range. But the
moving chariots were difficult to hit, while showering them with
arrows. So they were rendered helpless against these. The role and
tactics of war chariots are often mistakenly compared to tanks in modern warfare; possibly a better comparson would be fighter/bombers.


Chariots, carts and wagons still had the disadvantage of using more
than one horse per transported soldier. Riders achieved supremacy
through greater manoeuvreability than chariots in the 1st millennium
BCE, as soon as the domesticated horse had been bred large enough to
carry an armed man.



[edit] Chariot and elephant warfare


The chariot was restricted to terrains with level ground and plenty
of space. It was the core of most cavalries, and developed into
shock-troops and commanding centers[citation needed]. Then it was replaced by the war elephants with its supreme abilities in melée[citation needed]. Agile infantry and early troops on horseback provided them protection and additional fighting power.



[edit] Light and medium chariots






Relief of Ramses II located in Abu Simbel fighting at the Battle of Kadesh.
Note that there are two archers riding in the chariot, one of them
having the reins tied around his body to free his hands. Archers in a
chariot could use strong infantry bows, but while moving the undamped
shaking lessened the ability to aim at specific targets.



There were two different ways for light chariots to operate on the battlefield.


One was to have on each chariot one warrior/archer and one
driver/shieldbearer. Apart from the shield, both crewmen were fully
armored and their horses were barded. The archer used a composite bow,
of superior power and range, shooting heavy bronze-pointed arrows which
were capable of piercing armor and transfixing a man. Disciplined
companies of chariots used shoot-and-scoot tactics to wear down enemy
forces, pulling into range, stopping to shoot a volley or three, then
wheeling away before the enemy could retaliate.


The other method was using melee weapons. Chariots could terrorize
and scatter an enemy force by charging, threatening to run over enemy
foot and attacking them with a variety of short range weapons, such as
javelin, spear and axe.


A confrontation between these two concepts was the battle of Kadesh. When the movement of the Egyptian chariots could be blocked the medium Hittite
chariots were in favor. They fought with a protected archer while
deploying close combat troops. When the Egyptian chariots where able to
surround them, their supreme firepower was an advantage, but they could
not keep the enemy contained. Hittite chariots forced a retreat,
because of their supremacy in close combat.


Light chariots could be carried across unfavorable terrain, heavier
types could not be. This limited their efficiency for warfare.


The Celtic chariot (essedum)
was the longest lasting to be used in battles. It had a light and agile
structure. A heavily armoured warrior stood on a small platform with
two independent-running spoked wheels. His charioteer sat on a thick
rope net connecting the platform to the horses. It could quickly carry
the nobleman into battle and evacuate him in case of trouble. His
preferred way of fighting was close combat. It was used on the
Continent from the 700 BCE to 100 BCE and in Britain and Ireland until
the year 200. [2] This tactic is similar to the dismounted men-at-arms or modern mechanized infantry today.



[edit] Heavy chariots for shock-troops


These were, until the advent of the war elephant, the only cavalry shock-troops available. Usually they were employed beside troops on horseback. Up to four men stood on a chariot, wielding polearms
and close combat weapons. Javelins and bows were employed for range
fighting. This chariot was a heavy construction and moved relatively
slowly. Light infantry could keep up with them. The momentum of this
heavy chariot was sufficient to break through enemy formations, causing
an effect similar to heavy cavalry
with lances. Some generals, such as Cyrus II and Darius III of Persia
and Mithridates of Pontus attached scythes to their chariot forces'
wheels, in the further hope of breaking up enemy formations.
Historically, however, this tactic had at best mixed success, either
because the horses would not charge directly into closely packed
formations or because the opposing force would simply stand far enough
apart from each other to avoid the scythes and then pull out the
drivers as they rode through the gaps created.



[edit] Indian chariots and war elephants


Indian chariots combined the security of a chariot with the impact of a war elephant.
By this time, infantry had learned to avoid chariots by forming
passages and then attacking them in the back. The elephant introduced a
new danger to an enemy formation, being equally dangerous for the
infantry from the front or behind. The chariots could relatively
securely follow the elephants and assist with arrowfire into the gaps.
After the Greeks had their first contact in the battle of Gaugamela, this new tactic soon totally substituted chariots among shock-troops around the Mediterranean. Polybius tells that the Asian elephant "Suru" was the last one surviving after Hannibal`s passage over the Alps.


The Indian chariots were supplanted by skirmishers
with range weapons. The higher density of shots and better aiming of
infantry upgraded this weapon system. Elephants were used for frontal assaults against heavy infantry and for massive flanking maneuvers.
They could reach a top speed of 30 km/h. Depending on the grade of
their equipment it was now possible for cheaper light infantry to stand
their ground against their heavy counterpart. The moving of an elephant
through most battle formations seemed at first unstoppable.



[edit] Sources


Polybius on the Celtic Chariot and warfare


Bronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard) by Nic Fields (Author), Brian Delf (Illustrator)



[edit] References



  1. ^ Bronze Age War Chariots By Nic Fields, Brian Delf
  2. ^ "?". http://www.tirbriste.org/dmir/Equestrian/1004.html.















Art of Warfare During Middle Ages, Indian History






























During the 4th century B.C., Indians
were of the habit to place their primary reliance in warfare on
elephants, tamed and trained for the purpose. Art of warfare during
Middle Ages in India, as is stated in the epics, was rested upon
chariots, the chief strength of the army. The usual trend for ancient
Indian armies was: Archer>Chariot>Elephant>Cavalry, with
chariots coming to a close by early Middle Ages. One of the foremost
weapons of the ancient Hindu armies were bowmen. The men went through
rigorous and exact training. Skill with the bow was mandatory for
further advancement. Usage of bow and arrow was an art form for the
aristocrats, who had to master the bow, as they belonged to the caste
of the military.



In the Vedic period, a succeeding time in the Middle Ages, art of
Indian warfare appears to have consisted of two divisions, the archers
and the chariots. During the post-Vedic period the horse and elephant
were incorporated within the corps; by the time of the Islamic
invasions into India, there were no more chariots remaining in the
military status. They had been progressively replaced by horsemen.
Another domain of the organisation of the armies was the six-fold
division, which comprised the hereditary troops, mercenaries, guild
levies, soldiers furnished by feudatory chiefs or allies, troops
captured or won over from the enemy and forest tribes. This piece of
information in Indian history was derived from inscriptions dated from
the 6th to 11th century A.D.



Of the umpteen classes of troops, ancient military opinion seems to
have adhered greatest weight to the hereditary troops. The mercenaries
came next, then guild levies (drafted units), next the allied troops,
while the forest tribes were ranked at the bottom.




Organisation of Army during middle Ages, Indian History: The
Middle Ages essentially redefined an era within the period of 8th
century to 15th-16th centuries. Akin to world history, Indian history
had also undergone enormous metamorphosis in every sphere of humanity:
beginning from the royals and ending upon the pauper. The royal
households during those times had just started to taste the feeling of
European effect upon them, owing to the far-reaching renaissance, a
breakaway from darkness. As such, enlightened with sophisticated
knowledge, the imperials had turned busy to snatch and seize places to
call it their own. In order to perform such acts, the troops and armies
needed to be well organised. Consequently, organisation of armies
during Middle Ages had kind of become legendary owing to their
skilfulness in the sphere.




Size of Armies During Middle Ages, Indian History: Size of
armies during Middle Ages was most primarily based upon volume and
heftiness, when the royals and imperials were concerned. Middle Ages
was all about the sudden awakening of gaudiness and being pompous in
one`s respective boundary. As such, wars were fought in such a manner
which emoted this factor, which perhaps was most prominent in the size
of armies. The more the number and competent heads, the more were
chances of intimidating the adversary.




Army-Equipments during Middle Ages, Indian History: The Middle
Ages witnessed the first ever modernised and sophisticated ways by
which one could look towards betterments during combats. Heavy European
influence can almost be mentioned in this regard. Beginning from the
umpteen armours for the whole body, to the innovative tools and weapons
that came into usage, to the hard alloys for building the equipments,
army equipments during Middle Ages kept up a humane promise. Keeping in
mind the significance of health of the fighters, even emergency
medication was included with the army equipments.




Fortification during middle ages, Indian History: With wars and
battles increasing each day, men from the Middle Ages felt it sensible
to reinforce themselves by building lofty and grand fortresses. And
this custom of fortification was mostly viewed atop the hills and
mountains, where it was pretty tough for the adversary to reach that
smoothly; the moats further aggravated the trouble. Fortification
during Middle Ages was an extensive trend, with almost every princely
state striving to build a memorable one.




Mode of Fighting on the Battlefield during Middle Ages

In an age of personal valour and high chivalry, the most common
method of fighting was naturally hand-to-hand fight. The
Naisadhiyacarita states that `the army of Nala, the repository of many
a sword, doth indeed thrive with hand to hand fights`. In fact,
chivalry was a key governing factor included in the art of warfare
during Middle Ages. The same feature is noticed in the Sisupalavadha
the Tilakamanjari, the Kathdsaritsdgara and the Dvaydsraya. The combat
of duels and push is found in the Prabanda-cintamani also. Exchange of
boastful words on the battlefield was a convention of arrogant
chivalry. Under these circumstances, battles were almost turned into
duels on a large scale without much consideration for strategy and
concerted action.



Personal Loyalty of armies during Middle Ages


Personal loyalty and faithfulness was the first that was counted into
the art of warfare during the Middle Ages. In the early period, as is
seen in the Arthasashtra, soldiers fought for the state. But with the
rise and growth of chivalry, the dominant sentiment of the warriors
became the personal loyalty to the overlord or master for the
subsistence of honour he received from him. Loyalty to the overlord was
considered to be part and parcel of feudal dignity and in the
Rajatarangini and the Dvayds`raya, numerous instances of chiefs and
soldiers fighting only with this sentiment for their masters can be
seen. An impression of a higher ideology of warfare is sensed, i.e.
defending the cow, the Brahmana and the tirtha.



Decline of Spy System during Middle Ages


The system of espionage in warfare, which was highly valued in earlier
ages, appears to have suffered a decline in the Middle Ages art of
warfare. This was quite natural in an age of chivalry, when diplomacy
and military tactics were generally disregarded. The Sukranltisdra
which can be stated to reflect at some places the atmosphere of the
same age, painfully dwells upon the inefficiency of the spy system. A
king disregarding espionage is dubbed as mleccha; one given to cheats,
prostitutes, musicians, actors, athletes, etc. and unmindful towards
spies, is said to be `inimical to intelligence` and one`s `own
destroyer`. Reference to spies communicating false reports to their
masters is also witnessed. At the end of the twelfth century when
Vastupala had organised an efficient espionage in Gujarat, he is said
to have gained a supreme advantage over the neighbouring kings, who in
their pride of valour used to neglect it.



At any rate, the decline of espionage was highly essential for
information in war. And the knowledge of the enemy and his country, was
a factor, without which the situation in which Prithviraja,
Jayachandra, and Lakshmanasena of Bengal appear more or less to have
been caught unawares by the Turk invaders, cannot be fully
comprehended.



Growth of Ostentation and Luxury in the Army during Middle Ages The
Middle Ages witnessed much attention paid to elaborate show and
grandeur of the army, an integral part in the art of warfare in later
periods. The Naisadhiyaairita reveals that even the war-elephants were
bedecked with ornamental gems and their faces were covered with
coloured spots. The soldiers of Brahmanapala, son of Anandapala
employed white swords, blue spears and yellow coats of mail. The swords
of the soldiers of Gwalior were coloured in cerulean blue. The kings
occupied an eye-catching position on the battlefield. A tradition
verifies that king Jayachandra was easily recognised and shot down by a
Turkish archer.



Luxury had also increased within the army. Even in ancient times ladies
of the harem accompanied the army, a feature which has been dubbed as
`ugly`. It appears to have even escaladed in later times. The
Sisupalavadha makes a prominent mention of it. In the Tilakamanjar, an
atmosphere of stinking luxury in the camp can be sensed, with the
commander busy with his love life, representing a sharp contrast with
the camp atmosphere depicted by Bana. It appears that the Rajput armies
in the twelfth century had thus become in this respect more or less
like the armies of the Mughal empire in its later days.




Neglect of Expediency and Tactics

Kuta-yuddha, or war by intrigues and tactics was allowed and
practised in the Medieval Ages. Art of warfare during the Middle Ages
took resort to every kind of humanly-possible measure, just to ensure a
sweeping victory. But in later periods, with the growth of chivalry and
belief in supernatural support, military tactics, expediency and
diplomacy were naturally neglected. The idea of the vyuhas persisted in
the twelfth century, but they did not constitute an effective strategy
even in earlier ages.



It was the tradition of high chivalry which was responsible for
Prithviraja`s two military blunders consisting in sheer neglect of
tactics and stratagem. The first was when he let off the Turk invader
lightly after defeating him in the first battle of Tarain (AD 1191);
and second when he kept off his guard, when the army of Muhammad Ghori
was encamped for the second time on the same battlefield (A.D. 1192).
Thus, in spite of his superiority in valour, the Cahamana emperor was
worsted at the hands of the Turks.

http://www.indianetzone.com/38/art_warfare_during_middle_ages.htm

Rath Yatra



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



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Ratha Yatra Festival in Puri, India. Painting by James Fergusson



Ratha Yatra (Oriya: ରଥ ଜାତ୍ରା) is a major Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July (Rainy Season). Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath (Krishna) with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area. The festival commemorates Krishna's return to his home in Vrindavan after a long period of separation from the people there.








Contents


[hide]





[edit] The festival






The Rath Yatra in the Grand Avenue at the Jagannath Temple,Puri



Usually the deities - Jagannath (Krishna) Baladeva, and Subhadra are worshipped within the temple,
but on the day of the Rath festival they are taken through the streets
so that everyone can have the fortune of seeing them. Three richly
decorated chariots, resembling temple structures, are pulled through
the streets of Puri. This commemorates the annual journey of Lord
Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra to their aunt' s
temple, the Gundicha Temple
which is situated at a distance of 2 km from their temple. New chariots
are built every year. This is the only day when devotees who are not
allowed in the temple premises such as non-Hindus and foreigners, can
get their glimpse of the deities.In 2008 more than 10 million people
attended the Rath yatra in Puri. During the festival, devotees from all
over the World go to Puri with an earnest desire to touch the rope of
the chariot. They consider this a pious deed and risk their lives in
the huge crowd. The huge processions accompanying the chariots play
devotional songs with drums, tambourines, etc. Children line the
streets through which the chariot will pass and add to the mass chorus.
The Rath
carts themselves are some approximately 45 feet (14 m) high and are
pulled by the thousands of pilgrims who turn up for the event. Millions
of devotees congregate at Puri for this annual event from all over the
country and abroad. It is also telecasted live on many Indian channels
and International channels.



[edit] Etymology






A child enjoying a miniature "rath"



Rath Yatra consists of two words: rath, meaning a chariot; and yatra, which means a pilgrimage, a journey or a procession. Accordingly, rath yatra describes a procession of chariots, generally drawn by horses. Vedic scripture speaks of Rath in various contexts, and in the epic wars of the Mahabarath, Rathas formed a major means of movement of warriors. There were many famous Rath Yatras in Hindu legend.


The English word "juggernaut" originates from the Jaganath Rath Yatra.





[edit] Description


Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is
celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east
coast of India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira,
Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the
celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in
an elaborate ritual procession to their respective chariots. The huge,
colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of
devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple,
some two miles away to the North. After a stay for seven days, the
deities return to their abode in Srimandira.


Ratha Jatra is perhaps the grandest festival on earth. Everything is
on a scale befitting the great Lord. Full of spectacle, drama and
colour, the festival is a typical Indian fair of huge proportions. It
is also the living embodiment of the synthesis of the tribal, the folk,
and the autochthonous with the classical, the elaborately formal and
the sophisticated elements of the socio-cultural-religious ethos of the
Indian civilization.





[edit] Sanctity and Significance of Ratha Jatra


The festival is also known as Gundicha Jatra, Ghosa Jatra, Navadina
Jatra, Dasavatara Jatra and by a variety of other names. For the
devoted and believers, it is considered the most auspicious occasion.
Rathe tu vamanam drishtwa punarjanmam na vidyate A glimpse of the
Vamana, the dwarf form, an incarnation of Lord Jagannatha, is sure to
ensure emancipation, release from the cycle of birth and death. Jatra
is an essential part of the ritual of the Hindu system of worship.
Jatra literally means travel or journey. Normally, it is the
representative deities of temples more popularly known as Utsava Murti
in south and Chalanti Pratima or Bije Pratima in Orissa, partake in
these journeys. It is rarely that the presiding deities come out of the
sanctum for such ritual journeys. The Jatra for the Ritual Journey take
two forms – one involving the short circumbulation around the temple
and other involving a longer journey from the temple to some other
destination. The Jatra is considered as an important part of
festivities and ceremonies of each temple and is considered as a
special and sacred occasion. Rath Jatra being unique among all Jatras
is the grandest festival of the supreme divinity who has manifested
himself in the Kali Yuga to emancipate humanity and to relieve them
from their sufferings. Lord Jagannatha is identified fully with Vishnu
and Krishna. In his original manifestation as Nilamadhaba, he was
worshipped in a sacred Nyagrodha Briksha or banyan tree. The branches
of the tree had spread for several miles and any one entering this area
was instantly emancipated and was relieved of the travails of the birth
and re-birth. In fact, the influence of Yama, the God of Death, is
supposed to have been curtailed in the sacred city of Puri – Srikshetra
on account of the presence of Lord Jagannatha and therefore it is also
called the Yamanika Tirtha.


A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is considered to be very
auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have repeatedly glorified
the sanctity of this special festival. The sanctity of the festival is
such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which
these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several
pious deeds or penance for ages. In fact, there is a famous Oriya song
which says that on this occasion, the chariot, the wheels, the grand
avenue all become one with Lord Jagannatha himself.


The concept of the chariot has been explained in the Kathopanishada in the following words-


Atmanam rathinam viddhi sareeram rathamevatu Buddhim tu saarathim
viddhi marah pragrahameva cha. The body is the Chariot and the soul is
the deity installed in the chariot. The wisdom acts as the charioteer
to control the mind and thoughts.


The Skanda Purana glorifies the sanctity of the Rath Jatra in the following words-


Gundicha mandapam namam yatrahamajanam pura Ashwamedha sahasrasya mahabedi tadadvabat.


Those who are fortunate to see the deities of the Srimandira in the
Gundicha Temple, the final destination of the procession of the
chariots, derive the benefits of a thousand horse sacrifices, an
immensely pious deed. Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja in his famous
Vaidehisa Vilasa mentions that the Lord comes out from his sanctum for
participating in the Gundicha Jatra, another name of the Festival of
Chariots, only for redeeming the fallen, the patita jana who get the
opportunity to behold their dearest god at close quarters on this
occasion. Similarly, saint poet Salabega waxes eloquent in praise of
his dearest dark darling and says that the Lord swaying and moving like
a wild elephant arrives at the Grand Avenue and rides his chariot and
destroys in a flash all the sins of his devotees, even if these may be
grave or unpardonable.





[edit] The Chariots


The three chariots of Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly
constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi,
dhausa, etc. customarily brought from the ex-princely state of
Dasapalla, by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary
rights and privilege for the same. The logs are traditionally set
afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri
and then transported by road.


The three chariots, newly constructed every year and decorated as
per the unique scheme prescribed and followed for centuries stand on
the Bada Danda, the Grand Avenue. Covered with a bright canopies made
of stripes of red cloth combined with those of black, yellow and blue
colours, the huge chariots are lined across the wide avenue right in
front of the majestic temple close to its eastern entrance, also known
as the Sinhadwara or the Lion’s Gate.


Lord Jagannatha’s Chariot is called Nandighosa. It is forty-five
feet high and forty-five feet square at the wheel level. It has sixteen
wheels, each of seven feet diameters, and is decked with a cover made
of red and yellow cloth. Lord Jagannatha is identified with Krishna who
is also known as Pitambara, the one attired in golden yellow robes and
hence the distinguishing yellow stripes on the canopy of this chariot.


The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra, called the Taladhwaja, the one with
the Palm Tree on its flag, has fourteen wheels, each of seven feet
diameters and is covered with red and blue cloth. Its height is
forty-four feet.


The Chariot of Subhadra, known as Darpadalana, literally trampler of
pride, is forty-three feet high with twelve wheels, each of seven feet
diameters. This Chariot is decked with a covering of red and black
cloth, black being traditionally associated with Shakti and the Mother
goddess.


Around each of the chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden
images representing different deities on the chariots’ sides. Each of
the chariots is attached with four horses. These are of different
colours – white ones for Balabhadra, dark ones for Jagannatha and red
ones for Subhadra. Each chariot has a charioteer called Sarathi. The
three charioteers attached to the chariots of Jagannatha, Balabhadra
and Subhadra respectively are Matali, Daruka and Arjuna.





[edit] Chandan Jatra, the Sandalwood Paste Festival


The construction of the chariots starts on Akshaya Trutiya, the
third day of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha, with ritual fire
worship. This takes place in front of the palace of the King of Puri
and opposite the main office of the Puri temple. On this day, the new
agricultural season starts and farmers start ploughing their fields.
This day also marks the beginning of the summer festival of the
deities, also known as the sandalwood festival or Chandan Jatra, which
lasts for three weeks. In this festival, the representative images of
the presiding deities are taken out in colourful processions and given
a ceremonial boat ride in the Narendra tank everyday. In an interesting
demonstration of the assimilative character of the Jagannatha cult,
Madanmohana and Rama Krishna, representing Jagannatha & Balabhadra
partake in the festival with the representatives' images of the
presiding deities of five main Shiva temples of Puri. These are
curiously known as Pancha Pandava, the five brothers of the Mahabharata
story. Later the deities have a ritual bath in a small temple in the
middle of the tank, in stone tubs filled with water, sandalwood paste,
scents and flowers.


This sandalwood festival culminates in the Snana Jatra, the Bathing
Festival on the full moon day of the month of Jestha. On this day, the
presiding deities descend from their seats on an elevated platform in
the sanctum sanctorum, the bejewelled throne. They are bathed in 108
pots of water brought from the suna kua, the golden well and assume the
elephant form on the special bathing platform, close to the Eastern
boundary wall of the temple. From that day the deities remain in
symbolic and ritual convalescence for about two weeks. They are barred
from view of the ordinary devotees. Only three special patta chitras,
traditional Orissan paintings of natural colours on cloth stiffened
with starch, known as Anasara Pattis, are strung on a bamboo screen
hiding the deities from public view, can be seen by the public. During
this period, the deities are given only roots, leaves, berries and
fruits to cure them from their indisposition. This ritual is a reminder
of the strong tribal elements in the genesis and evolution of the
Jagannatha cult. The progeny of Lalita, daughter of the original tribal
worshipper Biswabasu, chieftain of hunters, and the Brahmin priest
Vidyapati, are known as daitapatis or daitas. They have almost
exclusive privilege of serving the Lord during the convalescence and
through the entire period of Ratha Jatra or the Festival of Chariots.



[edit] International Ratha Yatras






ISKCON Rath Yathra at Thiruvananthapuram, India.



The Ratha Yatra festival has become a common sight in most major cities of the world since 1968 through the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement. Its leader A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
successfully transplanted the festival which now happens on an annual
basis in places all over the world in over 100 cities including London, Montreal, Paris, New York, Toronto, and Venice, CA.[1] The Rathayatra in Dhamrai, Bangladesh is one of the most important in Bangladesh.



[edit] See also




[edit] References




[edit] External links









































































































































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