Researched
Horse Riding & Chariots
Horses bred on the western steppe spread across Eurasia from about 2000 BC; spoke-wheeled chariots and then riders gave armies, messengers and traders a new speed.
Open in the interactive tree →Signs of horse use at Botai in Kazakhstan around 3500 BC belong to a line that left no modern descendants. Today's domestic horses come from the lower Volga-Don steppe: 273 ancient genomes show them replacing local herds from about 2000 BC, together with the light spoke-wheeled chariots of the Sintashta culture. Chariots reached the Near East by the 17th century BC, Egypt around 1650 BC and China around 1250 BC, and decided battles such as Kadesh (about 1274 BC) until cavalry replaced them. Horses stayed the fastest overland transport until the railway.
Prerequisites
- Animal Domestication~9000 BCThe horse is a domesticated steppe animal, bred for riding and traction.
- Draft Animals & Muscle Power~4000 BCCattle and donkeys were harnessed first; the horse is the faster draft animal
- Wheel~3500 BCLight spoked wheels made the chariot possible
Sources
More in Transport & Mobility · Antiquity
- Road & Canal Networks312 BC