Page 62 - All About History - Issue 54-17

Greatest Battles

Fully loaded
Ramesses would have kept his arrows
at the ready in a bow case attached to
the side of the chariot’s cab, decorated
with the image of a lion, symbolising
strength and courage. The bow case
was angled forward for easy access
to the missiles during combat. Heavy
arrows were preferred when trying to
pierce heavy scale armour.

Warrior pharaoh
Ramesses II wore a long corselet of
overlapping bronze scales that provided a
good defence against enemy missiles. His
primary weapon was a composite bow,
which was made of laminated wood,
horn, and sinew — it was long-ranging
and deadly. The composite bow was also
widely used by Egyptian foot soldiers.

Mobile warfare
In a time before horseshoes and saddles,
a chariot was the best way to ride a horse
into battle. They were first brought to
Egypt by Hyskos conquerors in the 17th
century BCE, but by the time of the Battle
of Kadesh were widely adopted and both
Egypt and the Hittites used them.

Death cab for Hatti
The chariot’s wooden cab was about a metre
wide and just over a metre high. It had space
for a driver (not depicted) who controlled the
team of horses, and a warrior, who fought
from within it. Most Egyptian chariot warriors
were archers, though other weapons, such
as javelins, were carried for close-in fighting.
The cab was given a cover of ox hide and its
floor was constructed out of rawhide straps.

Wide wheels
The chariot’s two wheels, each about a
metre in diameter, had six spokes, making
for a light but strong structure. Made of elm
or ash, and plum for the spokes, the wheels
were mounted on either end by a wooden
axle that was slightly wider than the cab
and placed at the rear to improve stability.

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