“I defeated millions of foreign countries, being alone, being on ‘Victory in Thebes’ and ‘Mut is Contented’ my great horses. This in itself might seem a strange thing the Pharaoh rarely shared the credit for a victory with another human, so why should such praise fall upon horses? Relief showing Ramses II at the Battle of Kadesh. Ramses II mentions his horses in the Poem of Kadesh, acknowledging them for their part in the battle of Kadesh. However these animals could measure up to 1.50m, or 15hh. Yoke measurements from chariots found in tombs give the horses an average height of 1.35m at the withers, or 13.2hh. The horses first introduced to Egypt are smaller than those we are used to today, and had features similar to those of the Arab breed. The horse soon became a much loved and prized possession for the Egyptian elite, particularly the Pharaoh. In the early years of the presence of the horse in Egypt, it is highly likely that horses were too precious to risk, so until stock increased horses were used very carefully. Since the turnover of chariot horses was likely to be very high, it is probable that a large stock of breeding horses were kept, to make sure there was a constant supply for battle.
It is thought that initially the chariot was used as transport for the aristocracy and also for hunting. Within each chariot rode two men, the driver and the fighter. The chariots used by the Egyptians were lightweight, fast vehicles with two wheels, drawn by two horses. The lightweight, high-speed chariots they utilized became very dangerous on all but the flattest terrain and a group of charging horses can rapidly become uncontrollable, potentially putting the passengers in a great deal of danger. But this was only so if they could fight on a level battlefield.
0 kommentar(er)
