Units of History - Mycenaean Chariots of the Trojan War DOCUMENTARY
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Published 2020-08-13
This history documentary takes our Units of History series to the Bronze Age to cover the Mycenaean Chariots of the Trojan War! We begin the episode by looking at the history of chariots starting with the very domestication of the horse. This led to the development of early horse drawn wagons which were turned into battle carts by the Sumerians. By the early Bronze Age, most of the major kingdoms of the near east had incorporates war chariots into their army. The Egyptian Kingdom deployed chariots with 2 man crews of a driver and an archer while the Hittite Kingdom deployed chariots with 3 men crews of a driver, a shield bearer, and a spearman. These war chariots of the bronze age would clash famously at the Battle of Kadesh.
We then talk about how the chariot made its way to ancient Greece and the Mycenaean kingdoms of the Bronze Age. Here it went through several stages of development which includes the box chariot, the quadrant chariot, the dueling chariot, and finally the rail chariot. We take a look at the sort of equipment and crew associated with each of these and ancient bronze age warfare. Next we talk about bronze age battlefield tactics derived from historical depictions and works by homer like the Illiad which describes the events of the Trojan War. Finally we cover the service history of the Mycenaean chariot and its eventual decline following the bronze age collapse.
Note: This video was sponsored by A Total War Saga: Troy
Credits:
Research: Josho Brouwers
Translations: Richmond Lattimore
Writing: Josho Brouwers
Narration: Guy Michaels
Artwork & Production: Penta Limited
Thanks to:
Arianna Sacco, Matthew Lloyd, Joshua Hall, and our Patrons
Suggested reading
Trevor Bryce, Hittite Warrior (2007).
Joost Crouwel, Chariots and Other Means of Land Transport in Bronze Age Greece (1981).
Nic Fields, Bronze Age War Chariots (2006).
Cheryl Diane Fortenberry, Elements of Mycenaean Warfare (unpublished PhD thesis, Cincinnati; 1990).
Nicolas Grguric, The Mycenaeans, c. 1650–1100 BC (2005).
#History
#Documentary
#TrojanWar
All Comments (21)
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Total War Saga: Troy is free on the Epic store if you claim it in the first 24 hours of launch on August 13th www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/a-total-war-…
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About the utility of chariots as "battle taxi" there is a revealing passage in the Iliad where Aenea questions the renowed archer Pandarus (an ally of the Trojans) why he wasn't targeting Diomedes that was salughtering the Trojan first line. Pandarus answered that he hit Diomedes from afar, with no effect, and complained that, having left his chariots and horses home when he departed for Troy, fearing for them to starve in a siege, he couldn't get close to fight him, and so he felt to be useless. In a warfare based on personal duels between heavily armoured and perfectly armed heroes (while infantrymen just had a shield and a one-anded spear, or a mace), not having a chariot was a huge disadvantage. You had to run, in a heavy armor, to reach your target, only to see him carried somewere else, and without possibility to escape if things got bad. An hero with a chariot instead could dictate the time of the battle, since he could decide to fight when, and where, he thought to have an advantage.
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if "Top Gun" had been written back then, it would have been the epic saga of a chariot crew, Mavriccus and Goozus
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The beginning of use of horses in warfare is certainly an interesting topic. I look forward to seeing the video
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The Persians still used chariots with scythes during Alexanders campaign. And the Bretons used chariots against Ceasar.
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All of your videos seem so in depth, it's rare to find a channel that covers things like armaments or daily life instead of just the generic political/military history. 👍👍
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Mycenaean maxim - "No chariot survives contact with the enemy!"
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Can you do an episode on DUELS between champions before major battles? Was this common?
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I had never thought or heard of disassembling the chariots for transport. That's a really interesting idea.
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Chariots in that era of history: Fast vehicles used for transportation and perhaps some shock tactics when terrain permits Chariots in Total War Troy: THE STEAMROLLERS OF ARES
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The Britons and native Caledonii still used chariots in their army against the Romans all the way up to 84 AD. Until they noticed that mounted cavalry was superior in almost every aspect.
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Maybe do an episode on camel usage in warfare next
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I must say total war is really pushing this game, two complete ad campaigns by two different huge history channels says something.
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Epic game store passing out free games because they're desperate for that Steam power.
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Imagine your a lowly infantryman crammed into the tight formation of initiates from your unit. Your marching forward & over the next birm you spot 50+ enemy war chariots racing your direction. You watch your men fire off arrows, toss javelins at the charging marauders. Only a few meet their target & the rest of the charioteers crash into your ranks. You see the sickle blades attached to the wheels chopping through squads of guys leaving men with no legs & arms. Huge nasty open wounds, entrails flying about & men yelling for their mothers. You can only watch in terror as a large scythed chariot barrels through your close squad. You look to you your unguarded meaty legs & gulp as you see the massive blades envelope you. You wake up a few moments later to realize your missing both your legs. You pick one up off the ground but the other is stuck to the chariot that’s still wreaking havoc close by. A loose arrow strikes you in the stomach. The world fades to black.
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Reading the Illiad, we get the impression that armies lined up the infantry in a long battleline, with commanders in their chariots making token duels. The main chariot force was however set aside for the decisive moment of the skirmish, when somewhere in the battleline an advantage had been gained - most frequently on the flank. Then the chariots would "taxi" their warrior aces to the spot where a decision was within reach. In so case the part getting the worst of it would hurry back to the defended base, i.e. city or fortified camp. Skirmish won or lost - rarely lasting more than half an hour and seldom more than one skirmish a day.
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For those who don’t know total war Troy is free now for today only. Just google it
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Non Indo-Europeans: “Why do I hear boss music?”
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Your new high quality art on your later videos is stunning, the videos are unrivalled amongst the other channels in this kind of polish imo. Ace work.
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Informative and love the art style. More Bronze Age content please!
