In my last post I mentioned that when the Hyksos conquered ancient Egypt, the Egyptians were forced to adapt their methods of fighting.

Not only did the Hyksos introduce the composite bow into Egypt, they also introduced the horse. Eventually this would lead to the invention of the horse drawn chariot (Egyptian wrrt or mrkbt) which was the most crucial adaptation to Egyptian warfare.

Each chariot had a driver and a soldier who was armed with a spear, shield and composite bow. On the chariot was a quiver full of arrows for fast reloading, together with axes and javelins.

In some ancient reliefs we see that the driver of the chariot also served as an archer and therefore had to be protected by a shield. The reigns of the chariot are shown strapped around the waist of the driver-come-archer. This picture gives a good idea:

ramses II chariot

The chariot gave battlefield mobility and allowed them to chase after the retreating enemy - the killing ability was enhanced by the archer. In 1209BC, (New Kingdom) Merneptah, son of Ramesses II used his archers, both on foot and mounted on chariots, to defeat the Libyans killing approximately 9,400 Libyans in the battle.

Below is a picture of restored chariot found in Tutankhamun's tomb:

Tutankhamun\'s chariot

In ancient Greece the chariot was unsuitable for battle because of the mountainous terrain. Alexander the Great only used the chariot to arrive on the battlefield, he never actually fought from it!