Horses and chariots.

[Stanley Friesen]

At 09:48 AM 2/1/00 -0500, X99Lynx at aol.com wrote:
>force and accuracy you'd get from massing standing archers.  I suspect once
>again that the use of the archer on chariot was an elite matter in big
>battles and had to do more with very specific targets or separate battles
>between better armor-clad and mounted aristocrats.

You might suspect it, but you would be wrong.  Prior to the Invasion of the
Sea Peoples, the largest arm of the Egyptian army was the charioteers.
They fielded division-sized chariot units at Qadesh, as did the Hittites.
This is not what one would see if it were just the elite in the chariots.

[There is also the matter of the financial records from Mykenean Pylos,
which indicate a *large* outlay for the maintenance of a substantial
chariot force].

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May the peace of God be with you.         sarima at ix.netcom.com