provided by a still surviving training manual, allegedly the work of a
prisoner-of-war brought back by the Hittites as a deportee from
Mittani.^2 The horse-training manual covers a period of 214 days, 32
of which deal with night-training manoeuvres so that the animals
would be accustomed to combat in night operations. The horses
were trained for their speed, strength, their prompt reaction to
commands, and above all their stamina. A rigorous culling of
animals was carried out before the programme began, so that only
the strongest andfittest were accepted for training.
There was an apparently significant development in Hittite
chariot warfare when the chariot crew was increased from two
men to three, the standard team of driver andfighter (armed with
spear and bow and arrow) now augmented by a third member, a
shield-bearing defender. The defender’s sole job was to protect the
driver and thefighter, fending off enemy spears and arrows, and
thus leaving the driver free to manoeuvre his vehicle and keep it
upright, and thefighter to attack the enemy. We see these three-
man chariots depicted in EgyptianreliefsofthebattleofQadesh.
Made of leather stretched over a wooden frame, the chariot had to
be strong enough to support three fully armed warriors in extreme
Figure 18.3 Three-man Hittite chariot, Luxor.
ALL THE KING’S HORSES AND ALL THE KING’S MEN 173