The Coming of the Greeksas 1800 B.C. The essential point, however, is that chariot tac-
tics (specifically, the use of the chariot as a fast-moving and
effectively guided platform for an expert archer) seem not to
have been used until the seventeenth century B.C. In his study
of the early textual references to chariot warfare, Houwink ten
Gate concludes that "the first incontestable example would be
those in texts referring to the time of Hattusilis I and Mursilis
I." 84 It is not unlikely that Hattusilis I and the Amorite and
Hurrian princes who imposed their hyksos regime upon Egypt
were chiefly responsible for drawing attention to the possibili-
ties of chariot warfare.
Although our chronological framework is tentative and ad-
mittedly fragile, it may be useful to present it in concise form:
End of third millennium: proliferation of the domesti-
cated horse, and increased use of riding horses, in Eur-
asian steppe; Shulgi of Ur imports riding horses into
Mesopotamia
Nineteenth century B.C.: invention of the spoked wheel;
development of a light, horse-drawn "chariot"
Early eighteenth century B.C.: in the Fertile Crescent,
horse-drawn "chariots" sought by kings for rapid
transportation and for display; in Anatolia, possible
experiments with chariots in battle
Late eighteenth or early seventeenth century B.C.: intro-
duction of the bit to the Near East; chariot used in
hunting
Middle decades of seventeenth century B.C.: with aid of
small chariot corps, hyksos chiefs and Hattusilis I make
selves Great Kings; advent of chariot warfare
1468 B.C.: approximately two thousand chariots clash at
Battle of Megiddo- "The History of Warfare according to Hittite Sources," 59.
106