History of War Horses

The first horses
The first archaeological evidence of the use of horses in war dates from the year 4000 and 3000 BC, on the steppes of Eurasia, now called Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. The domestication of horses forced people to live together in large fortified towns to protect themselves from attack by horsemen.

That horses were used in war is depicted in early historical records and one of the earliest representations of horses is in the “war panel” of the Standard of Ur, in Sumeria, dating from around 2500BC, where equids possible horses, mules or an onager pulling a wagon with four wheels.

Although not depicting the horses actually in battle, only by pulling the horse drawn wagons, these horses clearly had a part in the performance in the victory represented in the Standard.

The first documented cases of the use of horses in battle belongs to the fighting in serial warfare and amongst the evidence is the use of horse drawn chariots that we find in the graves of the culture of Andronovo Sintashta-Petrovka in current Russia and Kazakhstan, which correspond to approximately 2000 BC.

The most ancient of war encounters with horse drawn chariots in the Old Middle East is an ancient proclamation of the eighteenth century BC which mentions yuntas 40 horses during the siege of Salatiwara.

In the ancient world, the Hittites became known for their horse drawn chariot skills. The spread of the use of the chariot for the war in most of Eurasia practically coincides with the development of the compound bow, known since 1600 BC. The improvements in terms of wheels and axles, as in arms, soon made the horse drawn chariots join the battles of the societies of the Bronze Age, from China to Egypt.

Invaders brought the Chariot of War to Ancient Egypt during the sixteenth century BC, and the Egyptians adopted it since then. The oldest preserved text that is associated with the breeding of horses in battle of the ancient world is the manual of Hittite Kikkuli, approximate date of 1350 BC, which describes the preparation of horses for horse drawn chariots.

China used horse drawn chariots of war during the Shang dynasty 1600-1050 BC. The oldest evidence of these horse drawn chariots in Asia appears in a ceremonial burial as the practice in Central Asia of burying horses and horse drawn chariots with their owners to join in the next life.

Descriptions about the performance of tactical serial warfare are rare. The Iliad has a possible reference to the practices of Mycenae 1250 BC and describes the use of horse drawn chariots to transport fighters to and from the battle rather than position as part of the conflict.

Years later, to invade Britannia in 55 and 54 BC Julius Caesar saw men throwing javelins mounted on horse drawn chariots before dismounting to fight on foot. It is unknown whether this style of battle was typical at that time and place.