Red Harvest
11-22-2005, 06:07
Thought I would post a copy of my review of this book here, since some of you might find it helpful.
Review: Chariot by Arthur Cotterell
Mr Cotterell has tackled an interesting and largely neglected subject with Chariot. This work is expansive, covering development of the chariot, supporting equipment, chariot battles, and culture stretching from Briton to China. The decline of the chariot and the many reasons for that are also reviewed and explained: development of cavalry, horse archers, heavy infantry, expense and time of training/maintaining chariotry, sociological changes, etc.
Unfortunately, the book is too expansive in its coverage of general history and mythology/epics. It loses focus and this can result in tiresome reading, waiting for the author to get back to the topic, chariots. For example, many pages are spent detailing the Indian epics and chariot use by the deities, but surprisingly little is presented about archaeological/history based Indian chariot use. Similarly, far too much time is spent on Homer’s Iliad, while some other known historical uses of chariots in battle are entirely neglected.
A glaring example of how the historical aspect is neglected in favor of epics is the omission of the last major uses of scythed chariots, by Pontic rulers. Mithridates IV had some notable fiascos with scythed chariots—leading to open laughter and derision by the legions at Chaeronea. However, Mithridates’ son, Pharnaces II, won a major victory in 61 BC at Ennium by disrupting the Roman infantry with scythed chariots to open gaps in a Roman army.
As other reviewers have noted, the author’s arrangement of the book is haphazard. On the surface the book appears to have a logical outline, but within the text skips from period-to-period and place-to-place. The dust jacket quotation from the Times describes the book as “amiably discursive history” and it would be hard to find a more apt or concise description. The book lacks a proper chronological flow and frequently hops half a millennia or more, or several thousand miles.
An aspect that sets Chariot apart from most other ancient/classical warfare treatise is its coverage of China and India. The section on China is particularly informative. For instance, I was unaware that the Chinese developed the breast-strap harness system that allowed horses to pull far heavier burdens than those of all other regions of the time. All others relied on stifling neck-girth harnesses until the 6th to 10th century A.D. limiting them to lighter, smaller chariots. Another innovation of the Chinese was the dished wheel shape that added strength to the wheel along the axle’s thrust axis.
The text is well illustrated with stele, sketches, rock drawings, etc.—98 B&W illustrations in all. A helpful feature is that each odd page of the text has a short description of the subject matter of the page.
In summary, despite numerous flaws, I recommend this book to those interested in chariots or ancient warfare.
Review: Chariot by Arthur Cotterell
Mr Cotterell has tackled an interesting and largely neglected subject with Chariot. This work is expansive, covering development of the chariot, supporting equipment, chariot battles, and culture stretching from Briton to China. The decline of the chariot and the many reasons for that are also reviewed and explained: development of cavalry, horse archers, heavy infantry, expense and time of training/maintaining chariotry, sociological changes, etc.
Unfortunately, the book is too expansive in its coverage of general history and mythology/epics. It loses focus and this can result in tiresome reading, waiting for the author to get back to the topic, chariots. For example, many pages are spent detailing the Indian epics and chariot use by the deities, but surprisingly little is presented about archaeological/history based Indian chariot use. Similarly, far too much time is spent on Homer’s Iliad, while some other known historical uses of chariots in battle are entirely neglected.
A glaring example of how the historical aspect is neglected in favor of epics is the omission of the last major uses of scythed chariots, by Pontic rulers. Mithridates IV had some notable fiascos with scythed chariots—leading to open laughter and derision by the legions at Chaeronea. However, Mithridates’ son, Pharnaces II, won a major victory in 61 BC at Ennium by disrupting the Roman infantry with scythed chariots to open gaps in a Roman army.
As other reviewers have noted, the author’s arrangement of the book is haphazard. On the surface the book appears to have a logical outline, but within the text skips from period-to-period and place-to-place. The dust jacket quotation from the Times describes the book as “amiably discursive history” and it would be hard to find a more apt or concise description. The book lacks a proper chronological flow and frequently hops half a millennia or more, or several thousand miles.
An aspect that sets Chariot apart from most other ancient/classical warfare treatise is its coverage of China and India. The section on China is particularly informative. For instance, I was unaware that the Chinese developed the breast-strap harness system that allowed horses to pull far heavier burdens than those of all other regions of the time. All others relied on stifling neck-girth harnesses until the 6th to 10th century A.D. limiting them to lighter, smaller chariots. Another innovation of the Chinese was the dished wheel shape that added strength to the wheel along the axle’s thrust axis.
The text is well illustrated with stele, sketches, rock drawings, etc.—98 B&W illustrations in all. A helpful feature is that each odd page of the text has a short description of the subject matter of the page.
In summary, despite numerous flaws, I recommend this book to those interested in chariots or ancient warfare.