CHARIOT, in antiquity, was a conveyance used in battle, for the chase, in public processions, and in games. It had two wheels, and was made to be drawn by two horses; if a third or, more commonly, two reserve horses were added, they were attached on each side of the main pair by a single trace fastened to the front of the chariot, as may be seen on two prize vases iu the British Museum from the Panathenaic games at Athens, on which quadmgoe are represented. On the monuments there is no other sign of traces, from the want of which wheeling round must have been difficult. Immediately on the axle, without springs of any kind, rested the basket or body of the chariot, which consisted of a floor to stand on, and a semicircular guard round the front about half the height of the driver. It was entirely open at the back, so that the combatant might readily leap to the ground and up again as was necessary. There was no seat, and generally only room for the combatant and his charioteer to stand in. The pole was probably attached to the middle of the axle, though it appears to spring from the front of the basket; at the end of the pole was the yoke, which consisted of two small saddles fitting the necks of the horses, and fastened by broad bands round the chest. Besides this the harness of each horse consisted of a bridle and a pair of reins, mostly the same as in use now, made of leather and ornamented with studs of ivory or metal. The reins were passed through rings attached to the collar bands or yoke, and were long enough to be tied round the waist of the charioteer in case of his having to defend himself. The wheels and body of the chariot were usually of wood, strengthened in places with bronze or iron; the wheels had from four to eight spokes and tires of bronze or iron. ...

OF WAR. The Scripture speaks of two sorts of these chariots, one for princes and generals to ride in, the other used to break the enemies battalions, by letting them loose armed with iron, which made dreadful havoc among the troops. The most ancient chariots of which we have any notice are Pharaoh’s, which were overwhelmed in the Red Sea, Exodus xiv, 7. The Canaanites, whom Joshua engaged at the waters of Merom, had cavalry and a multitude of chariots, Joshua xi, 4. Sisera, the general of Jabin, king of Hazor, had nine hundred chariots of iron in his army, Judges iv, 3. The tribe of Judah could not get possession of all the lands of their lot, because the ancient inhabitants of the country were strong in chariots of iron. The Philistines, in the war carried on by them against Saul, had thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, 1 Sam. xiii, 5. David, having taken one thousand chariots of war from Hadadezer, king of Syria, hamstrung the horses, and burned nine hundred chariots, reserving only one hundred to himself, 2 Sam. viii, 4. Solomon had a considerable number of chariots, but we know of no military expedition in which they were employed, 1 Kings x, 26. As Judea was a very mountainous country, chariots could be of no great use there, except in the plains; and the Hebrews often evaded them by fighting on the mountains. The kings of the Hebrews, when they went to war, were themselves generally mounted in chariots from which they fought, and issued their orders; and there was always a second chariot empty, which followed each of them, that if the first was broken he might ascend the other, 2 Chron. xxxv, 24. Chariots were sometimes consecrated to the sun; and the Scripture observes, that Josiah burned those which had been dedicated to the sun by his ...