What made chariots become obsolete so early in history?

>>3162888
Macedonian pike formations.

>>3162888
Real cavalry does everything a chariot does better. You're faster and more maneuverable since you don't have to drag a cart around. You can have more people actually fighting, as you can eliminate the functions of driver and multiple horses to pull one chariot. You eliminate an unstable platform that you're riding along. You eliminate a vast variety of logistical needs pertaining to chariot parts.

As soon as you had horses and riding techniques capable of actually being used in battle, cavalry started to outcompete chariots.

>>3162890
Why didn't they make all cavalry obsolete though?

>>3162888
It is slower, less maneuverable, breaks more easily, and is more expensive than just having a guy ride a horse.

It came before real cavalry because riding horses is a skill that isn't just innate to humanity. It had to be learned.

>>3162908
It's also because horses were shitty.

>>3162888
Proliferation of Heavy infantry/Tight formations tactics among ancient armies. Long before/not exclusive to Macedonian pike formations. The chariot was obsolete for a long time but it didn't stop people from using them.

>>3162906
Chariots weren't useless....they just were no longer cost effective.

>>3162954
A chariot is worse in every conceivable way to a horse archer. Other than that it is "lower tech", and was around before the other was.

>>3162918
>>3162908
Wasn't it when the saddle or stirrup was invented that it became obsolete.

>>3163230
Neither, unless you count a simple pad of cloth as a saddle, which is what Phillip's companion cavalry used. The main factor afaik was the breeding of bigger horses, which let them seat riders with effective enough armor to fight seated.

>>3162888
They were really expensive

>>3162888
Dude they are like the Huey gunship or A-10 of the ancient world. Scythe wheels would mow down whole regiments/mass infantry formations. They are just abit expensive to be practical.

>>3163409
Id probably describe them more as a Eurofighter, or possibly the M1 Abrams of the ancient world.

>>3162888
People started riding horses

>>3162888
people figured out you could ride horses without chariots.

>>3163472
>or possibly the M1 Abrams of the ancient world.
they aren't undeadable though

>>3162908
>because riding horses is a skill that isn't just innate to humanity. It had to be learned.
holy shit what an imbecile. go read a fucking book jesus christ.

Chariots are aesthetic as fuck desu

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>>3164082
>>3162908

There wasn't anything to 'figure out'. The only reason that we didn't ride horses in the first place is because horses weren't bred large enough to support the weight of a man in full armor

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>>3162888
Chariots became obsolete when horses were bred to be strong enough to support the weight of an armored warrior without needing any support (wheels)

>>3162888
very situational
unless you're fighting in a flat open field, you're fucked

>>3162888
Invention of horse riding. Chariots were mostly before good horses were bred, saddles were invented, stirrups, and everything else that made riding horses easier. There's alot of tech that goes into being a cowboy, believe it or not.

>>3162888
The mating of the Turkic Akhal-Teke (the highest endurance among horses) and the Arabian Purebred (the highest strength among horses) was needed.

It only happened when Macedonians conquered Persia that they finally had access to horsebreeding which could handle heavy armor AND a human on it on high speed.

However chariots were still being used for archery platforms until 300 AD