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Chariots vs Elephants

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:07 pm
by RogerCooper
My son asked me the following question, which is faster a War Chariot or a War Elephant?

Re: Chariots vs Elephants

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:16 pm
by David Kuijt
RogerCooper wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:07 pm
My son asked me the following question, which is faster a War Chariot or a War Elephant?
You mean historically, or physically?

Horses are way faster than Elephants. Elephant: 25mph; Horse: 55mph.

Reenactors have shown that light (i.e., four-spoke Egyptian) war chariots on flat even ground are as fast as horses -- maybe faster, because the horse isn't bearing the weight of the man.

With that said, elephants in the jungle might be effectively faster than horses -- an elephant can ignore a stand of bamboo that would be impassable to a horse.