et. The person of the warrior was thus protected up to his
middle by the curved board which enclosed the chariot on three sides.
The axle-tree is said to have been broad, since breadth afforded a
security against being overturned, and the whole construction to have
been strong and solid. The wheels had twelve spokes, which radiated from
a nave of unusual size. The felloes were narrower than the Assyrian, but
were still composed, like them, of two or three distinct layers of wood.
The tires were probably of metal, and were indented like the edge of a
saw. [PLATE XXXI., Fig. 1.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.]

No great ornamentation of the chariot appears to have been attempted.
The body was occasionally patterned with a chequer-work, which maybe
compared with a style common in Assyria, and the spokes of the wheels
were sometimes of great elegance, but the general character of the
workmanship was massive and plain. The pole was short, and terminated
with a simple curve. From the evidence of the monuments it would seem
that chariots were drawn by two horses only; but the classical writers
assure us that the ordinary practice was to have teams of four. The
harness used was exceedingly simple, consisting of a yoke, a belly-band,
a narrow collar, a head-stall, a bit, and reins. When the charioteer
left his seat, the reins could be attached to a loop or bar which
projected from the front of the chariot-board.

Chariots were constructed to contain two, or perhaps, in some instances,
three persons. These consisted of the warrior, his charioteer, who stood
beside him, and an attendant, whose place was behind, and whose business
it was to open and shut the chariot doors. The charioteer wore a visor
and a coat of mail, exposing nothing to the enemy but his eyes.

The later Persians made use also of elephants in battle, but to a very
small extent, and without any results worth mentioning.

The chief points of Persian tactics were the following. The army was
organized into three distinct services--those of the chariots, the
horse, and the foot. In drawing up the line of battle, it was usual,
where chariots were employed, to place them in the front rank, in front
of the rest of the army. Behind the chariots were stationed the horse
and the foot; the former generally massed upon the wings; the latter
placed in the middle, drawn up according to nations, in a number of
oblong squares, which touched, or nearly touched, one another.