【历史】古罗马人为什么没有发明并使用战车呢？

【来源龙腾网】

Zebedee

Chariots had been invented thousands of years before Rome rose to power. The Sumerians used the first onager-drawn battle carts about 5,000 years ago. They may have been fairly effective against lightly-armed foes and people in loose formations. Its possible they were retain as transport and status symbols after they ceased to be effective.

Chariots wouldn’t be much used off-road in a mountainous or broken terrain, like much of Europe. Chariots also fared poorly against heavy infantry and cavalry were much more flexible than chariots.

战车在罗马崛起之前已有数千年历史。苏美尔人大约在5000年前开始使用由野马拉动的战车。这些战车可能对轻装敌人和散兵游勇颇具效果。它们在失去效力后可能被保留作为交通工具和地位象征。

战车在像欧洲大部分地区那样的山地或崎岖地形中不太适用。战车也不如重步兵表现出色，而骑兵比战车更加灵活。

评论原创翻译：

Jonathan Utsu Undelikwo

Chariots had already been invented long before Rome came to power. By the time of Rome, war chariots were already an archaic/fading technology. Chariots were replaced with something better Cavalry.

The Romans did fight against war chariots, e.g Julius Caesar during the Gallic wars, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus during the Boudican Revolt.

二轮战车一直存在，直到罗马崛起之前。战车在罗马时代已经是一种过时的技术。战车被更好的骑兵所取代。

罗马人曾与战车作战，例如在高卢战争期间的凯撒大帝，以及在博迪卡叛乱期间的盖乌斯-苏埃托尼乌斯-保利努斯

The ability to quickly move around the battlefield is very advantageous and the reason chariots came before cavalry, is simply because horses were not good enough to make cavalry a viable option. Efficient horse breeding made made better chariots which in turn made chariot excel as an instrument of war. A time reached where horses were strong enough to carry men on their backs into battle.

在战场上快速移动的能力非常有利，战车之所以在骑兵之前出现，仅仅是因为马匹的能力不足以使骑兵成为可行的选择。高效的马匹繁殖使得战车得以改良，进而使战车在战争中表现出色。随着时间的推移，马匹足够强壮，能够背负士兵进入战斗。

Cavalry were simply better than chariots, they were more flexible, efficient use of man power, more maneuverable and better in the uneven terrain and thick forests of Europe. Instead of two horses pulling one driver and one archer, you now had two horses carrying two archer or two men with sword and lances

骑兵简单来说比战车更优越，它们更加灵活，更高效地利用人力，机动性更强，在欧洲不平整的地形和茂密的森林中表现更佳。现在，不再是两匹马拉动一个驾驶员和一个弓箭手，而是两匹马可以搭载两名弓箭手或两名配备剑和长矛的士兵。

Stronger horses made chariots obsolete as an instrument of war. But chariot racing was popular into the time of the Roman Empire.

Sure archery is a good sport, you wouldn't find any modern army equipping their soldiers with longbows, as instruments of war it is obsolete. That's quite similar to war chariots and Rome

更强壮的马匹使战车在战争中变得过时。但战车赛仍然在罗马帝国时期很受欢迎。

确实，射箭是一项很好的运动，但你不会在任何现代军队中看到士兵装备长弓，因为长弓在作为战争工具时已经过时。这与战车和罗马类似。

Rok Ružič

Because by the time Rome became a significant state, war chariots were already obsolete.

War chariots were a military innovation at the time, where horses were not yet large enough for a human to ride in war. Therefore they were used to pull chariots.

By the time Rome became a powerful state, cavalry already existed, and the usefulness of chariots was much diminished. Rome had cavalry instead.

因为当罗马成为一个重要国家时，战车已经过时了。 战车是当时的一个军事创新，因为马匹尚未足够大以供人类在战争中骑乘，所以它们被用来拉战车。 当罗马成为一个强大国家时，骑兵已经存在，战车的实用性大大减弱。罗马取而代之的是骑兵。

Martin J Pitt

Because chariots had already been invented, and were limited to places where wheels would work (parts of Egypt, for example, not much of Europe). The Romans did much better. They invented the war horse.

因为战车已经被发明，并且限制在能使用轮子的地方（例如埃及的一些地方，但欧洲大部分地区都不适合）。罗马人做得更好。他们发明了战马。

Firstly by breeding bigger horses, and secondly by developing accessories, notably the saddle tree. This is the wooden structure which gives shape, and is a huge advantage over a blanket or leather pad, as it spreads the rider’s weight and gives a firmer base for actually fighting, rather than just riding to war. Thus the first Roman cavalry were lancers. (The chariot often had a driver and a fighter on the platform.)

首先通过繁殖更大的马，其次通过发展配件，特别是马鞍。这是一种木结构，给骑手提供形状，并且比毯子或皮革垫子有巨大的优势，因为它能分散骑手的重量，并为实际战斗提供更坚固的基础，而不仅仅是骑往战场。因此，最早的罗马骑兵是长枪兵。（战车上通常有一个驾驶员和一个站在平台上的战士。）

The saddle of this form also allowed things to be hung upon it.

The bit and bridle and spurs allowed control with one hand.

If only they had invented the stirrup they would have been like modern horsemen. This is often regarded as the greatest military invention ever, greatly increasing control, reducing fatigue and allowing different fighting methods.

(Despite what is shown on films and TV ancient Greeks did not ride around with all the equipment of a modern cowboy.)

这种形式的鞍座也允许东西挂在上面。

马嚼子、缰绳和马刺可以让人单手控制。

如果他们发明了马镫，他们会像现代骑士一样。这通常被认为是有史以来最伟大的军事发明，极大地增加了控制力，减少了疲劳，并允许不同的战斗方法。

(尽管电影和电视上都有介绍，但古希腊人并没有像现代牛仔那样骑着马到处跑。）

Jean Makewell

If you took the Roman infantry formations with heavy interlocked shields, there want much a chariot could do except stand off at a distance and throw javelins or arrows that would be blocked.

如果你考虑到罗马步兵的重型互锁盾牌编队，战车实际上无法做太多事情，除了远距离投掷标枪或箭矢，而这些可以被挡住。

The Briton Boudicca and her army demonstrated how the Roman killing machine was impervious to a great many things except perhaps another trained Roman legion. The Roman experience in Teutoberg forest in modern Germany also showed a fatal weakness. Stretched out in a thin line within dense forests, Roman tactics were useless and tribes were able to close in from both sides. Two legions were destroyed almost to a man.

不列颠女王布狄卡及其军队展示了罗马的杀伤机器几乎对一切都有抵挡之能，除了也许另一个经过训练的罗马军团。罗马在现代德国的条顿堡森林的经历也显示出致命的弱点。在茂密森林中以稀疏的队形展开，罗马的战术毫无用处，而当地部落能够从两侧包围进攻。两个军团几乎全军覆没。

Giorgio Bellini

Because they were worthless. Many historians believe that the chariots mentioned in the Iliad were anachronisms at the time of Homer already, and even in those early times the Greeks had long got rid of them.

因为它们是毫无用处的。许多历史学家认为，《伊利亚特》中提到的战车在荷马时代已经过时，甚至在那个早期时期，希腊人早已摒弃了它们。

Shay Dessie

1- chariots and good quality chariots are Very expensive. Pursay 2 horses can pull a 1–2 person chariot. (The chariot itself would cost around 2 horses worth plus 2 pulling it). Not bad.

but 4 horse chariots that can hold 4–5 people are quite expensive being able to afford more cavalry units with armour and weapons vs a single unit with more units exposed.

战车和高质量的战车非常昂贵。普遍说来，两匹马可以拉动一个可容纳1到2人的战车（战车本身的成本大约相当于两匹马的价值再加上两匹拉车）。这还算不错。但是能容纳4到5人、由4匹马拉动的战车非常昂贵，而用同样的成本可以买更多配备盔甲和武器的骑兵部队，而不是暴露更多部队。

2- chariots could only pull off certain maneuvers anyway. 1- chariots CANT do sharp turns. Nor can they handle super tough terrain. They can’t support the infantry formations like a man on horse can. Nor can they be scouts or anti-spears.

Javelins are direct counters to chariots.

不管怎样，战车只能执行特定的机动。首先，战车不能进行急转弯，也不能应对极端崎岖的地形。它们无法像骑在马上的人一样支持步兵编队，也不能充当侦察员或对抗长矛。标枪是战车的直接克星。