of
superintendent to these establishments, which was at the disposal of
the Master of the Horse, became in later times one of the most important
State appointments.*

* In the story of the conquest of Egypt by the Ethiopian
Pionkhi, studs are indicated at Hermopolis, at Athribis, in
the towns to the east and in the centre of the Delta, and at
Sais. Diodorus Siculus relates that, in his time, the
foundations of 100 stables, each capable of containing 200
horses, were still to be seen on the western bank of the
river between Memphis and Thebes.

[Illustration: 315.jpg THE KING CHARGING ON HIS CHARIOT]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph.

The first chariots introduced into Egypt were, like the horses, of
foreign origin, but when built by Egyptian workmen they soon became more
elegant, if not stronger than their models. Lightness was the quality
chiefly aimed at; and at length the weight was so reduced that it
was possible for a man to carry his chariot on his shoulders without
fatigue. The materials for them were on this account limited to oak or
ash and leather; metal, whether gold or silver, iron or bronze, being
used but sparingly, and then only for purposes of ornamentation. The
wheels usually had six, but sometimes eight spokes, or occasionally only
four. The axle consisted of a single stout pole of acacia. The framework
of the chariot was composed of two pieces of wood mortised together so
as to form a semicircle or half-ellipse, and closed by a straight bar;
to this frame was fixed a floor of sycomore wood or of plaited leather
thongs. The sides of the chariot were formed of upright panels, solid
in front and open at the sides, each provided with a handrail. The pole,
which was of a single piece of wood, was bent into an elbow at about
one-fifth of its length from the end, which was inserted into the centre
of the axletree. On the gigantic T thus formed was fixed the body of the
chariot, the hinder part resting on the axle, and the front attached
to the bent part of the pole, while the whole was firmly bound together
with double leather thongs. A yoke of hornbeam, shaped like a bow, to
which the horses were harnessed, was fastened to the other extremity of
the pole. The Asiatics placed three men in a chariot, but the Egyptians
only two; the warrior--_sinni_--whose business it was to fight, and
the shield-bearer--_qazana_--who protected his companion with a buckler