I'm currently playing the latest Total War videogame set during the fictional war for Troy. One of the most controversial units in the game is the chariot, which is basically an infantry smashing killing machine. My question is: is this depiction accurate based on what we know about late bronze age warfare?
I'm aware of the fact that the ways of war depicted in the Iliad are most certainly those in use around the time the epic poem was written, this question is specifically about the role of chariots during the late bronze age in the eastern mediterranean (Greece, Anatolia, Egypt).
Bonus question: were horses used as war mounts during this period and in this geographical area?
You may want to check out the recent AMA on the Trojan War/Early Greek warfare that /u/Iphikrates and I took part in:
I've also answered other questions on warfare in the Bronze Age Aegean and about war chariots:
The Mycenaeans were familiar with the concept of riding horses. There are figurines and, at towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, also vase-paintings depicting horsemen. They most likely didn't use them as "war mounts", but rather as scouts, just as the Egyptians did in the (Late) New Kingdom period.
You may find chapter 1 of my PhD thesis (on Early Greek warfare and society) useful, as it summarizes a lot of the evidence for the Mycenaean period. You can read/download my PhD thesis here.
If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask.