Military history

Military history is the recording (in writing or otherwise) of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of conflict. This may range from a melee between two tribes to conflicts between proper militaries to a world war affecting the majority of the human population.

Periods of military history

Early militaries

In the earliest societies, such as hunter-gatherer societies, there were no social roles or divisions of labor (with the exception of age or sex differences), so every able person contributed to any raids or defense of territory. Only in relatively advanced agricultural societies was there the possibility of professional soldiers or militaries as distinct, organized units.

Related Topics:
Hunter-gatherer - Social role - Divisions of labor - Agricultural societies - Soldier

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Much of what we know of ancient history is the history of militaries: their conquests, their movements, and their technological innovations. There are many reasons for this. Kingdoms and empires, the central units of control in the ancient world, could only be maintained through military force. Due to limited agricultural ability, there were relatively few areas that could support large communities, so fighting was common. Weapons and armor, designed to be sturdy, tended to last longer than peaceful implements. And writing, when it existed, was often used for kings to boast of military conquests or victories. For all these reasons, military history comprises a large part of ancient history.

Related Topics:
Ancient history - Kingdom - Empire - Weapon - Armor

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Notable militaries in the ancient world include:

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• Egyptian
• Babylonian
• Greek
• Macedonian
• Roman
• Chinese
• Gandhara
• Qin

Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in antiquity are:

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• Infantry
• Cavalry
• Cataphract
• Horse archer
• Chariotry
• Archer
• Slinger
• Hoplite
• Macedonian phalanx
• Roman legions
• Marius' army
• auxiliaries
• Hastati
• Principes
• Triarii
• Velites

Medieval militaries

:Main article: Medieval warfare

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Technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery. Similar patterns of warfare existed in other parts of the world. In China around the fifth century armies moved from massed infantry to cavalry based forces, copying the steppe nomads. The Middle East and North Africa used similar, if often more advanced, technologies than Europe. In Japan the Medieval warfare period is considered by many to have stretched into the nineteenth century. In Africa along the Sahel and Sudan states like the Kingdom of Sennar and Fulani Empire employed Medieval tactics and weapons well after they had been supplanted in Europe.

Related Topics:
Antiquity - Military - Tactics - Cavalry - Artillery - Sahel - Sudan - Kingdom of Sennar - Fulani Empire

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Some of the military unit types and technologies which were used in the medieval period are:

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• Artillery
• Cataphract
• Condottieri
• Fyrd
• Horse archer
• Janissary
• Knight (see also: Chivalry)
• English Longbow
• Crossbow
• Pikeman
• Samurai
• Sipahi
• Fortification

Modern militaries

In modern times, war has migrated from an activity seeped in tradition to a scientific enterprise where success is valued above methods. The notion of total war is the extreme of this trend. Militaries have developed technological advances rivalling the scientific accomplishments of any other field of study.

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Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in modern times are:

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• Ammunition
• Armory
• Conscription
• Grenadier
• Sappers and Miners
• Marine
• Aviation
• Musketeer
• Rifleman
• Special Forces
• Naval Combatant
• Global Information Grid
• Active Electronically Scanned Array
• Network-centric warfare
• Supercomputer
• Space warfare
• Cyberwar