A Global History of War: From Assyria to the Twenty-First CenturyWhile many books examine specific wars, few study the history of war worldwide and from an evolutionary perspective. A Global History of War is one of the first works to focus not on the impact of war on civilizations, but rather on how civilizations impact the art and execution of war. World-renowned scholar GŽrard Chaliand concentrates on the peoples and cultures who have determined how war is conducted and reveals the lasting historical consequences of combat, offering a unique picture of the major geopolitical and civilizational clashes that have rocked our common history and made us who we are today. ChaliandŐs questions provoke a new understanding of the development of armed conflict. How did the foremost non-European empires rise and fall? What critical role did the nomads of the Eurasian steppes and their descendants play? Chaliand illuminates the military cultures and martial traditions of the great Eurasian empires, including Turkey, China, Iran, and Mongolia. Based on fifteen years of research, this book provides a novel military and strategic perspective on the crises and conflicts that have shaped the current world order. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
War and History | 4 |
The Assyrians | 48 |
The Assyrian Empire 1200612 B C E | 49 |
The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire | 55 |
The Eastern Roman Empire 5271025 C E | 56 |
The Arabs | 100 |
The expansion of Islam 622750 C E | 101 |
The Ottoman Empire fourteenthseventeenth centuries | 159 |
Safavid Persia | 170 |
Safavid Persia 15121720 | 171 |
The Ming and Chinese PoliticoMilitary Traditions | 176 |
Ming China 13681644 | 177 |
The Manchu and the End of the Nomads | 185 |
The Mughals and Islam in India | 187 |
The Delhi Sultanate 12111330 | 188 |
The Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes | 108 |
Conquests of the nomads of the Eurasian steppes fifth seventeenth centuries | 109 |
The Seljuks the Mamluks and the Crusades | 127 |
The Seljuk Empire at its apogee ca 1090 | 128 |
Ottomans and Mamluks ca 1470 | 133 |
The Mongol Empire | 141 |
The Mongol Empire thirteenth century | 143 |
Timur the Lame | 151 |
Timurs Empire 13701405 | 154 |
The Ottomans | 156 |
Mughal India 15421605 | 190 |
Russia and the End of the Tatars | 193 |
Russian expansion to the east and south in the sixteenth century | 194 |
The Ascent of Europe | 200 |
Spanish conquests in America in the sixteenth century | 201 |
The Time of Revolutions | 212 |
Guerrilla Warfare | 225 |
From Total War to Asymmetrical Conflict | 244 |
| 259 | |
Other editions - View all
A Global History of War: From Assyria to the Twenty-First Century Gérard Chaliand Limited preview - 2014 |
A Global History of War: From Assyria to the Twenty-First Century Gérard Chaliand Limited preview - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
adversary Afghanistan Africa Ak Koyunlu alliance allied ambush Anatolia Arab Armenian army Assyrian attack Avars Balkans battle became Bulgarians Byzantine Empire caliph campaigns cannons captured cavalry Central Asia century B.C.E. China Chinese Christian colonial command confront conquered conquest Constantinople Crimea crusaders defeated domination dynasty east eastern Eastern Roman Empire Egypt elites emperor enemy Europe European expansion fighting flanks forces fought French Genghis Göktürks guerrilla horses Hungarians Huns India infantry Iraq Islam Khan khanate Khazars king Kipchak Koyunlu Mamluks Manchu military Ming mobility Mongol Empire Mongols mounted archers movement Mughal Muslims nomads northern occupied Ottoman Empire Pechenegs Persian political population raids region religious remained retreat River Roman Empire Russian Safavids Sassanid Scythians Seljuk Shah siege sixteenth century soldiers steppes strategy Subutai sultan Syria Tatars tenth century themata thousand Timur Transoxiana troops Turks United victory wars Western Xiongnu