While 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 Girard 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.

Table of Contents

• List of maps
• Foreword by R. Bin Wong
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1. Overview: War and History
• 2. The First Military Empire: The Assyrians
• 3. The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire
• 4. The Arabs
• 5. The Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes
• 6. The Seljuks, the Mamluks, and the Crusades
• 7. The Mongol Empire
• 8. Timur the Lame
• 9. The Ottomans
• 10. Safavid Persia
• 11. The Ming and Chinese Politico-Military Traditions
• 12. The Manchu and the End of the Nomads
• 13. The Mughals and Islam in India
• 14. Russia and the End of the Tatars
• 15. The Ascent of Europe
• 16. The Time of Revolutions
• 17. Guerrilla Warfare
• 18. From Total War to Asymmetrical Conflict
• 19. Conclusion
• Select Bibliography