Military History Through 1651

This class surveys the military history of the Near Eastern and Western worlds from the beginnings of recorded history (~3100 BC) to the European Reformations (~AD 1651). The course is chronologically arranged and examines the spectrum of data between material and textual. It begins by studying human conflict in the ancient Near East. It then transitions to warfare in the classical world, from the Persian and Peloponnesian wars to Alexander’s Anabasis and Rome’s seemingly unstoppable legions. The course then traces the decentralized chaos of Late Antiquity and then the military ascendancy of Islam, which inspired the response of the Crusades. The course concludes with early modern warfare and the so-called “wars of religion.” Students will analyze the strategic, operational, and tactical objectives (or lack thereof) of the major campaigns. They will explore naval engagements, decisive land battles, siege warfare, subterfuge, and everything else on the periphery. Students will also examine the moral, religious, political, and economic factors that preceded battlefield encounters. Above all, this class follows the tragic, exciting, and unpredictable story of organized human violence.