War And Conflict In The Middle Ages: A Global Perspective, Morillo - Inc.

                      The topic is introduced by a review of three battles from the era. Al-Qadasiyyah in 638 took place in southern Iraq when Bedouin Arabs, newly Muslim, attacked a Persian army. "The Arab Islamic army saw itself as representing an egalitarian society without hereditary rulers; the Persian army saw itself as representing a hierarchical society... and its supporting aristocratic elite." The Arabs had no military history and the Persians a thousand years of success. The Persians outnumbered the Arabs by probably 3:1. The Arab archers wore them down and defeated them in a days long battle. Within four years, the new religion conquered the entire empire. At Xiangyang, the Mongols besieged a Chinese city during the years 1268-1273. The Chinese empire was the wealthiest, most powerful, and innovative entity on the planet. The Mongols were masters of offensive dexterity. It "was a meeting of giants..." The Mongols engaged in an unusual war of attrition against the fortified city. They built forts around the Xiangyang and isolated it. Kublai Khan accepted the city's surrender and proceeded to conquer the entire empire in three years. China was too big though, and within a century, the Mongols were replaced. Morat was fought on June 22, 1476 by Charles the Bold of Burgundy and the Swiss Confederation. Charles' army was international, combat effective, had all types of arms, and laid siege to the city. The almost-democratic Swiss infantry pikemen surprised them, forced them into retreat, and killed 10,000 with minimal casualties on their part. Within a year, Charles was dead and Burgundy no longer an independent entity. "Armed conflict was, ultimately, a central form of communication and negotiation through which medieval people defined themselves and their world..." War and conflict were "a process...that contributed to the formation of a global Middle Ages."

                      Physical constraints imposed "universal patterns on the conduct of war and conflict." War was restricted "to geographic areas within striking distance of grain-growing communities." Similarly, societies were organized around the elites ability to control the food supply and the broader based society. It was the organized states that were able to fight wars.

                      To some extent this is fascinating and intriguing, but it is too academic for me.