A warrior is a person specializing in

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

fare, especially within the context of a

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior

aristocracies Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

, or

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

History

Warriors seem to have been present in the earliest pre-state societies. Scholars have argued that horse-riding

Yamnaya The Yamnaya culture or the Yamna culture (russian: Ямная культура, ua, Ямна культура lit. 'culture of pits'), also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, was a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archa ...

warriors from the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, formed by the Caspian steppe and the Pontic steppe, is the steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity) to the northern area around the Caspian Sea. It extends ...

played a key role during the

Indo-European migrations The Indo-European migrations were hypothesized migrations of Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) speakers, and subsequent migrations of people speaking derived Indo-European languages, which took place approx. 4000 to 1000 BCE, potentially expla ...

and the diffusion of Indo-European languages across Eurasia. Most of the basic weapons used by warriors appeared before the rise of most hierarchical systems.

Bows and arrows The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common t ...

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

s, and other

edged weapon An edged weapon, or bladed weapon, is a melee weapon with a cutting edge. Bladed weapons include swords, daggers, knives, and bayonets. Edged weapons are used to cut, hack, or slash; some edged weapons (such as many kinds of swords) may also permit ...

s were in widespread use. However, with the new findings of

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

, the aforementioned weapons had grown in effectiveness. When the first hierarchical systems evolved 5000 years ago, the gap between the rulers and the ruled had increased. Making war to extend the outreach of their territories, rulers often forced men from lower orders of society into the military role. This had been the first use of professional soldiers —a distinct difference from the warrior communities. The warrior ethic in many societies later became the preserve of the

ruling class In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by exten ...

. Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

s would depict themselves in war

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

s, shooting at enemies, or smashing others with clubs. Fighting was considered a prestigious activity, but only when associated with status and power. European mounted

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s would often feel contempt for the

foot soldier Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

s recruited from lower classes. In

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

n societies of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

America, the

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

aristocratic soldiers remained separated from the lower classes of stone-throwers. The

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of Japan from the 12th to the late 19th century. In contrast to the beliefs of the caste and clan-based warrior, who saw war as a place to attain

valor Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor (band), a Christian gospel music group * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ' ...

and glory,

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

was a practical matter that could change the course of history. History always showed that men of lower orders would almost always outfight warrior elites through an individualistic and humble approach to war, provided that they were practically organized and equipped. This was the approach of the

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

s who had only the incentive of promotion, as well as a strict level of discipline. When Europe's

standing armies A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or na ...

of the 17th and 18th centuries developed, discipline was at the core of their training. Officers had the role of transforming men that they viewed as lower class to become reliable fighting men. Inspired by the Ancient Greek ideals of the '

citizen soldier A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

', many European societies during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

began to incorporate

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and raise armies from the general populace. A change in attitude was noted as well, as officers were told to treat their soldiers with moderation and respect. For example, men who fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

often elected their own officers. With the mobilization of citizens in the armies sometimes reaching the millions, societies often made efforts in order to maintain or revive the warrior spirit. This trend continues to the modern day. Due to the heroic connotations of the term "warrior", this metaphor is especially popular in publications advocating or recruiting for a country's military. File:Samurai and Ainu Fuzoku Ema.jpg,

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, member of the Japanese warrior caste File:Andrea_del_Castagno_-_Pippo_Spano,_Niccolò_Acciaiuoli,_Francesco_Petrarca_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, 14th century knight

Pippo Spano }, bg, Филип Маджарин). Annotations ). References Sources * * * External links {{Authority control 1369 births 1426 deaths Nobility from Florence 14th-century Hungarian people 15th-century Hungarian people 14th-centur ...

, member of the

Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon ( la, Societas Draconistarum, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of Many Faces''. pp. 40–2. ...

File:Mounted Mongol warrior recreation.jpg, Recreation of a mounted warrior from the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. File:"Clay-daubed Ngoni Warrior, Livingstonia" Malawi, ca.1895 (imp-cswc-GB-237-CSWC47-LS3-1-013).jpg, Photograph of a Ngoni warrior with

nguni shield A Nguni shield is a traditional, pointed oval-shaped, ox or cowhide shield which is used by various ethnic groups among the Nguni people of southern Africa. Currently it is used by diviners or for ceremonial and symbolic purposes, and many are pro ...

c. 1895 File:Wells 0706 054.jpg, A recreation of

Roman legionaries The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of t ...

wearing the ''

lorica segmentata The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'' (see §Name), is a type of personal armour that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of metal strips fashioned into circular bands, fastened to internal leather strap ...

'', 1st–3rd century

Warrior communities

Akinji Akinji or akindji ( ota, آقنجى, aḳıncı, lit=raider, ; plural: ''akıncılar'') were irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorpo ...

Ahir Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

Al-Haras The haras ( ar, الحرس; "the Guard") was a personal bodyguard unit of the caliphs during the Umayyads and the Abbasids. The haras was also instituted in the Emirate of Córdoba in present-day Spain. Origin Muhammad era The Haras were dep ...

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

Armatoloi The armatoles ( el, αρματολοί, armatoloi; sq, armatolë; rup, armatoli; bs, armatoli), or armatole in singular ( el, αρματολός, armatolos; sq, armatol; rup, armatol; bs, armatola), were Christian irregular soldiers, or mi ...

Ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various ...

Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

Aswaran The Aswārān (singular aswār), also spelled Asbārān and Savaran, was a cavalry force that formed the backbone of the Military of the Sasanian Empire, army of the Sasanian Empire. They were provided by the aristocracy, were heavily armored, a ...

* Batavi *

Berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers ...

Bogatyr A bogatyr ( rus, богатырь, p=bəɡɐˈtɨrʲ, a=Ru-богатырь.ogg) or vityaz ( rus, витязь, p=ˈvʲitʲɪsʲ) is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant. Bogatyrs appear ma ...

* Boxers *

Boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage. It can also refer to: * Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921 * Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...

Cataphract A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or "co ...

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

Comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lor ...

Condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

* Crusader * Curetes *

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

Dahomey Amazons The Dahomey Mino (Fon language, Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon people, Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today's Benin, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. The ...

Dog soldier The Dog Soldiers or Dog Men (Cheyenne: ''Hotamétaneo'o'') are historically one of six Cheyenne military societies. Beginning in the late 1830s, this society evolved into a separate, militaristic band that played a dominant role in Cheyenne re ...

Druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

Druzhina In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna ( Slovak and cz, družina; pl, drużyna; ; , ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called ''knyaz ...

Eagle warrior Eagle warriors or eagle knights (Classical Nahuatl: ''cuāuhtli'' (singular) or ''cuāuhmeh'' (plural)''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, frolink/ref>) were a special cl ...

Eso Ikoyi {{Short description, Aristrocratic attribute in Yoruba culture Eso Ikoyi (also appearing as Esho Ikoyi) is an aristocratic attribute amongst the Yoruba people which denotes an eminent warrior. It has been used as everything from a chieftaincy title ...

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu language, Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu people, Manchu households ...

Gabiniani The (in English: Gabinians) were 2000 Roman legionaries and 500 cavalrymen stationed in Egypt by the Roman general Aulus Gabinius after he had reinstated the Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes on the Egyptian throne in 55 BC. The soldiers were left ...

Gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from ga, gallóglaigh meaning foreign warriors) were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland between the mid 13t ...

Gargareans In Greek mythology, the Gargareans, or Gargarenses, ( el, Γαργαρείς ''Gargareis'') were an all-male tribe. They copulated with the Amazons annually in order to keep both tribes reproductive. Varying accounts suggest that they may have b ...

* Ghazi *

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

s *

Harii The Harii (West Germanic "warriors"Simek (2007:132).) were, according to 1st century CE Roman historian Tacitus, a Germanic people. In his work ''Germania'', Tacitus describes them as using black shields and painting their bodies ("nigra scuta, tinc ...

Hashashin The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins ( fa, حَشّاشین, Ḥaššāšīn, ) were a Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizārī Ismāʿīlī order and sect of Shia Islam, Shīʿa Islam that existed between 1090 and 1275 CE. During that time, the ...

Hersir A Hersir was a local Viking military commander of a ''hundred'' (a county subdivision) of about 100 men and owed allegiance to a jarl or king. They were also aspiring landowners, and, like the middle class in many feudal societies, supported the k ...

Herules The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Ancient Rome, Roman authors as one of several "Scythians, Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in t ...

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

* Highlander *

Hippeis ''Hippeis'' ( grc, ἱππεῖς, singular ἱππεύς, ''hippeus'') is a Greek term for cavalry. In ancient Athenian society, after the political reforms of Solon, the ''hippeus'' was the second highest of the four social classes. It was c ...

Hird The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also d ...

Hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Polis, city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with ...

Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

Housecarl A housecarl ( on, húskarl; oe, huscarl) was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conq ...

Hulubalang Hulubalang ( Jawi: هولوبالڠ) were the military nobility of the classical Malay kingdoms in Southeast Asia. In western sources, "''Hulubalang''" is roughly translated as "warlord", "commander", "general" or simply "warrior". An early literar ...

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...

Hwarang Hwarang, also known as Hwarang Corps, and Flowering Knights, were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula that lasted until the 10th century. There were educational institutions as well as social ...

Immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

* Zulu's

Impi is a Zulu word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from (large militarised homesteads). In English is often used to refer to a ...

Jaguar warrior Jaguar warriors or jaguar knights, ''ocēlōtl'' (singular) or ''ocēlōmeh'' (plural)''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, frolink/ref> were members of the Aztec military e ...

Sánchez-Murillo, R. (2012). La palabra universal. ''Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo.'' Retrieved September 5, 2012, fro
link
. *

Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

Jinyiwei The Embroidered Uniform Guard () was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial militar ...

Jund Under the early Caliphates, a ''jund'' ( ar, جند; plural ''ajnad'', اجناد) was a military division, which became applied to Arab military colonies in the conquered lands and, most notably, to the provinces into which Greater Syria (the L ...

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...

Karava Karava () is a Sinhalese speaking ethnic group of Sri Lanka, whose ancestors from ancient times migrated from the Coromandel coast, claiming lineage to the Kaurava royalty of the old Kingdom of Kuru in Northern India. The Tamil equivalent is Kar ...

Kassites The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

Kheshig Kheshig ( Mongolian: Khishig, Keshik, Khishigten for "favored", "blessed") were the imperial guard for Mongol royalty in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan and his wife Börte. Their primary purpose was to act as bodyguards ...

Kipchaks The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...

Klephts Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s *

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

* Kshetri *

Leidang The institution known as ''leiðangr'' (Old Norse), ''leidang'' (Norwegian), ''leding'' (Danish), ''ledung'' (Swedish), ''expeditio'' (Latin) or sometimes lething (English), was a form of conscription ( mass levy) to organize coastal fleets for seas ...

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees ( he, מַכַּבִּים, or , ; la, Machabaei or ; grc, Μακκαβαῖοι, ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. ...

* Macedonians *

Maharlika The ''Maharlika'' (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the ''Timawa'' of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, h ...

Mangudai The Mangghud, or Manghud ( mn, Мангуд, ''Mangud''), were a Mongol tribe of the Urud-Manghud federation. They established the Nogai Horde in the 14th century and the Manghit dynasty to rule the Emirate of Bukhara in 1785. They took the Isl ...

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

Maravar Maravar (also known as Maravan and Marava) are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title ''Thevar''. The ...

Maryannu Maryannu is an ancient word for the caste of chariot-mounted hereditary warrior nobility, which existed in many of the societies of the Middle East during the Bronze Age. The term is attested in the Amarna letters written by Haapi. Robert Drews ...

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach p ...

Moro People The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...

Medjay Medjay (also ''Medjai'', ''Mazoi'', ''Madjai'', ''Mejay'', Egyptian ''mḏꜣ.j'', a nisba of ''mḏꜣ'',) was a demonym used in various ways throughout ancient Egyptian history to refer initially to a nomadic group from Nubia and later as a gen ...

Mesedi The Mesedi was the personal bodyguard of the king of the Hittites. The Mesedi was led by the Gal mesedi, who held considerable prestige in Hittite society. The Mesedi were a unit of 12 spearmen who protected the king wherever he might go. They prob ...

Mingghan Mingghan was a social-military unit of 1,000 households created by Genghis Khan. From this group could be recruited a Mongol regiment of 1,000 men. It is part of the ancient method of organization developed by the nomads of Central Asia based on the ...

Mukkuvar Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala , Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, South Travancore Coast and Kanyakumari district, Tam ...

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...

Nakh peoples The Nakh peoples, also known as ''Vainakh peoples'' (Chechen/Ingush: , apparently derived from Chechen , Ingush "our people"; also Chechen-Ingush), are a group of Caucasian peoples identified by their use of the Nakh languages and other cult ...

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

Numerus Batavorum The Numerus Batavorum, also called the cohors Germanorum,Suetonius, ''Galba' Germani corporis custodes, Germani corpore custodes, Imperial German Bodyguard or Germanic bodyguard was a personal, imperial guards unit for the Roman emperors of the ...

Onna-musha ''Onna-musha'' (女武者) is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan. These women fought in battle alongside samurai men. They were members of the ''bushi'' (warrior) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons ...

Optimatoi The ''Optimatoi'' ( gr, Ὀπτιμάτοι, from la, Optimates, "the Best Men") were initially formed as an elite Byzantine military unit. In the mid-8th century, however, they were downgraded to a supply and logistics corps and assigned a provi ...

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Quilombo A ''quilombo'' (; from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were maroons, a term for e ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

* Red Lantern Sect *

Reddy Reddy (also transliterated as ''Raddi'', ''Reddi'', ''Reddiar'', ''Reddappa'', ''Reddy'') is a caste that originated in India, predominantly settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are classified as a forward caste. The origin of the ...

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Ror Ror is a caste found primarily in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the parts of Baiswara in Uttar Pradesh that are inhabited by Ror people, Rors along with groups such as the Chauhans and Tomars are associated with Delhi and its outskirts. Occu ...

Rus' people The Rusʹ (Old East Slavic: Рѹсь; Belarusian language, Belarusian, Russian language, Russian, Rusyn language, Rusyn, and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Русь; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki, Garðar''; Greek language, Greek: Ῥῶς, ''Rhos ...

Saini Saini () is a caste of North India who were traditionally landowners (zamindars) and farmers. Sainis claim to be descendants of a king, Shurasena, as well as of Krishna and Porus, and to be related to the ancient Shoorsaini clan,'' "The Sain ...

Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically no ...

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

Sengunthar Sengunthar (), also known as the Kaikolar and Senguntha Mudaliyar is a Tamil caste commonly found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and also in some other parts of South India and the neighboring country Sri Lanka. They were traditional weavers ...

* Shaolin *

Shieldmaiden A shield-maiden ( non, skjaldmær ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and Norse mythology, mythology. Shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' and in ''Gesta Danorum''. They also appear in ...

The article ''Sköldmö''
in ''

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' (1917). *

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

Sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli s ...

* Sohei *

Somatophylakes ''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon a ...

Spartan Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

Timawa The ''Timawa'' were the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines. They were regarded as higher than the ''uripon'' (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the ''Tumao'' (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hie ...

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

Thingmen The Thingmen was a unit in the service of the House of Denmark, Kings of England during the period 1013–1051, financed by direct taxation which had its origins in the tribute known as Danegeld. It consisted mostly of men of Scandinavia, Scandi ...

Triballi The Triballi ( grc, Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí, lat, Triballi) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron A ...

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

Uskoks The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a g ...

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...

Velir The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling an ...

Vellalar Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar are members of several ...

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' ( genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-ā ...

Voynuks Voynuks (sometimes called ''voynugans'' or ''voynegans'') were members of the privileged Ottoman military social class established in the 1370s or the 1380s. Voynuks were tax-exempt non-Muslim, usually Slavic, and also non-Slavic Vlach Ottoman ...

White Lotus Sect The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solac ...

References

Bibliography

* Ayvazyan A
"The Code of Honor of the Armenian Military (4-5th centuries)"
(2000). * Shannon E. French, ''Code of the Warrior - Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present'' (2003).

External links

Roman Warriors: The Myth of the Military Machine
{{Authority control Anthropology Combat occupations Social classes Social divisions Stock characters Warrior code Gendered occupations Men's social titles Western (genre) staples and terminology

History

Warrior communities

See also

References

Bibliography

External links