A warrior is a guardian specializing in

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

class Class, Classes, 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 d ...

, or

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

History

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

Yamnaya The Yamnaya ( ) or Yamna culture ( ), also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, is a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archaeological culture of the region between the Southern Bug, Dniester, and Ural rivers (the Pontic–C ...

warriors from the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian Steppe is a steppe extending across Eastern Europe to Central Asia, formed by the Caspian and Pontic steppes. It stretches from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the ''Pontus Euxinus'' of antiquity) to the northern a ...

played a key role during the

Indo-European migrations The Indo-European migrations are hypothesized migrations of Proto-Indo-Europeans, peoples who spoke Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and the derived Indo-European languages, which took place from around 4000 to 1000 BCE, ...

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,

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''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 a ...

spear A spear is a polearm 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 hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, 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 ...

s, and other edged weapons 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 ...

, 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. That 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 class who own the means of production in a given society and apply ...

. Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

s would depict themselves in war

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

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 a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

s would often feel contempt for the

foot soldier Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

s recruited from lower classes. In

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

n societies of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

America, the

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

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

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

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 and glory,

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

was a practical matter that could change the course of history. That was the approach of the

Roman legions The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 1 ...

, which had only the incentive of promotion, as well as a strict level of discipline. When Europe's standing armies of the 17th and the 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 a military or paramilitary Military organization, force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of Regular army, regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of nee ...

', many European societies during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

began to incorporate

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

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. That 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.e.g. Wong, Leonard,
Leave No Man Behind: Recovering America's Fallen Warriors
" ''Armed Forces & Society'', July 2005; vol. 31: pp. 599-622.; Bradley C.S. Watson,
The Western Ethical Tradition and the Morality of the Warrior
" ''Armed Forces & Society'', October 1999; vol. 26: pp. 55-72; Samet, Elizabeth D.,
Leaving No Warriors Behind: The Ancient Roots of a Modern Sensibility
" ''Armed Forces & Society'', July 2005; vol. 31: pp. 623-649; Miller, Laura L. and Charles Moskos,
Humanitarians or Warriors?: Race, Gender, and Combat Status in Operations Restore Hope
" ''Armed Forces & Society'', July 1995; vol. 21: pp. 615-637 File:Samurai and Ainu Fuzoku Ema.jpg,

Samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, 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, member of the

Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon (, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a Chivalric order#Monarchical or dynastical orders, monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of M ...

File:Ottoman Mamluk horseman circa 1550.jpg, Ottoman

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

warrior (circa 1550) File:Mounted Mongol warrior recreation.jpg, Recreation of a mounted warrior from the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, 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 Euro ...

. 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 c. 1895 File:Wells 0706 054.jpg, A recreation of Roman legionaries wearing the '' lorica segmentata'', 1st–3rd century

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 Warrior code Combat occupations Social classes Stock characters Jungian archetypes Gendered occupations Men's social titles

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links