Military: Europe In 108 b.c.e the Chinese established their first Korean colony, the city of Lolang From Lolang, Chinese customs filtered through Korea, and it may be from the influence of the Chinese that Koreans developed disciplined armies, notable for their courage and their quick maneuverability The most advanced militaries in Southeast Asia before the medieval era were probably those of Nam Viet and Funan The Viets came from the area of the Yangtze River, from which some migrated to what is now northern Vietnam and southern China in 333 b.c.e In 207 b.c.e they were conquered by a Chinese general who created Nam Viet, meaning “Southern Viet.” It is possible its military was organized like the Chinese military Funan stretched from the Mekong Delta in South Vietnam to central Cambodia, from the 100s to mid 500s c.e It fought often with tribes in South Vietnam It had strong ties to India and probably followed Indian military customs Little is known about military affairs in Oceania before the emergence of a kingdom in Tonga in the medieval era EUROPE BY CARYN E NEUMANN In all societies of the ancient world the military played a critical role as the protector and shaper of political and cultural life While the importance of the military in ancient Europe is well known, little evidence of the military’s actual operation has survived the passage of time The preliterate societies of Europe did not leave written sources, and while the archaeological record provides evidence for warfare in the form of weapons and violent death, it does not reveal much about fighting organizations until relatively late in prehistory What is known is that prehistoric societies in Europe generally fought to dominate other groups and to compel their surrender of various forms of wealth Territorial control was probably not a basic issue, since beyond the level of the farmstead and village there was little sense of fi xed political or ethnic boundaries Most military actions probably involved raiding parties that were composed of individuals who were taking a leave from farming or craft production After doing their damage and carrying off their booty, they then returned to their normal pursuits During the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in northern and western Europe, around 2000 b.c.e., there is evidence of the emergence of a warrior aristocracy, an elite group of individuals who shared common values of fighting and ritual feasting and drinking The archer found buried at Amesbury near Stonehenge with his drinking cup and arrowheads may have been a member of this group, whose burials have been found throughout northwestern Europe Archaeologists are only beginning to understand the nature of this elite group and its role in Bronze Age society, and at this point it is unclear whether it controlled any significant numbers of specialist fighters There is more and more evidence during the Iron Age of the activity of organized raiding parties In coastal areas 731 these parties moved by boat, and the Hjortspring boat found loaded with shields and swords in Denmark is probably the remains of one such vessel In fact, it may have belonged to the losers in a confrontation that took place around 350 b.c.e., since the circumstances of this find suggest that it was a victory sacrifice Many bogs and lakes in northern Europe have yielded large numbers of weapons, some deliberately broken, that were deposited as offerings by victorious fighting groups When the Romans entered northern and western Europe, they encountered native armies whose organization and fighting styles were very different from theirs While the Greeks and Romans embraced a disciplined style of warfare, the ancient peoples of Europe continued to cling to fighting styles that had changed little since the Bronze Age Styles arose from beliefs and states of mind These styles became evident in the choice of dress, weaponry, and fighting technique One style involved berserk warriors These men, especially common among the Celts, threw off their clothing when entering a trance of recklessness that goaded them to awesome efforts Another style of fighting involved the imitation of ferocious animals European warriors, especially those from the Germanic nations, were entranced by the idea of changing into animals They sought to have the qualities of animals, such as ferocity, speed, stealth, and the ability to frighten an enemy Wolves were the most popular warrior model throughout Europe, though boars, bucks, martens, and horses were also common choices Bear warriors seem to be mostly Germanic, for few are known among the Celtic tribes Warriors who imitated animals were useful because, in ancient times, combat was often reduced to brutal hand-tohand fighting Warriors dressed as animals believed that they possessed the fighting abilities of those animals, whether wolves or tigers As a result of such fighting, there was constant pressure to recruit beyond the bounds of one’s own ethnic group or state in order to acquire the manpower needed to meet or exceed the enemy’s ranks of fighters The Goths are typical, in that the Goth army that crossed the lower Danube in 376 c.e consisted of several subethnic groups of Goths (including the Tervingi and Greuthungi) along with Huns and Alans When Romans fought civil wars, they often recruited so-called barbarians from along the frontier to attack rivals Alans, Goths, Huns, Iberians, and Isaurians were all recruited on a large scale by the Romans The fighting in ancient Europe did not spare civilian populations Many of the military attacks were simply massacres of people in villages and rural farmsteads for the purpose of terrorizing civilian populations Rape was part of these attacks In an era when soldiers did not receive regular pay, soldiers were often recruited with the promise of plunder—including sexual plunder—as their reward Th is form of payment was nonetheless regulated because uncontrolled pillage meant, in effect, that the control of the army had been lost Rape had military value because it wounded the honor of