The Swiss historian Jean Jacques Babel has estimated that the 5500 years or so of recorded history have witnessed a meagre total of 292 years of peace, and few of those were ever so storied as the years of conflict. This encyclopaedia describes not only the military aspect of wars - such as the causes of conflict, enumeration of battles, a summary of the outcome - but also the social and political context in which the wars occurred. In three volumes containing more that 2000 A-to-Z entries, it covers every major war, rebellion and revolution from 3500 BCE to the present. Each entry begins with an at-a-glance look at the war in question, including a list of belligerents; a statement of the causes of the war; the date of its declaration (if any); the numbers (where known) of those under arms and the casualties they suffered; a summary of the outcome; and (where appropriate) the names and dates of the treaties or documents ending the conflict. A narrative discussion of the war follows, examining its social context, the major battles and events of the war and its wider significance. Each entry concludes with a list of further readings and a general bibliography of major texts on war appears in the final volume. Numerous cross-references, a chronology and 60 maps should make the encyclopaedia highly accessible.