The Causes of War: Volume 1: 3000 BCE to 1000 CE

This is the first volume of a projected four-volume series charting the causes of war from 3000 BCE to the present day, written by a leading international lawyer, and using as its principal materials the documentary history of international law largely in the form of treaties and the negotiations which led up to them. These volumes seek to show why millions of people, over thousands of years, slayed each other. In departing from the various theories put forward by historians, anthropologists and psychologists, Gillespie offers a different taxonomy of the causes of war, focusing on the broader settings of politics, religion, migrations and empire-building. These four contexts were dominant and often overlapping justifications for the first four thousand years of human civilisation, for which written records exist.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 1. The Conversation on Sunday Afternoon 2. Utopia 3. Facts 4. Casus Belli in Practice II. Empires 1. Introduction 2. The Formation of Empires 3. The Middle East 4. Greece 5. Rome 6. The Formation of Modern Europe 7. Conclusion III. Migratory Peoples Introduction Egypt India China Rome Further Migratory Peoples in the West to 1000 Byzantium Northern Europe Conclusion IV. Politics Introduction The Near East, Egypt, China and India The Greeks and the Wars for Freedom Rome and the Political Question The Contribution of Christianity The Christian Emperors of the Roman Empire The Return to Monarchy in the West Islam and the Political Question Conclusion V. Religion Introduction Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Israel and Persia China and India Greece and Rome Christianity Orthodoxy, Heresy and Intolerance The Rise of the Papacy and the East–West Tension The Religious Question between Rome and Persia Islam Islam and Christianity in the East Islam and Christianity in the West Conclusion VI. Conclusion

About the Author :
Alexander Gillespie is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Professor of Law at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Review :
Review of A History of the Laws of War and The Causes of War, Volume 1 …unique and of unquestionable relevance… both works are appreciable for the impressive quantity of the historical and legally pertinent materials gathered by the author. This is useful from the perspective of understanding the background of today’s rules on the recourse to armed force and international humanitarian law. The marshalling of 4000 years of human history into a single analytical whole is quite remarkable. It is satisfying to complete reading the book and absorb this sense of perspective. The analysis is also effective. The four themes identified – empires, migratory peoples, politics and religion – all underlain by a desire for wealth, is persuasive…The Causes of War raises many more issues and questions than can be dealt with here. It has made a deep impression on the writer of this review. It raises profound questions about whether humanity is now more able to avoid the calamity of war and why or why not. The remaining three volumes are awaited with anticipation. The scourge of war never ends. If we are ever to be rid of it we need to understand the warlike history of homo sapiens. Professor Gillespie in his unique work tells us what we need to know. Will we heed it?