Why European Militaries Were Far More Advanced Than Others

Short Answer: small warring states innovate more

From left to right: A Safavid Qizilbash cavalryman, a Mughal infantryman, an Ottoman Janissary (before 1657). Public Domain images. Click for podcast.

The Full Title of This Post:

The question I wanted to pose in the title of this post, but didn’t have enough space, was this:

Why did European militaries’ gunpowder technologies develop much faster and become far more advanced than Middle Eastern and Far Eastern military technologies?

Was it because…

1. gunpowder was invented in Europe in the early Middle Ages
2. most scientists lived in Europe and experimented with new technologies
3. Europeans fought frequent wars & had to constantly improve their weapons
4. European militaries have always been more technologically advanced

The Answer:

The answer is 3.

Asiatic empires were massive. So they were challenged less often and fought fewer wars. Consequently, they had less need to constantly improve their military technologies. But Europe was and is composed of many small states, which were frequently challenged in wars. Ergo, Europeans constantly improved their military technologies, which, over time, gave them huge advantages over the…