Major era's of civilization as seen through Military:
Western:
1) Egyptians
2) Sumers
3) Hittites
4) Asyrians
5) Phonecians (naval warfare)
6) Greeks (land and sea, introduction of Phalanx)
7) Alexander's Army (Introduction of long spears)
8) Rome (Introduction of the Legion).
9) Germanic, Celtic peoples just cover the Tribes loosely.
10) Feudal war in Europe (Knights and peasant soldiers)
11) The Islamic Army.
12) Vikings//Norse (introduction of amphibious warfare).
13) 1600s - Cromwell and the English Civil War (Introduction of the Gun)
14) Brittish
15) USA 1776-present.
That's about as skimmed up as I can think of it for western society (this is fun
)
Eastern:
1) Indus River Valley (Soldiers faught only during the day)
2) China (and its myriad of dynasties)
3) Shaolin Monks (as you can see, not sure what order because not certain of dates).
4) Atilla the Hun (Introduced horseback riding from his homeland)
5) Japan (Samurai and their "Bushido")
6) Russian Red Army
7) Chinese Army.
Hmm poorer list but still, good estimate in my eyes
Americas:
1) Aztecs
2) Myans
3) Incas
4) Native Americans New England
5) Native Americans Mid-west and West.
Africa:
1) Age of Empires (900-1800 AD)
2) Zulu's (First attempts at using a sword in South Africa, by Shaka Zulu. 1800s AD ~Pretty sad when you think about it~)
And there's my list, because I'm a bit bored, but hopefully this will help you sift through points in history where militaries had a significant
change and the like.