Europe does not claim distinction among the multitude of peoples of the world. Others rival it in size, culture, and prosperity. Its rise to imperial dominance around the end of the second millennium was spectacular and short-lived. Its diversity and military superiority, its dynamism and economic vitality, its scientific power and cultural creativity give it a special place in human history. Even today, in a period of relative decline, it remains a magnet for refugees, immigrants, scholars, and travelers from all over the world.

The word "Europe" emerged in the 6th century BC as a reference to the continental mass north of Greece. It never had agreed-upon borders. Initially, it was synonymous with the Roman Empire and later with Christianity, both of which extended beyond the limits of present-day Europe and included large parts of Asia and Africa. The eastern border has never been defined, but it is generally accepted to be marked by the Urals, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains. This includes European Russia but excludes Turkey east of the Bosporus, as well as Georgia.

Any brief history of this continent essentially concerns its politics, the struggle of people for power over the land. Hobbes declared that people are born into perpetual conflict. Whether this conflict needs to be violent remains an open question, but the history of Europe begins with those who were successful in battle, with the rulers, and not with those who were ruled. This is a narrative of power in a continent whose history, at least until recently, has been dominated by the practice of war, and, consequently, by the processes through which wars are prepared and conducted.