Which Country Has the Oldest Standing Army in the World

Military history claims have gotten complicated with all the national pride and incomplete records flying around. As someone who’s spent years studying the evolution of armed forces across civilizations, I learned everything there is to know about which military institutions can legitimately claim the longest continuous existence. Today, I will share it all with you.

The answer depends heavily on what you mean by “oldest army.” Ancient armies were often citizen militias or temporary levies rather than permanent professional forces. If you want continuous institutional existence, the picture changes significantly.

Ancient Claimants

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Mesopotamian city-states fielded organized military forces around 3000 BCE – the Sumerians of Lagash have the earliest documented armies. Egyptian pharaohs maintained military establishments from roughly 3400 BCE. But neither of these represents continuous institutional existence. These ancient forces rose and fell with their empires, lacking the unbroken organizational lineage modern armies possess.

The Roman Legion Legacy

Roman legions from 753 BCE onward created templates for professional military organization that influenced everything that came after. But Roman military institutions didn’t survive the empire’s collapse in continuous form. What followed in medieval Europe were feudal arrangements quite different from Roman practice. That’s what makes “oldest army” claims so tricky – you need institutional continuity, not just historical precedent.

Chinese Military Tradition

China presents an interesting case. Military forces existed from the Shang Dynasty around 1600 BCE, and China has maintained armies continuously since then. But dynastic changes often meant complete reorganization of military institutions. The People’s Liberation Army dates only to 1927, while earlier imperial armies had their own distinct organizational structures.

Modern Continuous Armies

If you want truly continuous institutional existence, the Swedish Army is often cited as a strong contender, with organizational continuity traceable to the 16th century. The Vatican’s Swiss Guard, established in 1506, represents an even older continuously existing military unit. The British Army dates its formation to 1660, though English military traditions extend much further back.

The Complexity of Claims

Ancient armies like those of Persia under the Achaemenids or India’s Mauryan Empire were massive and sophisticated for their era. But neither maintained continuous institutional existence through to the present day. The same applies to Greek and Roman forces – enormously influential historically, but not representing unbroken organizational lines.

Answering “oldest army” requires defining your terms carefully. Oldest concept of organized military force? That’s probably Mesopotamian. Longest continuous institutional existence? That’s debatable among several European and Asian candidates. What’s undeniable is that every modern army draws on traditions and organizational concepts developed over millennia of military evolution.