Conscription
The Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi, who reigned from 1791 to 1750 BC, established a system called Ilkum. This ancient form of conscription required eligible men to serve in the royal army during times of war. During peace, these same individuals were obligated to provide labor for state projects instead. In exchange for this service, people subject to Ilkum gained the right to hold land supplied by the state. Records show that some individuals hired substitutes to avoid their duty, a practice outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi yet still practiced before and after its creation. Others simply left their towns to escape the obligation. Some sold their Ilkum lands along with the commitments attached to them, though this was forbidden except for specific exempted classes. The Roman Republic later developed the Dilectus system, which drew soldiers from the citizenry based on property qualifications. Medieval Europe introduced the arrière-ban, a general levy where all able-bodied males aged 15 to 60 could be summoned by the king or local lord. These levies included peasants, freemen commoners, and noblemen who brought their own weapons and armor according to their wealth. Bailiffs and sénéchals acted as military administrators installed by the king to govern provinces and enforce these commands. Men ranging from the richest noble to the poorest commoner had to present themselves to the king or his officials when called upon.
The Ottoman Empire created the Kapıkulu slave army under Sultan Murad I in the middle of the 14th century. This force relied heavily on the devşirme system, which drafted Christian boys from Balkan regions including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. These children were taken at a young age, subjected to forced circumcision, and converted to Islam before becoming slave-soldiers loyal only to the sultan. By 1609, the Sultan's Kapıkulu forces numbered approximately 100,000 men. The Mamluk institution began earlier with Turkic slave-soldiers known as ghulams created by Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim during the 820s and 830s. These non-Arab mercenaries held high-ranking military and administrative duties while serving Arab and Ottoman dynasties across the Muslim world. The Mamluk Sultanate controlled Egypt and Syria from 1250 until 1517, defeating Ilkhanate forces at the Battle of Ain Jalut and expelling Crusaders from the Levant by 1302. Barbary pirates captured between one million and 1.25 million Europeans as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries according to historian Robert Davis. These captives came from coastal villages in Spain and Portugal, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Iceland, and other Mediterranean locations. The Crimean Khanate maintained massive slave trade operations with the Ottoman Empire throughout this period, raiding Danubian Principalities, Poland-Lithuania, and Russia to enslave people they could capture. The Janissary Corps was finally abolished by Mahmud II in 1826 during the Auspicious Incident, where over 6,000 members were executed.
Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave his name to the Act passed on the 5th of September 1798, which declared that any Frenchman was a soldier owing himself to the defense of the nation. This legislation enabled Napoleon Bonaparte to create what he called the nation in arms, overwhelming European professional armies that often numbered only into the low tens of thousands. More than 2.6 million men were inducted into the French military through this system between 1800 and 1813. The Prussian Army suffered defeat against these massed forces, shocking an establishment that had believed itself invincible after victories under Frederick the Great. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the French conscription model for short-term compulsory service instead of long-term arrangements previously used. By 1914, Britain and the United States remained the only substantial armies still dependent entirely on voluntary enlistment. Russia introduced universal male conscription in 1874 following the abolition of serfdom in 1861. New military law decreed that all male Russian subjects reaching age 20 became eligible to serve six years in the military. Universal male conscription along broadly Prussian lines became the norm for European armies by the early 20th century.
During World War I, the Selective Service System drafted American men initially aged 21 to 30 before expanding eligibility to ages 18 to 45 in 1918. Nazi Germany termed its mobilization effort Volksturm and included boys as young as 16 alongside men up to age 60. Britain extended call-up procedures to age 51 during the Second World War. Both Britain and the Soviet Union conscripted women during global conflicts, though the United States abandoned plans to draft women into the Nurse Corps when Japan surrendered before invasion could occur. The Red Army conscripted nearly 30 million men during the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. Rioters attacked buildings during the New York anti-draft riots of 1863, demonstrating deep public resistance to compulsory service even within democratic nations. Young men registered for conscription in New York City on the 5th of June 1917, marking a pivotal moment in American military history. Ages of conscripts ranged much higher than usual when widespread mobilization required homefront defense roles requiring lesser mobility.
Norway became the first NATO member to legally require national service for both men and women starting in 2015. Sweden introduced female conscription in 2010 but only implemented it effectively from 2017 after reinstating compulsory service for both genders. Denmark extended conscription to women beginning in 2027 while bringing forward military service implementation to 2025 under a gender-neutral model. Israel maintains universal female conscription with approximately equal percentages of female and male conscripts serving since the founding of the IDF. Eight countries including China, Eritrea, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Peru, Taiwan, and others conscripted women into military service by 2006. In the United Kingdom during World War II, women were brought into conscription scope starting in 1941 though most served in factories rather than combat roles. The Soviet Union never formally conscripted women for armed forces but attracted many volunteers for The Great Patriotic War due to severe disruption of normal life following German invasion. Military doctors of both sexes could be conscripted as officers within the Soviet system. The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps before Japan surrendered.
Sweden's military excluded people with autism and ADHD until making exceptions possible for mild ADHD cases meeting specific criteria in recent years. Erik Fenn, an autistic man who won a discrimination lawsuit in 2024, became eligible for conscription after being initially denied service. Denmark classifies individuals with autism as unfit for military service while allowing Asperger's syndrome exceptions if applicants prove just cause for service. Norway lists autism alongside conditions like Down syndrome on questionnaires, potentially excluding even those with mild forms from service. Israel generally exempts autistic people from military duty but has allowed volunteering since 2008 through programs called Titkadmu and Ro'im Rachok. Finland shifted policy over time to include autistic men as eligible candidates during the 2010s according to a 2019 Finnish military news report. Ukraine considers moderate autism spectrum disorder individuals eligible for conscription though assigning them to non-combat roles rather than front-line positions. South Korea classifies autism as Grade 4 exempting active-duty service but requiring reserve duty participation. Before 2018 most autistic individuals in South Korea served on active duty instead of reserves. Turkey officially exempts autistic people from conscription yet families face difficult administrative procedures and multiple medical examinations proving diagnosis.
On the 30th of July 1993, explicit clarification of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 appeared in United Nations Human Rights Committee general comment 22 regarding conscientious objectors. Sweden allows objectors to choose weapons-free civil defense service while Austria requires nine-month community service for those refusing six-month basic training. Members of historic peace churches remain pacifist by doctrine while Jehovah's Witnesses refuse armed forces participation believing Christians should stay neutral in international conflicts. Any Finnish male citizen facing refusal to perform both military and civilian service risks 173 days in prison minus any served days under Conscription Act provisions. Total objection resulting in refusal from alternative civilian service carries up to four months jailtime according to Danish law though one man received only 14 days home arrest after signing up then objecting later. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld constitutionality of draft acts in Arver v. United States on the 7th of January 1918 despite challenges from radicals including Emma Goldman arguing violation of Thirteenth Amendment prohibitions against slavery. Ronald Paul called conscription wrongly associated with patriotism representing actual slavery and involuntary servitude instead. Ayn Rand opposed the practice calling it worst statist violation of individual rights establishing fundamental principle that state may claim man's life by compelling sacrifice in battle.
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Common questions
What was the Ilkum system under Hammurabi?
The Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi established a system called Ilkum that required eligible men to serve in the royal army during times of war. During peace, these same individuals were obligated to provide labor for state projects instead. In exchange for this service, people subject to Ilkum gained the right to hold land supplied by the state.
When did the Ottoman Empire create the Kapıkulu slave army?
The Ottoman Empire created the Kapıkulu slave army under Sultan Murad I in the middle of the 14th century. This force relied heavily on the devşirme system which drafted Christian boys from Balkan regions including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. By 1609, the Sultan's Kapıkulu forces numbered approximately 100,000 men.
How many men were inducted into the French military through the Jourdan Law between 1800 and 1813?
More than 2.6 million men were inducted into the French military through the Jourdan Law system between 1800 and 1813. Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave his name to the Act passed on the 5th of September 1798 which declared that any Frenchman was a soldier owing himself to the defense of the nation. This legislation enabled Napoleon Bonaparte to create what he called the nation in arms.
Which countries conscripted women during World War II?
Both Britain and the Soviet Union conscripted women during global conflicts though the United States abandoned plans to draft women into the Nurse Corps when Japan surrendered before invasion could occur. In the United Kingdom during World War II, women were brought into conscription scope starting in 1941 though most served in factories rather than combat roles. The Red Army conscripted nearly 30 million men during the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany.
When did Norway become the first NATO member to legally require national service for both men and women?
Norway became the first NATO member to legally require national service for both men and women starting in 2015. Sweden introduced female conscription in 2010 but only implemented it effectively from 2017 after reinstating compulsory service for both genders. Denmark extended conscription to women beginning in 2027 while bringing forward military service implementation to 2025 under a gender-neutral model.