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Each Page is Human-Drawn

The Codex of Military History: Weapons, Warriors, Strategy

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Sale price€106,95 Regular price€168,95

The Codex is a 328+ pages hand-drawn encyclopedia of warfare by Ukrainian artists in a Da Vinci–inspired style, from ancient blades to the future of war.

Note:

USA, UK & Asia: In stock. Delivered in 3–8 business days.

All other locations: Pre-order. Your copy ships in the first wave when stock arrives at your local warehouse.

The Codex of Military History: Weapons, Warriors, Strategy
The Codex of Military History: Weapons, Warriors, Strategy Sale price€106,95 Regular price€168,95
5,500+ Copies Delivered in 50 countries
2025 Funded on Kickstarter
5.0 ★★★★★ 100+ verified reviews

Inside The Codex of Military History

328 pages of hand-drawn military history.

This is not a book about glorifying war. It is a book about understanding it — illustrated by hand, page by page, by 12+ Ukrainian artists who know what conflict costs.

War Camel

War Camel

How desert armies turned an animal into a weapon. Every piece of equipment — howdah, saddle, armor — illustrated in cross-section.

Napoleonic Battles

Napoleonic Battles

A full illustrated map of Napoleon's campaigns across Europe, with troop movements, battle outcomes, and the rise and fall of an empire.

Testudo Formation

Testudo Formation

The Roman tactic that made infantry nearly invincible. Every shield position, soldier role, and weak point explained in the Da Vinci tradition.

M16 vs AK-47

M16 vs AK-47

The two rifles that defined the Cold War, stripped to their mechanisms and compared side by side — ballistics, operation, and battlefield legacy.

General George Patton

General George Patton

The supreme American master of mechanized warfare. His doctrine, his weapons, his dogs, and the irony of his end — all illustrated.

Aviation in WWII

Aviation in WWII

Spitfires, Messerschmitts, the B-17 Flying Fortress — the aircraft that decided World War II, exploded view by exploded view.

In the tradition of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks — each spread shows not just how wars were fought, but why they were won. The weapons. The strategies. The commanders whose decisions changed the course of history.

All of it illustrated by hand, era by era.

5.0 ★★★★ ★

✓ Verified Buyer

5.0 ★★★★ ★

"I bought this for my father, a military history obsessive who owns every book on the subject. He called me an hour after it arrived. He had never seen anything like it. That is the highest compliment I can give.""
Daniel J .United States

Six eras. 900+ Illustrations. Illustrated Military history.

This is not a list of battles. It is a chain of consequences.

IEarly Weapons

The first stone, the first blade, the first organized kill. How survival pressure turned human hands into weapons — and weapons into civilization.

IIEmpires at War

Roman legions. Egyptian chariots. Spartan phalanxes. The commanders who built empires on discipline, engineering, and the willingness to march further than anyone before them.

IIIMedieval Warfare

Knights, castles, crossbows, and siegecraft. Not a dark age — a brutal laboratory where armor, architecture, and tactics evolved faster than almost any era before or since.

IVThe Gunpowder Age

The cannon ended the castle. The musket ended the knight. Napoleon rewrote the rules of every army in Europe. Roughly 400 years that made the modern world.

VModern Weaponry

Trenches. Tanks. Aircraft. The atomic bomb. The 20th century not as a calendar of wars, but as a cascade of inventions that made each one more devastating than the last.

VIWar of Tomorrow

Drones, AI, exoskeletons, and cyber warfare. Treated with the same historical seriousness as the crossbow — because in 100 years, it will be.

The Codex content plan

The Masters of War

Great commanders featured

In The Codex of Military History, we feature some of history's greatest military minds — leaders, strategists, and inventors whose decisions shaped the art of war and the fate of civilizations.

Illustrated portraits of great inventors and thinkers featured in The Codex: Inventions of the Human Mind, including Avicenna, Archimedes, Isaac Newton, Galileo, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison

In The Codex of Military History, we've highlighted the commanders, strategists, and military inventors whose ideas changed how humanity fights — and how it survives:

  • Julius Caesar — Roman general and statesman whose mastery of siegecraft, logistics, and psychological command built the greatest empire of the ancient world.
  • Sun Tzu — Chinese strategist whose Art of War defined the principles of deception, terrain, and morale that still govern military thinking today.
  • Genghis Khan — founder of the Mongol Empire whose cavalry tactics, mobility, and shock warfare conquered more land than any commander in history.
  • Richard the Lionheart — English king renowned for his personal courage, battlefield leadership, and his role in the Crusades.
  • Joan of Arc — French commander who proved that morale and conviction could turn the tide of a war no army expected to win.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte — military genius who reinvented artillery, corps organization, and operational maneuver — and redrew the map of Europe.
  • Winston Churchill — wartime leader whose strategic will, coalition diplomacy, and refusal to capitulate defined Allied resistance in the darkest years of WWII.
  • Nikola Tesla — visionary inventor whose electrical innovations shaped both civilian infrastructure and speculative military technologies.
  • ... and many others!

I was impressed with "The Codex". It has far exceeded my expectations. This is truly the best book in its genre I have ever encountered. My husband and I received it last week and were immediately captivated. We absolutely love everything about it—the content, the illustrations, and the wonderful sense of humor. You've done an amazing job, and we honestly couldn't believe how fantastic it is.

I.S. - United States
I.S. - United States✓ Verified Buyer · Kickstarter Backer
  • Created by Ukrainian artists during wartime — people who understand what conflict truly costs.
  • Illustrated in a Da Vinci-inspired medieval style across 328+ hand-drawn pages.
  • Explore six eras of warfare — from the first blade to the future battlefield.
  • Filled with deep historical insight, rare facts, and the stories history class never told.
  • Perfect for lovers of military history, strategy, art, and the forces that shaped civilization.
  • Delivered in a gift box with a protective slipcase — ready to give, built to keep.
€106,95€168,95

Built for the curious minds in your family

Built for the history lover — and whoever sits next to them

The Codex of Military History is the kind of book a father opens for himself and a son never wants to put down. Its hand-drawn spreads make the mechanics of warfare — the formations, the weapons, the commanders — immediate and visceral in a way no textbook ever achieves. Not a lesson. A conversation.

"I bought this for myself. My kid picked it up the evening it arrived and we spent two hours going through the WWII aviation chapter together. They had questions I couldn't answer. That almost never happens with a book."

Robert K.— Canada✓ Verified Buyer
Everything included in the box

What arrives

Everything included in the box

  • Foil-stamped hardcover, 14 × 10 in. (25 × 35 cm), larger than A4
  • Protective collector’s slipcase included
  • Silver-gilded page edges
  • 328+ pages on 160gsm archival uncoated paper
  • Large-format book with 900+ hand-drawn illustrations
  • Arrives gift-ready

Created in Ukraine during wartime

12 Ukrainian artists. Funded on Kickstarter in 2024.

Rebel Thinkers was founded by three friends from Ukraine, Vlad Khvyshchuk, Nazar Ozhho, and Danylo Ozhho, united by a love of history, art, and beautifully made books.

In early 2024, the team was deep into the creation of The Codex when heavy russian strikes hit civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. The 12 illustrators, support specialist, and co-founders, working across Kyiv, Lviv, and smaller cities, faced a difficult choice: stop the project or keep going.

They kept going.

Some relocated. Some lost electricity for days at a time and continued working by candlelight and natural light. In the end, the project raised $508,241 from 5,327 backers on Kickstarter.

Every page in this book exists because they chose to keep creating, even in wartime.

★★★★★

It is one of the few books I would like my grandchildren to inherit as an ageless classic. A clear display of Ukrainian craftsmanship and entrepreneurship that I hope continues to inspire future generations.

Ben G.Spain✓ Verified Buyer
★★★★★

I would have rated it 6 out of 5 — but I'm limited to 5. Absolutely stunning. The book, the content, and the packaging are all incredible. From the moment you open the box to the first turn of a page.

Alec P.Germany✓ Verified Buyer

Perfect gift

The Codex arrives gift-ready

The Codex: Inventions of the Human Mind premium hardcover coffee table book given as a birthday gift for history lovers, inventors, engineers, and curious adults

For the history obsessive who already owns every book on the subject. For the strategy lover who wants to understand how the world actually works. For the curious mind who never got a satisfying answer about why civilizations rise and fall. Crafted to surprise, impress, and be kept for generations.

The illustrated history of everything that made the modern world.

Free 3-8 Days ShippingArrives Gift-Ready30-day Returns5.0 ★★★★★ from 100+ verified reviews
€106,95€168,95

FAQ

Is it genuinely informative, or mainly decorative?

Both by design, but informative first. Every illustration is created to explain — how the weapon worked, how the formation held, how the battle was won or lost. You can spend five minutes on a single spread or read it cover to cover.

What age is it suitable for?

It is made primarily for adults and older teenagers with an interest in history, strategy, and military art. Many parents find their children enjoy exploring it together with them. The content covers warfare honestly — not graphically, but seriously.

Is this a limited edition?

Yes. Our previous book sold out twice without warning. The current print run is available now in USA, Canada, UK and Asia.
For all other regions it is on Pre-order.

How long does delivery take?

USA and Canada: 1 to 7 business days
UK: 4-13 Days
Asia: 5-15 Days
Rest of world: Pre-Order.

All orders are fully tracked.

Is it really hand-drawn?

Yes. Every final illustration was created by one of 12 Ukrainian artists. No stock imagery and no AI-generated final artwork.

How are you using AI?

Only for brainstorming and early-stage sketch exploration. Every final illustration in the book is hand-drawn, and the finished creative work is entirely human.