Humans have been at war with each other for virtually all of history. At least one armed conflict has raged for more than 90% of the 3,400 years for which there are records. War is believed to have claimed as many as 1 billion lives all time.
Many of these deaths occurred during enormous, globe-spanning wars between rival kingdoms or even entire continents. As populations grew and technology improved, the scope and destruction of war increased. From as far back as the third century all the way to the 21st century, there have been more than 20 wars that killed over 1 million people.
To determine the wars in which over 1 million people died, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed historical accounts of the largest military engagements in world history using sources such as the Historical Atlas of the 20th Century, History Collection, and Encyclopedia Britannica. We included major military engagements in which at least 1 million people were killed primarily in battle. For many of these wars, particularly earlier ones, many of the death counts are estimates. Mass casualty events like genocides were also not considered. Wars are listed in chronological order.
History has seen many conflicts that spanned generations, like the Punic Wars or the Crusades. Though these conflicts featured the same groups and nations going to battle, the wars stopped and started multiple times. In these and other cases, over 1 million combatants died throughout the courses of these conflicts but not in any single war, so they were not included. (These are the 20 longest wars in history.)
War can be messy, and it can be difficult to get an accurate count of how many people died in a given conflict or the actual causes of death. In addition to violence, war can kill via starvation or lack of other basic necessities like shelter and health care. The death tolls listed are estimates, and may include many non-combatants who died as a result of the conflicts.
Civilians have often suffered the most during armed conflicts. Invading nations may have easily overpowered local forces before turning their weapons on non-combatants. As a result, civilians have been killed by the millions, maimed, and forced to leave their homes seeking safety. To this day, thousands of refugees flood into the U.S. each year, often fleeing violence in their home lands. This is where most refugees arriving in the U.S. come from.
Click here to see the wars in which over 1 million people died in battle
Source: Siewwy84 / iStock via Getty Images
1. Three Kingdoms War
> Est. deaths: 40,000,000
> Combatants: Wei, Shu, Wu
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 220-280
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
2. Moorish Wars
> Est. deaths: 5,000,000
> Combatants: Byzantine Empire, Moorish tribes
> Location (modern day): North Africa
> Date: 534-548
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
3. An Lushan Rebellion
> Est. deaths: 36,000,000
> Combatants: Yan Dynasty, Tang Dynasty
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 755-763
Source: Photos.com / Getty Images
4. Hundred Years’ War
> Est. deaths: 2,300,000-3,300,000
> Combatants: House of Valois, House of Plantagenet
> Location (modern day): Western Europe
> Date: 1337-1453
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
5. Conquests of Timur
> Est. deaths: 20,000,000
> Combatants: Timurid Empire, Various Asian countries
> Location (modern day): Eurasia
> Date: 1370-1405
6. Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
> Est. deaths: 8,400,000
> Combatants: Spanish Empire, Inca Empire
> Location (modern day): Peru
> Date: 1532-1572
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
7. Imjin War
> Est. deaths: 1,100,000
> Combatants: Japan, Korea
> Location (modern day): Korea
> Date: 1592-1598
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
8. Transition from Ming to Qing
> Est. deaths: 25,000,000
> Combatants: Qing Dynasty, Ming Dynasty
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 1618-1683
9. Thirty Years’ War
> Est. deaths: 80,00,000-11,500,000
> Combatants: Various European nations,
> Location (modern day): Europe
> Date: 1618-1648
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
10. Mughal-Maratha Wars
> Est. deaths: 5,000,000
> Combatants: Mughal Empire, Maratha Empire
> Location (modern day): Indian subcontinent
> Date: 1658-1707
Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
11. Napoleonic Wars
> Est. deaths: 3,500,000-7,000,000
> Combatants: French Empire, European Coalition
> Location (modern day): Worldwide
> Date: 1803-1815
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
12. Mfecane
> Est. deaths: 1,500,000
> Combatants: Zulu Kingdom, other African groups
> Location (modern day): Southern Africa
> Date: 1818-1840
Source: Henry Guttmann Collection / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
13. Taiping Rebellion
> Est. deaths: 20,000,000
> Combatants: Qing Dynasty, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 1850-1864
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
14. Dungan Revolt
> Est. deaths: 10,000,000
> Combatants: Qing Dynasty, Hui rebels, Kashgaria
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 1862-1877
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Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images
15. World War I
> Est. deaths: 15,000,000
> Combatants: Allied Powers, Central Powers
> Location (modern day): Worldwide
> Date: 1914-1918
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
16. Russian Civil War
> Est. deaths: 9,000,000
> Combatants: Red Army, White Army
> Location (modern day): Russia
> Date: 1917-1922
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
17. Chinese Civil War
> Est. deaths: 7,500,000
> Combatants: Republic of China, Communist Party of China
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 1927-1950
Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
18. Second Sino-Japanese War
> Est. deaths: 17,000,000-20,000,000
> Combatants: China, Japan
> Location (modern day): China
> Date: 1937-1945
Source: Hulton Archive / Archive Photos via Getty Images
19. World War II
> Est. deaths: 85,000,000
> Combatants: Allied Powers, Axis Powers
> Location (modern day): Worldwide
> Date: 1939-1945
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Source: Central Press / Archive Photos via Getty Images
20. Korean War
> Est. deaths: 2,500,000
> Combatants: North Korea and allies, South Korea and allies
> Location (modern day): Korea
> Date: 1950-1953
Source: Patrick Christain / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
21. Vietnam War
> Est. deaths: 4,000,000
> Combatants: South Vietnam and allies, North Vietnam and allies
> Location (modern day): Vietnam
> Date: 1955-1975
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22. Second Sudanese Civil War
> Est. deaths: 1,900,000
> Combatants: Sudan, South Sudan
> Location (modern day): Sudan
> Date: 1983-2005
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Source: Brent Stirton / Getty Images News via Getty Images
23. Second Congo War
> Est. deaths: 3,800,000
> Combatants: Democratic Republic of Congo, Various other countries and rebel groups
> Location (modern day): Central Africa
> Date: 1998-2003
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