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This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths that are either directly or indirectly caused by the war. These numbers usually include the deaths of military personnel which are the direct results of a battle or other military wartime actions, as well as the wartime/war-related deaths of civilians which are the results of war-induced epidemics, famines, atrocities, genocide, etc.
| width=170pt | War | data-sort-type="number" | Death range | data-sort-type="isoDate" width=95pt | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conquests of Cyrus the Great | 100,000+ | 549 BC–530 BC | Persian Empire vs. various states | Middle East | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Persian writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. | |||
| Greco–Persian Wars | 300,000+ | 499 BC–449 BC | Greek City-States vs. Persian Empire | Greece | ||||
| Chinese Warring States | 1,500,000+ | c. 475 BC – 221 BC | Seven great powers of China | China | Estimated at 1,500,000 before Qin's wars of unification[1] | |||
| Samnite Wars | 33,500+ | 343 BC–290 BC | Roman Republic vs. Samnites | Italy | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Roman writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. | |||
| Wars of Alexander the Great | 142,000+ | 336 BC–323 BC | Macedonian Empire and other Greek City-States vs. Persian Empire and various other states | Middle East / North Africa / Central Asia / India | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle during these wars recorded by Greek writers, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. | |||
| Punic Wars | 1,620,000–1,920,000+ | 264 BC–146 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Western Europe / North Africa | ||||
| First Punic War | 400,000+ | 264 BC–241 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Southern Europe / North Africa | Part of the Punic Wars | |||
| Qin's Wars of Unification | 700,000+ | 230 BC–221 BC | Qin state vs. Han, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Chu, Qi States | China | Part of Warring States period | |||
| Second Punic War | 770,000+ | 218 BC–201 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Western Europe / North Africa | [2] – Part of the Punic Wars | |||
| Third Punic War | 450,000–750,000+ | 149 BC–146 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Tunisia | Part of the Punic Wars | |||
| Cimbrian War | 410,000–650,000 | 113 BC–101 BC | Roman Republic vs. Cimbri and Teutones | Western Europe | Part of the Germanic Wars | |||
| Roman civil wars from Social War (91–87 BC) to War of Actium | 3,000,000+[3] | 91 BC– 30 BC | Roman civil wars | Europe/North Africa/Middle East | Fall of the Roman Republic | |||
| Gallic Wars | 1,000,000+ | 58 BC–50 BC | Roman Republic vs. Gallic tribes | France | ||||
| Iceni Revolt | 150,000+[4] | 60–61 | Roman Empire vs. Celtic tribes | England | Year is uncertain – Part of the Roman Conquest of Britain | |||
| Jewish–Roman Wars | 1,270,000–2,000,000[5] | 66–136 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East/North Africa | Deaths caused by Roman attempt to permanently root out Judaism included. | |||
| First Jewish–Roman War | 250,000–1,100,000 | 66–73 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East | – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars | |||
| Kitos War | 440,000+ | 115–117 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Southern Europe / North Africa | – Also known as the Second Jewish–Roman War – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars | |||
| Bar Kokhba Revolt | 580,000 | 132–136 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East | – Also known as the Third Jewish–Roman War – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars | |||
| Three Kingdoms War | 36,000,000–40,000,000 | 184–280 | Wei vs. Shu vs. Wu | China | [6] [7] – Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. See: End of the Han dynasty- Also, note that the death range provided is actually the amount the population declined according to the census data and is likely an overestimation of actual combat fatalities. | |||
| Yellow Turban Rebellion | 3,000,000–7,000,000 | 184–205 | Peasants vs. Eastern Han China | China | – Part of Three Kingdoms War | |||
| Wars of the Sixteen Kingdoms | 150,000+ | 304–439 | Northern Chinese States | Northern China | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded in this time period in battles between armies of the Sixteen Kingdoms, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. | |||
| Hunnic Reclaims | 165,000+ | 395–453 | Roman Empire vs. Hunnic Empire | Europe | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Roman writers during this time period; does not take into account civilian deaths; the actual number may be much greater. |
Note: the identity of a single "war" cannot be reliably given in some cases, and some "wars" can be taken to last over more than a human lifetime, e.g."Reconquista" (711–1492, 781 years)"Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent" (12th to 16th c., 500 years)"Crusades" (ten or more campaigns during the period 1095–1291, 196 years),"Mongol invasions and conquests" (1206–1368, 162 years),"early Muslim conquests" (622–750, 128 years),"Hundred Years' War" (1337–1453, 116 years).
| width=120 | War | data-sort-type="number" | Deaths range | data-sort-type="isoDate" width=65 | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab–Byzantine Wars | 2,000,000+ | 629–1050 | Byzantine Empire and allies vs. Islamic Empire and allies | Middle East / North Africa / Southern Europe | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. | |||
| Reconquista | 7,000,000 | 711–1492 | Spanish and Portuguese Christian states vs. Spanish and Portuguese Muslim states | Iberian Peninsula | [8] - Also known as the reconquest of Al-Andalus | |||
| Goguryeo–Sui War | 300,000+ | 598–614 | Sui dynasty China and Goguryeo Kingdom Korea | China, Korea | [9] | |||
| An Lushan Rebellion | 13,000,000–36,000,000 | 755–763 | Tang dynasty China and Islamic Empire vs. Yan state | China | [10] – Also known as the An–Shi Rebellion | |||
| Goryeo–Khitan Wars | 90,000+ | 993–1019 | Liao Empire vs. Goryeo Kingdom | Korea | [11] | |||
| Song–Đại Việt war | 600,000+ | 1075–1077 | Song Empire vs. Dai Viet Kingdom under Lý dynasty | China, Vietnam | [12] [13] | |||
| Crusades | 1,000,000–3,000,000 | 1095–1291 | Originally Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuq Empire, but evolved into Christians vs. Muslims. | Europe / Middle East ("Holy Land") | [14] | |||
| Albigensian Crusade | 200,000–1,000,000 | 1208–1229 | Papal States and France vs. Cathar States | France | [15] [16] – Also known as the Cathar Crusade– Part of the Crusades | |||
| Mongol invasions and conquests | 30,000,000–40,000,000 | 1206–1368 | Mongol Empire vs. Several Eurasian states | Eurasia | [17] [18] [19] – Excludes the (up to) 200,000,000 deaths from the Black Death migration that may have been associated with the Mongol expansion | |||
| Wars of Scottish Independence | 60,000–150,000 | 1296–1357 | Scotland vs. England | Scotland / England | ||||
| Hundred Years' War | 2,300,000–3,500,000 | 1337–1453 | House of Valois vs. House of Plantagenet | Western Europe | [20] | |||
| Conquests of Timur | 8,000,000–20,000,000 | 1370–1405 | Timurid Empire vs. several middle eastern states | Eurasia | [21] [22] | |||
| Wars of the Roses | 35,000–105,000 | 1455–1487 | House of Lancaster, House of Tudor, and allies vs. House of York and allies | England / Wales | [23] |
| width=150 | War | data-sort-type="number" width=150 | Deaths range | data-sort-type="isoDate" width=65 | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean War | 900,000–1,000,000 | 1470–1574 | Republic of Venice, Spain, Republic of Genoa, Papal States, Duchy of Savoy, and Order of Saint John vs. Ottoman Empire | Mediterranean | [24] | |||
| Italian Wars | 300,000–400,000 | 1494–1559 | Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and some Italian states vs. France, Ottoman Empire, and some Italian states | Southern Europe (primarily) | – Also known as the Great Wars of Italy | |||
| Spanish conquest of New Granada | 5,250,000+ | 1499–1540 | Spanish Empire vs. Colombian civilizations | Colombia | [25] |