Wars and battles accompany man from ancient times. Already primitive communities fought for hunting grounds, women, herds of animals, food supplies. They were killed with the name of the gods or a god on their lips, in defense of honor or the nation. Conflicts were also resolved through concessions and compromises. It is known, however, that emotions most often prevailed and arguments of force turned out to be the only solution.
It was no different in antiquity. It gave us reasons not only to admire the skills of architects, the wealth of literature, the beauty of statues, the acumen of philosophers and the ingenuity of inventors. Antiquity also means new ways of fighting, new weapons. It only increased the scale of the conflicts, thus giving rise to chroniclers about the masses of the dead and wading in blood up to the ankles.
The presented selection of the bloodiest battles of antiquity is highly subjective. Due to the lack of an excess of sources and many discrepancies in those that have survived to our times, unambiguous indication of the bloodiest clashes is very difficult, if even sometimes impossible.
So here are the top 10 ancient bloodbaths in chronological order:
1. Battle of Kadesh, c. 1280-1274 B.C.
The most famous battle in the history of the Ancient East, with an unspecified exact date to this day. The only reference to the dating is the fifth year of Pharaoh Ramesses II, and since there are disputes over the year of his accession to the rule, the problem with precisely defining its place on the timeline is ready.
Ramesses II at Kadesh
The powers of the world of that time - the Egypt of Ramses II and the Hittite empire of King Muwatalis II - clashed at Kadesh. The forces involved in the clash itself were perhaps not impressive, if compared with the struggles of later history. The young pharaoh had about 20,000 under his command. armed, and the Hittite king approx. 40 thousand. However, what definitely sets this clash apart is the use of a huge, if not the greatest number of chariots in history.
Almost 5,000 people traveled on the plain of Kadesh blood, spattered with blood, during two days of the struggle. combat vehicles. The battle itself, considered to be pending, most likely claimed the lives of about a dozen or so thousand Hittite warriors and almost all of the chariots (about 3,000). Pharaoh's losses were described as heavy in Egyptian sources.
2. Battle of Marathon, September 12, 490 B.C.
The most important of the battles of the first Persian invasion of Greece proper. It was the result of the retaliatory actions of the King of Persia Darius I against Athens and Eretria for involvement on the side of the rebellious Greek cities in Asia Minor (Ionian Uprising 499-494).
Two militarily different worlds clashed on the plain on the east coast of Attica. About 11 thousand Most of the heavily-armed Athenian and Plataean hoplites stood up against the more than twice as numerous, but usually less armed, Persian hosts - although some historians of that time saw as many as 200,000 there. Shah's Shah soldiers.
The Greeks, having strengthened their phalanx on the wings, in effect closed the Persian forces in a tightening circle of spears and shields. Those of the Persians who could, escaped towards the shore and the salutary decks of their own ships. Many of them, however, did not get there, dying under the blows of the hoplites pursuing them or drowning in the nearby swamps. The marathon struggle cost the Persians the lives of around 6,400 soldiers and the loss of 7 ships, while the Greeks lost only 192 Athenians and 11 Platoans.
3. Battle of Plataea, August 27, 479 BCE
One of the decisive battles of the Second Persian War. After their defeat at sea at the Battle of Salamis the year before, the Persians invaded Attica again. The leader of them, Mardonius, had at his disposal an army of up to 300,000, according to Herodotus. soldiers. Today's estimates, however, hover around 50-70 thousand. armed. The forces of the Greek coalition led by Pausanias numbered about 40,000. warriors, mostly hoplites. After three weeks of waiting in the field, the Persians attacked with cavalry, but were bloodily repulsed. The Greeks also launched a counterattack immediately.
The most famous and bloody battles took place during the Greco-Persian wars
The combat tactics and heavy weapons of the hoplites did their job. The Persian ranks were melting at an alarming rate. Mardonius himself was killed in the mad charge of his choice drive. The rest of the Persians, seeing this, fled the battlefield. The Greeks won a decisive victory, losing only about 1,500 fighters, which is over 40,000. the fallen soldiers of the king of kings makes this battle one of the bloodiest in the age of antiquity.
4. Battle of Gaugamela, October 1, 331 B.C.
The clash that sealed the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. Saving his state and honor after the defeats on the Granica and at Issos, the Persian king Darius III gathered an army of nearly 240,000 with 200 chariots and 15 war elephants. However, his carefulness in the face of the brilliant strategy and tactics of oblique formation used by the less numerous (approx. 50,000) forces of Alexander of Macedon was of no avail.
Alexander of Macedon is considered one of the best leaders of antiquity
During the fierce struggle of the Persian king, his nerves failed and he fled the battlefield. This completely wrecked the morale of the Persian forces, which were losing 40-90 thousand. armed men disintegrated. Sources agree that about 1,000 Macedonians died. And while this figure seems unlikely, it nevertheless suggests that Alexander's losses were many times lower than that of Darius.
5. Battle of Kalinga or Kalinga, possibly around 261 B.C.
One of the bloodiest and most important battles in Indian history. She was part of the so-called the Kalinga War between the Emperor of the Indian Empire, Asoka, and the local ruler of Kalinga (a land of great economic importance for the development of the Asoka state).
Based on various sources, the number of participants in the battle is estimated at 350,000 Not much is known about the course of the struggle, but probably 50-70 thousand lives on Ashoka's side. warriors, and from the ranks of the Kalingin troops even more than 100 thousand. soldiers. Legend also has it that the emperor, terrified of the bloody sacrifice made by the combatants, abandoned further conquests and converted to Buddhism.
6. Battle of Changping, April-July 260 BC
The decisive battle of the Warring States period in ancient China. The battles of this period were extremely bloody, the more so that the fighting states had armies of more than 1 million soldiers. However, what happened during the confrontation at Changping overshadows the clashes so far and later. Zhao Kuo, commanding over 400,000 Zhao soldiers divided their forces ordering one of them to attack enemy positions.
His adversary, General Bai Qi, seemed to be waiting for that. Although he had over half a million army of the Qin nations, he ordered a mock retreat maneuver. The attacking forces of General Zhao Kuo noticed in time that it was a trap. Their rear was hit by huge masses (about 30,000) of Bai Qi cavalry. Kuo was forced to hurriedly fortify his positions and desperately defend himself with no chance of a rescue. His units, which remained in their starting positions, found themselves in a similar situation. The bloody fights lasted 46 days.
Zhao himself was killed in the final attempt to break the lap. After his death, the rest of the army surrendered, but the worst was yet to come. The victorious Bai Qi ordered the execution of all survivors, except for the 240 youngest soldiers. They were to return home spreading fear of the terrible Qin army, which also suffered considerable losses - 250,000. soldiers.
7. Battle of Cannae, August 2, 216 B.C.
The greatest triumph of Carthage in the Second Punic War. However, there were many indications that the hitherto victorious armies of the Carthaginian ruler Hannibal would not have an easy crossing with the Romans. These, despite earlier failures, gathered in the fields of Apulia about 88 thousand. full of faith in the victory of soldiers under the joint command of two consuls Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paulus.
The Battle of Cannae was a real carnage
Hannibal's forces were twice as small, although no less determined. The battle was started by the Romans with a frontal attack that pushed the center of the Carthaginian forces, but at the same time dangerously stretched their own ranks to form an arc. At that time, however, Hannibal's cavalry, having smashed the Roman cavalry on the flanks, struck the legionnaires from behind. The surrounded Romans, who a moment earlier felt as masters of the battlefield, went to desperate defense. Their bravery was of no avail, however, and their successive ranks fell under the pressure of the tightening mass of men and horses. The dread of the situation was completed by the fact that Hannibal had forbidden the taking of prisoners before the battle. Not surprisingly, the real hecatomb is even 60,000. fallen legionnaires with relatively low losses of Hannibal (approx. 7,000).
8. Battle of Alesia, IX or X 52 B.C.
The decisive battle during the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. With approx. 50 thousand. Caesar's soldiers surrounded Alesia, the last stronghold of the Gauls, with a double siege ring. The inner belt was to defend the Romans against the attacks of the 90,000 men of Alesia, and the outer belt against the Gallic relief, which also soon arrived in the strength of up to 250,000. fighters. Such a terrible disproportion was reduced by the training and equipment of legionnaires and intricate fortifications with numerous towers, palisades and pits with sharpened piles and water.
Vercingetorix Monument in the vicinity of the battle
After a few days of Gallic attacks on Roman positions, there was finally a coordinated attack from the fortress, aided by 60,000. survivors of warriors. The Gauls even managed to penetrate deep into Caesar's fortifications, but this was their only and last success. The legionaries repulsed the attack and went on to counterattack themselves. It is true that the brave but undisciplined units of the Gauls could not withstand this. Taking huge losses, reaching 40-250 thousand. they fell into disarray, and their leader Vercingetorix, saving the captives, surrendered himself to Roman captivity. Caesar's forces were reduced by approx. 13 thousand. soldiers.
9. Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, IX 9 CE
A three-day struggle of the Germanic tribes led by Arminius with the Roman legions of Publius Quintilius Varus. The inept and plundering Roman rule in the new province of Germania led to the rise of local peoples. Skillfully commanded by the Cheruski commander Arminius, they hauled three legions (about 30,000 soldiers and auxiliary service) into the forested areas between the Ems and Weser rivers. The Romans, chasing the Germans avoiding open battle, extended their columns up to 15 km.
Varus abandoned the usual precautionary measures in the form of reconnaissance troops protecting the march. This only facilitated the surprise attacks of Arminius's warriors, who could have been up to 40,000. Legionnaires at all costs tried to go out into the open space, where the numerical superiority of the enemy could be offset by their training and armament. Unfortunately, the three-day fierce fighting in unfavorable terrain led to the almost complete extermination of all three legions. Varus, unable to break out of the forest trap, committed suicide with his officers. The losses of the Germans are unknown.
10. Battle of Adrianople, July 3, 324
The decisive battle of the tetrarchs' civil war between the emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius. The unresolved diplomatic dispute over the power over the Roman Empire found its epilogue in one of the greatest battles of antiquity. Approximately 300,000 people met near Adrianople. soldiers of both rulers. However, despite the superiority of forces on the side of Licinius, Constantine's troops managed to surprise the enemy and, as a result, lead to his flanking and panic escape. Sources say that Licinius lost about 34 thousand. soldiers and thus lost the race to reign. The records of Constantine are silent about the exact losses.