Throughout its history, humanity has waged war. They were of a different nature, had their own reasons and scale.
Despite the fact that any war is blood, destruction and disaster, people still did not stop unleashing them again and again, hoping with the help of military superiority to achieve their political goals.
However, history knows several examples of long wars, which turned out to be a very long confrontation for the warring parties. They often had to participate in more than one generation.
We present you the 10 longest wars in the world in the history of mankind.
10. Peloponnesian war (27 years)
Peloponnesian war both in its historical influence, result and duration (it lasted with a small interval of about 27 years), and in the scale of hostilities and the brutality of the warring parties, it significantly differed from all others characteristic of Greece.
This confrontation was between two large groups of Greek states - between the Peloponnesian Union, headed by Sparta, and Athens on the other. Subsequently, the cities of the Greek West - Southern Italy and Sicily, as well as the Persian power of the Achaemenids entered the war.
Within the borders of Hellenic culture, this armed confrontation acquired the character of a general war. Therefore, if the period before the start of the war was considered the peak of the heyday of Greek civilization, then with the beginning of the Peloponnesian war the entire Hellenic world suffered heavy destruction; the results of the struggle equally affected the winners and the losers.
9. Thirty Years War (30 years)
Thirty Years War was the first conflict between two large unions of European states over the Habsburg influence throughout Europe (Spain and Austria, supported by the Pope and the Catholic princes of Germany, as well as the Commonwealth) and the anti-Habsburg coalition, which included France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, England and the Kingdom of Moscow.
This conflict was initiated as a war on the basis of religious disagreements between Protestants and Catholics, but later the confrontation has already lost touch with faith.
The war lasted from 1618 to 1648, and it affected to a greater or lesser extent almost all European states.
The Thirty Years' War was the last large-scale religious armed confrontation in Europe and created the conditions for the birth of the Westphalian system of international relations.
8. War of the Scarlet and White Rose (33 years)
War of the Scarlet and White Rose they call a series of armed confrontations between the powerful dynasties of the English aristocracy in 1455-1485, united in pursuit of the establishment of their power.
Despite the dates of the conflict, which were clearly defined in official historical science, isolated clashes related to this confrontation occurred both before and after the war.
This armed confrontation ended with the victory of Heinrich Tudor. The war caused great disasters for Britain. During the confrontation, a large number of representatives of the English feudal nobility were killed.
7. Guatemalan war (36 years)
Guatemala Civil Warthat took place in 1960-1996 was a series of outbreaks of armed confrontation in Guatemala.
The reason for the outbreak of this conflict was the scandalous decision of the President of the United States Eisenhower in 1954, which provoked a coup.
The warring parties in this war were the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity bloc and the military junta.
Due to military operations, an average of almost 6 thousand people died every year. Only in the 80s of the last century, about 669 massacres were committed, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 thousand people, among which more than 80% were Mayan ethnic Indians.
The war ended with the conclusion of the “Agreement on a Lasting and Lasting Peace,” which protected the rights of 23 groups of Native Americans.
6. Greek-Persian war (50 years)
Greek Persian WarsContinuing at intervals of 499 - 449 BC, are military confrontations between Achaemenid Persia and Greek cities trying to proclaim their political independence.
As a result, it was possible to stop the progressive expansion of the Achaemenid Empire, in addition, the civilization of the ancient Greeks entered the era of its power and prosperity.
Historians also call these armed conflicts Persian wars.
5. The Dutch War of Independence (80 years)
Netherlands War of Independence, also called Dutch war, was an armed confrontation between the Seventeen provinces and the forces of the Spaniards.
In the course of this military conflict, the independence of the Seven United Provinces was proclaimed. The territories, known in our time as Belgium and Luxembourg, then became known as the Southern Netherlands.
This war, lasting 80 years, became one of the first successful national liberation movements in Europe and accelerated the formation of the first republics in Europe.
4. The Hundred Years War (116 years)
The Hundred Years War It is customary to call a series of armed conflicts between England and the Allies and France. In total, the military confrontation lasted from approximately 1337 to 1453.
The reason for the outbreak of the Hundred Years War was the claim to the French crown of the English dynasty of Plantagenets, who hoped to return Britain once its land. France, in turn, wanted to drive the British out of Guyenne, which was considered their territory under the Paris Treaty of 1259, and also to strengthen its influence in Flanders.
The feudal lords of the warring countries that were directly involved in the hostilities were driven by the opportunity to seize the property of their enemies, as well as gain military glory and valor.
Despite a series of brilliant victories at the beginning of the campaign, the Kingdom of England failed to achieve its objectives.
3. Punic war (118 years)
By the middle of III art. BC. Rome almost entirely subjugated the Italian lands. After this, the Romans decided to expand their expansion throughout the Mediterranean and first wanted to capture Sicily. This fairly prosperous island was also an object of political interest in the then powerful Carthage.
The claims of two strong states caused the unleashing of three wars, which continued at intervals from 264 to 146. BC .. These confrontations with historians are called Punic war, which comes from the Latin name of the Phoenician-Carthaginians (Puns).
By the way, it was during these military campaigns that the winged expression "Carthage must be destroyed!".
As a result, the war, which lasted a total of 118 years, culminated in the fall of Carthage.
2. Araucan war (289 years)
Araucan warfare historians call the military confrontation between the Creole population of Chile’s Captain-General, which was included in Spain, and the Mapuche people, as well as some other tribes (Wiliche, Picunche and Kunko). The fighting spread from the territory of the Matakito River to Relonkawi Bay.
This conflict lasted for almost three centuries - from 1536 until the achievement of Chile's political independence in 1825. Throughout this period, the battles were fought with varying intensity, so if we talk directly about the armed confrontation between the parties to the conflict, then it took about 150 years.
As a result, this struggle became the forerunner of the war between the Chileans and the Mapuche, which went down in history under the name "The Peace of Araucania".
1. War without shots (335 years)
So-called war without shots between the Netherlands and the Scilly archipelago, which is part of Britain, began in 1651.
In the absence of a peace agreement between the warring parties, this confrontation lasted formally 335 years.
The good news is that during this war, not a single shot was fired, which makes it a war with the least losses in the history of mankind.
Officially, peace was concluded between the parties in 1986.