Most Horrific Massacres in History

Massacre of Thessalonica

One of the earliest recorded large-scale massacres in world history happened in the year 390 when Roman Emperor Theodosius I sent troops to Thessalonica in order to quell some civil unrest. Apparently he was very angry when he gave them their initial instructions because he almost immediately dispatched a messenger telling the troops to disregard his previous orders. The messenger, however, arrived too late and 7,000 innocent men, women, and children had already been murdered.

Granada Massacre

On December 30, 1066 Muslim mobs stormed the royal palace where Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela had sought refuge and crucified him. In the ensuing massacre of the Jewish population, many of the Jews of Granada were murdered. The massacre was apparently started by a rumor that Joseph was going to have the Muslim king assassinated.

Massacre of the Latins

The Massacre of the Latins was a large-scale massacre of the Roman Catholic or “Latin” inhabitants of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, by the Eastern Orthodox population of the city in May 1182. The Roman Catholics of Constantinople at that time dominated the city’s maritime trade and financial sector. Although precise numbers are unavailable, the bulk of the Latin community, estimated at over 60,000 at the time, was wiped out or forced to flee.

Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations followed by a wave of Roman Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), during the French Wars of Religion. Modern estimates for the number of dead vary widely from 5,000 to 30,000

Bolton Massacre

Also known as the “Storming of Bolton,” this was an episode in the English Civil War when Royalist forces led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine stormed and captured the Parliamentarian town of Bolton on May 28, 1644. A staple in the Parliamentarian propaganda, it resulted in the death of 1,600 defenders and innocent inhabitants.

Yangzhou Massacre

The atrocities that happened on May 20, 1645 against the local residents of Yangzhou, China by the Qing troops led by Prince Dodo of the Qing Dynasty had led to the death of as many as 80,000 people. After their recent success against the forces loyal to the Southern Ming regime of the Hongguang Emperor, they plundered the city for ten days to punish the residents for their resistance and as a warning to the population of Jiangnan on the consequences of resisting invaders.

September Massacres

The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792 during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners including many women and young boys. Sporadic violence, in particular against the Roman Catholic Church, would continue throughout France for nearly a decade to come.

Massacre of Elphinstone’s Army

Also known as the 1842 retreat from Kabul, the massacre which happened during the First Anglo-Afghan War occurred when Major General Sir William Elphinstone attempted to lead a military and civilian column of Europeans and Indians from Kabul back to the British garrison at Jalalabad more than 90 miles (140 km) away. Afghan tribes launched numerous attacks against the column as it made slow progress through the winter snows of the Hindu Kush. Out of more than 16,000 people from the column commanded by Elphinstone, only one European, an Assistant Surgeon named William Brydon, and a few soldiers would eventually reach Jalalabad. The retreat has been described as “the worst British military disaster until the fall of Singapore exactly a century later.”

Batak Massacre

The massacre of the Bulgarians in Batak by 8,000 Ottoman troops on April 30, 1876 at the beginning of the April Uprising was described as “the most heinous crime to stain the history of the 19th century.” Although at 15,000 dead, the total number of people killed was less than some of the other massacres on this list, the brutality was unparalleled. The majority of those killed were women and children who were raped, tortured, and then beheaded.

Hamidian Massacres

Also known as the “Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896″ and the “Great Massacres,’ these atrocities were once again committed by the Ottoman Empire. The deaths ranged from 80,000 to 300,000 leaving at least 50,000 children orphaned. The massacres were due to Ottoman Empire seeking to establish its territorial authority and to reassert Pan-Islamism as the state ideology.

//

//
http://list25.com/25-most-horrific-massacres-in-history/

Search This Blog

World History Analysis and Views