FAQs
The longest war in history is believed to be the Reconquista (Spanish for Reconquest), with a duration of 781 years.
Which is the longest war in history? ›
The longest war in history is believed to be the Reconquista, which lasted for 781 years. The Reconquista was an Iberian Religious War between the Catholic Spanish Empire and the Moors who lived in what is now Morocco and Algeria.
Was there a war that lasted 700 years? ›
The Roman-Persian Wars embroiled two of the most powerful empires of the ancient world in conflict. The wars began in the mid-1st century BCE and didn't end until 628 CE, lasting a staggering 681 years.
What was the first war in history? ›
Historians believe the first war in recorded history took place in Mesopotamia in 2,700 B.C. between the forces of Sumer and Elam.
Is The 100 Years War The Longest war in history? ›
The struggle between France and England called the Hundred Years' War was the longest war in recorded history. It lasted, with some interruptions, through the reigns of five English kings (Edward III to Henry V) and five French kings (Philip VI to Charles VII).
What is the longest battle in history? ›
The Battle of Verdun, 21 February-15 December 1916, became the longest battle in modern history. It was originally planned by the German Chief of General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn to secure victory for Germany on the Western Front.
Which war lasted 38 minutes? ›
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history.
What was the biggest war in history? ›
World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China.
What war took 100 years? ›
The Hundred Years' War was a war between England and France. England and France fought over who would be the king of France. The war lasted from 1337 to 1453. To understand the beginnings of this war, we can look all the way back to William the Conqueror, who became king of England in 1066.
What is the longest war still going? ›
Strictly speaking, the civil war in Myanmar has been ongoing since 1948. The fighting between the central government dominated by the Bamar majority and the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in seven ethnic states has never completely ceased since the country's independence decades before the 2021 coup.
The U.S. ended its combat mission in Iraq on 9 December 2021, leaving 2,500 troops in the country to serve as trainers and advisors to Iraqi security forces.
What is the oldest war known to man? ›
The first war in recorded history took place in Mesopotamia in c. 2700 BCE between Sumer and Elam.
What is the oldest battle in history? ›
The Battle of Megiddo (fought 15th century BC) was fought between Egyptian forces under the command of Pharaoh Thutmose III and a large rebellious coalition of Canaanite vassal states led by the king of Kadesh. It is the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
What war lasted 38 minutes? ›
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history.