Although we may not admit it, history is defined by events that killed large numbers of people. Whether it's slavery, colonization, despots or world conquerors, the most pivotal moments of history function as a race for the ranks in an ever-increasing scale of death tolls. As the most detailed community timeline on the wiki (Principia Moderni IV), we can not ignore the same morbid statistics that contribute to our history.
A multicide is a man-made event that kills multiple people, or multiple events from the same source. This is sometimes called a genocide; however, the technical definition of a genocide is a very narrow term only used officially on two occasions: World War Two and the Rwanda Genocide.
In OTL, the top 100 largest multicides in history all killed over 300,000 people (such as the Social War), and goes up to 66 million people (in the Second World War). About half are over one million in death toll and the other half are less than one million. In general, multicides that come from the same source are linked together: the French Revolution is part of the Napoleonic Wars, the Armenian Genocide is part of the First World War, and the Holocaust is part of the Second World War. However, if the events are too random and sporadic they can be separated. For instance, the Muslim Conquest of India from the 10th-18th centuries AD killed 45 million people, but because of how random and inconsistent it was it's not included on the top 100. Also, the various conflicts with fascism and communism in the first one-half of the 20th century (the Hemoclysm) is sometimes thought to be one event that killed 150 million people, but this is also not included.
The following is a list of multicides that fit within the PMIV universe. Due to the nature of the list, only include multicides that kill over 300,000 people. Sometimes, even a very brutal or terrifying war can result in a small death toll, thus not making the list. Try to keep events that are closely-related grouped together. Although many entries on this list will be military conflicts, this isn't a glorified algo archive (we have a separate page for that). Try to be broad and creative. For the "who gets the blame" column, think of just one individual who is associated with the conflict, even if he didn't do much himself (for example, Christopher Columbus is responsible for the Colonization of the Americas, even though he didn't kill many himself). If no one immediately comes to mind, just leave it blank.
For the classification column, you can put whatever you want there, but here are some general bins I use for the list (you can also use combinations if necessary):
- World Conqueror: One guy waging external wars bent on global domination (think: Alexander the Great)
- Ethnic Civil War: A large-scale conflict in the nation where the broad dividing line is over ethnic, linguistic or religious reasons (think: the Social War)
- Dynastic Dispute: A large-scale conflict based mostly on the reason of who should succeed to the throne (think: the Hundred Years War)
- Failed State: The nation straight up collapses for a variety of reasons, either breaking up in smaller pieces or being conquered by a larger force (think: the Fall of the Western Roman Empire)
- Ritual Killing: People are routinely, or even voluntarily killed during peace time for religious or ritualistic reasons (think: Aztec Human Sacrifice)
- Religious War: Military conflict mostly based on just one religion is better than the other (think: the Crusades)
- Peasant Revolt: An oppressed lower class of society (peasants, serfs or slaves) fights back (think: Severan Wars)
- Despot: A tyrant slaughters people who get in his way, or just people who are opposed to his modernization (think: Qin Shi Huang)
- Commercial Exploitation: People dying by being in the way of economic enterprises, such as slavery or colonization (think: the Colonization of the Americas)
- Hegemonial War: Two or more nations of roughly equal power go to war over mostly territorial reasons (think: Second Punic War)
- Clash of Cultures: An empire expanding in unfamiliar territory winds up at war with the natives over vast cultural differences (think: Greco-Persian Wars)
- Ethnic Cleansing: An unpopular or dangerous minority is wiped out from the nation, or almost is, usually during peacetime (think: Cromwell's Invasion of Ireland)
Contents
Before 1400 AD
These multicides completely concluded before the game began, and so are fixed on the top 100 list.
| Name | Death Toll | Dates | Participating Nations | Classification | Who gets blamed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genghis Khan | 40 million | 1206-1227 | Mongol Empire, Jin Dynasty, Western Xia Dynasty, Liao Dynasty, Khwarazmian Empire, Kingdom of Georgia, Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and other Central Asian states | World Conqueror | Genghis Khan |
| An Lushan Rebellion | 13 million | 755-763 AD | Tang Dynasty | Ethnic Civil War | An Lushan |
| Xin Dynasty | Ten million | 9-23 AD | Han Dynasty | Dynastic Dispute | Wang Mang |
| Fall of the Mongol Empire | 7.5 million | 1340-1370 | Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Chagatai Khanate, Golden Horde, and other Central Asian states | Failed State | Zhu Yuanzhang |
| Fall of the Western Roman Empire | Seven million | 395-455 AD | Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Gothic Kingdom, Gaul, Hunnic Empire, Exarchate of Africa, Visigoth Spain, Kingdom of Britons, and other Western European states | Failed State | Attila the Hun |
| Three Kingdom Period of China | 4.1 million | 189-280 AD | Kingdoms of Shu, Wei, and Wu, Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty | Failed State | Cao Cao |
| Gladiatorial Games | 3.5 million | 264 BC-455 AD | Roman Republic, Roman Empire | Ritual Killing | |
| Crusades | Three million | 1095-1291 | Fatimid Caliphate, Ayyobud Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate, Seljuk Sultanate, Sultanate of Rum, Byzantine Empire, Kingdom of Armenia, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Papal States, Kingdom of France, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of England, Republic of Venice, and other European states | Religious War | Pope Urban II |
| Fang La Rebellion | Two million | 1120-1122 | Song Dynasty | Peasant Revolt | Chu Mien |
| Age of Warring States | 1.5 million | 475-221 BC | Zhou Dynasty, Qin Dynasty, States of Jin, Qi, Tian, Wei, Shang, Chu, Yue, Han, Yan, Zhao, and other states of China | Failed State | |
| Qin Shi Huang Di | One million | 221-210 BC | Qin Dynasty | Despot | Shi Huang |
| Servile Wars | One million | 134-71 BC | Roman Republic | Peasant Revolt | Spartacus |
| Mayan Collapse | One million | 790-909 AD | Teotihuacan, Copán, Chichen, and many other Mesoamerican states | Failed state | |
| Albigensian Crusade | One million | 1208-1229 | Kingdom of France, County of Toulouse | Religious War | Simon de Montfort |
| Hulagu Khan | 800,000 | 1255-1265 | Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate, Seljuk Sultanate, Abbasid Caliphate, Aleppo, Ayyobid Sultanate, other Middle Eastern states | World Conqueror | Hulagu Khan |
| Second Punic War | 770,000 | 218-201 BC | Roman Republic, Carthaginian Empire, Aetolian League, Pergamon, Syracuse, Macedon, Numidia | Hegemonial War | Hannibal Barca |
| Justinian | 750,000 | 527-565 AD | Byzantine Empire, Sassanid Empire, Exarchate of Africa, Gothic Kingdom, other Mediterranean states | Despot | Justinian I |
| Gallic War | 700,000 | 58-51 BC | Roman Republic, Kingdom of Britons | World Conqueror | Julius Caesar |
| Goguryeo-Sui Wars | 600,000 | 598-612 AD | Goguryeo, Sui Dynasty | Clash of Cultures | Gao Jiong |
| Alexander the Great | 500,000 | 336-323 BC | Macedonian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, Thessaly | World Conqueror | Alexander III |
| Bahmani-Vijayanager War | 500,000 | 1347-1366 | Bahmani Sultanate, Vijayanager Empire | Clash of Cultures | Ala-ud-Din |
| First Punic War | 400,000 | 264-241 BC | Roman Republic, Carthaginian Empire, Kingdom of Syracuse | Hegemonial War | Hamilcar Barca |
| Third Mithradatic War | 400,000 | 73-63 BC | Roman Republic, Kingdom of Pontus, Kingdom of Armenia, Bithnyia | Hegemonial War | Mithridates VI |
| Roman-Jewish Wars | 350,000 | 66-135 AD | Roman Empire, Kingdom of Judea | Religious War | John of Giscala |
| Second Persian War | 300,000 | 480-479 AD | Achaemenid Empire, Athens, Sparta, Thrace, Macedon, Thessaly, and other states of Greece | Clash of Cultures | Xerxes I |
| Social War | 300,000 | 91-88 BC | Roman Republic | Ethnic Civil War | Gaius Marius |
Ongoing in 1400 AD
These multicides were still going on at the time the game began, and finished during the game. Thus, it is possible some of the death toll and dates were altered in the game. I have tried to estimate the differences myself, but the actual players can double-check for me.
| Name | Death Toll | Dates | Participating Nations | Classification | Who gets blamed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindu-Muslim Wars | 38 million (OTL 45 million) |
997 AD - ongoing | Ummayyad Caliphate, Ghaznavid Sultanate, Delhi Sultanate, Timurid Empire, Vijayanager Empire, Bahmani Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Abbasid Caliphate, Rashidun Caliphate, Gurkani Sultanate, Aryavarta Empire, Punjab Confederacy, Deccan Sultanate, and other South Asian States | Religious War | |
| Tamerlane | 17 million | 1370-1405 | Timurid Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate, Gurkani Sultanate, Golden Horde, Ghagatai Khanate, Principality of Moscow, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Northern Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty | World Conqueror | Timur |
| Muslim Slave Trade | 16 million (OTL 18.5 million) |
600 AD-ongoing | Rashidun Caliphate, Ummayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Sultanate of Swahili, Sultanate of Oman, Benin Empire, Mali Empire, Sultanate of Morocco, Gurkani Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire, and other states in Africa and Middle East | Commercial Exploitation | |
| Hundred Years War | 2.4 million (OTL 3.5 million) |
1337-1417 (OTL 1337-1453) | Kingdom of England, Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy of Brittany, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Scotland, Kingdom of Aragon, and other states of Western Europe | Dynastic Dispute |
After 1400 AD with OTL Counterparts
These multicides started during the game, but were based on OTL events elsewhere on the 100 list. This is usually due to the causes of the multicide already existing when the game began, and so there is no way to prevent them from happening. (The best example of this is the Aztec Human Sacrifice. It started in 1435, but the culture and religion of the Aztecs was already there). Other times, of course, the event has an OTL counterpart just for the sake of having it :)
NOTE: If your event has an OTL counterpart, but the counterpart killed less than 300,000 people, it belongs on the next list below, not this one.
NOTE: If your event was entered incorrectly, you are responsible to fix it.
| Name | Death Toll | Dates | Participants | Classification | Who gets blamed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korean Conquest of China | 40 million | 1627-1649 | Jin dynasty, Tan dynasty, Kingdom of Tali, |
Dynastic dispute (inc. failed state, ethnic cleansing) | Kim Seothae; Korean Royal Army; General Sui Wuseung and other defectors |
| Atlantic Slave Trade | Eight million | 1416-ongoing | Kingdoms of England, France, Iberia, Castile, Portugal, Burgundy, Sultanate of Morocco, Empire of Benin, Sultanate of Zayiyr | Commercial Exploitation | |
| Anglo-Burgundian Wars | 7.5 million | 1573-ongoing | Kingdoms of Burgundy, England, France, Iberia, Sicily, Scandinavian Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Republic of Venice, Iroquois Confederacy, Shawnee alliance | Hegemonial War | |
| Time of Troubles | Five million | 1585-1592 | Tsardom of Russia | Dynastic Dispute | False Dmitri et al |
| Colonization of America | Three million | 1499-ongoing | Kingdoms of Portugal, Iberia, Burgundy, England, France, Scandinavian Empire, Sultanate of Morocco, League of Mayapan, Aztec Empire, Mapuche, Iroquois, Shawnee, and other American states |
Commercial Exploitation | Laurence Bonapaart |
| Great Turkish War | Three million | 1632-1646 | Ottoman Empire, Tsardom of Belka, Rashidun Caliphate, Sultanate of Morocco, Tsardom of Russia | Religious War | Vasili III |
| Hitlerite War | Three million | 1602-1619 | Papal States, Lombardy, Republic of Venice, Duchy of Austria, Kingdom of France, Tsardom of Belka, Holy Roman Empire | Religious War | Adolphus Hitler |
| Aztec Human Sacrifice | 1.2 million | 1445-1539 | Aztec Empire, Totonacapan, Toltec Empire, and other Mexican states | Ritual Killing | |
| Bengal-Burma Wars | 900,000 | 1417-1643 | Sultanate of Bengal, Kingdom of Kochi, Kingdom of Assam, Kingdom of Burma, Kingdom of Pegu | Hegemonial War | Al-Baiyan |
| Chinese Conquest of Vietnam | 700,000 | 1529 | Ming Dynasty, Kingdom of Dai Viet | Clask of Cultures | Emperor Nuwa |
| Russo-Tartar War | 500,000 | 1521-1523 | Kingdom of Poland, Tsardom of Russia, Astrakhan Khanate | Clash of Cultures | Alexios I |
| English Civil War | 400,000 | 1599-1610 | Kingdom of England | Dynastic Dispute | Nigel Farage |
| Great European War | Seven million | 1854-1859 | Belka, Great Britain, France, Russia, Burgundy, Iberia, Japan, Egypt, Scandinavia, Prussia, Germany, Bohemia, Poland, China, Rhine Federation, and other states in Central Europe | Hegemonial War | Napoleon II |
| British Famines in India | 10.1 million | 1870-1890 | Great Britain, British Colonial India, Sultanate of Bengal, Dravidian Empire | Commercial Exploitation | |
| Great War | 30-35 Million | 1913-1921 | Varies by Nation John Custer |
After 1400 AD with no OTL Counterpart
This list is for any other interesting multicide you commit, straight from your own imagination. Some events on this list do have OTL counterparts, but those counterparts had a very small death count in OTL.
A full list will be created when there are a total of 100, and then updated thereafter.
| Name | Death Toll | Dates | Participating Nations | Classification | Who gets blamed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hui genocide | Ten million | late 1600s (de facto) | Jin dynasty | Ethnic cleansing | Kim Seokdu, General Fu Zhouse |
| Fall of the Abbasid Dynasty | 2.2 million | 1574-1598 | Abbasid Caliphate, Rashidun Caliphate | Ethnic Civil War | Mansur II |
| South Slavic Unification | 1.3 million | 1359-1620 | Tsardom of Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Greece, Byzantine Empire, Kingdom of Italy, Kingdom of Bohemia, Republic of Venice | (accidental?) Ethnic Cleansing | |
| Bulgarian Civil War | 650,000 | 1580-1615 | Tsardom of Bulgaria | Ethnic Civil War | Aleksy Draculesti |
| Arab-Ethiopian War | 500,000 | 1551-1555 | Abbasid Caliphate, Empire of Ethiopia, Kingdom of Oromo, Swahili Sultanate | Clash of Cultures | Rahim I |
| Bini Deportations | 1.1 million | 1413 -ongoing | Benin | Ethnic Cleansing | |
| Belkan War of Succession | 350,000 | 1679-1682 | Tsardom of Belka | Dynastic Dispute | |
| Russian Civil War | 7.5 million | 1702-1711 | Tsardom of Russia | Political Civil War | |
| Fall of the Rashidun Caliphate | One million | 1703-1718 | Rashidun Caliphate, Ethiopian Empire, Swahili Sultanate, Sultanate of Oman, Shahdom of Iran, Sultanate of Cyprus, Sultanate of Maghreb, Oromo people | Failed State | Theodore Iyasu |
| Purge of Suspected Individuals | 400,000 | 1720-1723 | Al-Afriqia State, Kongolese people. | Failed State |
Dhaakir el-Ghaffari |
| Rape of Mali | 500,000 | 1734-1736 | Sultanate of Maghreb, Mali | Hegemonial War | General Alisar Pasha |
| Massacre of Ratnagiri | 650,000 | 1792 | Empire of Dravidia, Maratha Kingdoms | Ritual Killing | Haider Shah Agran |
| Swahili Civil War (and the Great Retribution, The Wimbi Kubwa (Great Wave)) | 9.5 million (Three million slaves, 2.5 million from the Wimbi Kubwa, One million from the Great Retribution) |
1783-1802 | Royalist Swahili, Fundamentalist Swahili | Ethnic Civil War, Religious War | Sultan Nyo, Zakia, Sultan Khalfani, Azizi |
| Arab-Slavic War | 1.1 million | 1792-1801 | Empire of Russia, Ethiopian Empire, Kingdom of Pontus, Belkan Federation, Jaffarid Sultanate, Young Turks, Kingdom of Egypt, Great Britain, Rhineland Kingdom | Hegemonial War | Brusilov the Younger |
| Belkan Civil War | Five million | 1839-1847 | Belkan Federation, Greek Federation, Islamic Republic of Samothrace, Emirate of Krete, Holy State of Croatia | Failed State | Jorji Corsova |
| Tigris War | 320,000 | 1438-1443 | Abbasid Caliphate, Persian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Principality of Naxos | Clash of Cultures | Najm I Al-Naktba |
| Greater Russian War | 8.6 million | 1910-1913 | Arabia, Belkan Federation, Turkey, Artna, Shahdom of Iran, Russia, Kingdom of Pontus, Hawaii, Colony of Novorossiya, Vineland, Borealia | Hegemonial War | Igor Akinfeev |
Gttugar Genocide |
415,000 | 1916-1920 | Empire of Uluru, Great Britain | Ethnic Cleansing | General Yarin Peewalla, Emperor Djalu V |
Anglo-Arcadian Conflict |
9-9.5 Million | 1885 - Ongoing | Borealia, Great Britain, British Colonies | Hegemonial War/Ethnic Cleansing | Gijsbert Mollerus |
