Even the shortest of wars can seem agonizingly long for those parties
involved. Unfortunately for those engaged in the conflicts listed
below, they had to endure such turmoil for decades, or even centuries.
In some, soldiers fought their whole lives in a war that they would
never see decided, even when it had started prior to their very births!
10. Karen Conflict (1949-Present; 67 years ongoing)
The Karen Conflict is the longest civil war in the world, having had
started in 1949 and is still seen ongoing. The Karen Conflict involves
the Karen people, one of the largest ethnic groups in South-East Asia,
who have been fighting since ages long past for a separate Karen nation
of their own in Myanmar (Burma.
The two main participants in this civil war are the Karen National
Union and the Burmese Tatmadaw. The former is a political organization
of the Karen people, equipped with an armed wing (the Karen National
Liberation Army), and the Tatmadaw to the official military organization
of Myanmar. The conflict is being primarily fought in the Karen state
of Myanmar, which was established by the Burmese government in 1952. The
conflict has resulted in thousands of casualties over the years, and
has caused many Karen to flee into neighboring countries from their own.
9. Dutch War for Independence (1568-1648; 80 years)
The Eighty Years' War, also known as the Dutch Revolt, spanned a
period of 80 years between 1568 and 1648. The period was marked by the
revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in Netherlands against the Spanish
King. Towards the beginning of the Revolt, the king’s forces managed to
subdue the rebels and suppress the rebellion. However, the rebellion
grew stronger and, in 1572, the rebels conquered Brielle, proving a
major defeat to Spain. Finally, in 1648, the Seventeen Provinces
achieved independence as the United Provinces of the Netherlands,
otherwise known as the Dutch Republic.
8. Seleucid-Parthia War (238 BC-129 BC; 109 years)
The Seleucid-Parthia War involved a series of conflicts between the
Seleucid Empire of Persia and the state of Parthia, resulting in the
ultimate expulsion of the former from its base into Persia and the
establishment of a Parthian Empire. In the beginning, the Seleucid
Empire stretched from Syria
to the Indus River. Maintaining such an extended kingdom was not easy,
and the Seleucids constantly faced troubles from both the Hellenistic
states in the west and Iranian people in the east. Taking advantage of
the unrest, two Seleucid Satraps, those of Bactria and Parthia, declared
their remote provinces as independent states. However, Parthia was in
turn invaded by the Iranian Parni tribes from Central Asia in 238 BC,
who then took over control of the land and named themselves as the
Parthians. The Seleucids, too busy fighting against Ptolemaic Egypt
at the time, lost large tracts of their territories east of Persia and
Media at the hands of the Parthians. Antiochus III, an ambitious
Seleucid king was, however, ready to reclaim the lost territories of his
ancestral empire and, in 209 BC, started a campaign against the
Parthians. Therein, Antiochus III managed to defeat them, reducing them
to a vassal status within their original conquered province of Parthia.
However, the Seleucids began to lose control over the land when
Antiochus was defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia. Parthia
now came under the power of the Arsacids, and the new Parthian king now
started capturing Seleucid lands. In 139 BC, the Seleucids were defeated
in a major battle by the Parthians, ending with the capture of the
Seleucid King Demetrius II, and thus establishing the Parthians as the
new rulers of the region.
7. Plantagenet-Valois/Hundred Years' War (1337-1453; 116 years)
The Hundred Years’ War was a prolonged conflict that was fought
between two royal houses who claimed to be the rightful contenders for
the French throne. The war was triggered by the extinction of the senior
Capetian line of French kings, effectively leaving the French throne
vacant. The two main contenders for the throne included the House of
Plantagenet (or House of Anjou) and the rival House of Valois. The
former were the rulers of 12th Century England,
and had originally belonged to French regions in Anjou and Normandy.
While the Plantagenets claimed to be the combined rulers of England and
France, the House of Valois also claimed to be the rulers of the Kingdom
of France.
Five generations of kings from these two rival dynasties fought for the
French throne between 1337 and 1453, with both sides exhibiting heights
of victory and chivalry. At the end of this war, Joan of Arc played an
important role in reinvigorating the Valois dynasty. She inspired a
fighting spirit in Charles, the disinherited Valois prince, and made way
for him to be crowned after her efforts helped lift the English siege
of Orleans, the traditional site of coronations of the Valois dynasty.
Seized by the English, Joan was held and deemed guilty of witchcraft,
and subsequently burned at the stake in 1431. However, Joan’s efforts
did not go to waste, and Charles was able to withhold his kingdom. Then,
by 1453, the English forces had been forced to withdraw from France.
6. Byzantine-Ottoman (1265-1479; 214 years)
The Byzantine-Ottoman Wars were a decisive series of battles
stretching for a long period of 214 years between 1265 and 1479. This
war ultimately saw to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire and the rise
of the Ottoman Empire in the Byzantine's former territories in turn. By
1204, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople had been occupied by the
Fourth Crusaders. The Sultanate of Rum took this opportunity to seize
Byzantine territory in Western Asia Minor. In 1261, however,
Constantinople was retaken by the Nicaean Empire from the Latin Empire.
The Byzantine Empire continued to face threats from a number of enemies
during this period, and one of the greatest threats was posed by a
Turkish Bey named Osman I, who would himself go down in history as the
founder of the Ottoman Empire. Osman I first declared himself Sultan of
the Ottoman Beylik, and by 1380 had captured Thrace from the Byzantines.
By 1400, the Byzantine Empire was reduced to extremely small
territories of the original vast kingdom of the Byzantines and, by
1479,with the conclusion of the Byzantine-Ottoman wars, the Ottoman
supremacy had become well established throughout the Eastern
Mediterranean.
5. Byzantine-Seljuq (1048-1308; 260 years)
The Byzantine-Seljuk Wars included a series of battles over a period
of 260 years that led to a shift of powers from the Byzantine Empire to
the Seljuk Turks in the regions of Asia Minor and Syria, and the rise of
an era of the Crusades. After the conquest of Baghdad in 1055, the
Turks expanded their kingdom westwards and, in 1064, the Seljuk Sultan,
Alp Arslan, captured Armenia
from the Byzantines. In 1067, when the Turks attempted to invade Asia
Minor, they were pushed back by a Byzantine counterattack. However, the
Battle of Manzikert in 1071 proved to be a major victory for the Seljuk
Turks, as there they managed to defeat the Byzantine forces and capture
the Byzantine Emperor himself. Despite this major win, the Byzantine
rule over Asia Minor continued, and it took another 20 years for the
Turks to achieve complete control over the Anatolian Peninsula. The call
for the First Crusade was made when the Seljuk Turks went on to capture
Jerusalem. Within a hundred years after the Battle of Manzikert, the
First Crusades had driven out the Seljuks from the coasts of Asia Minor,
and the Byzantines successfully regained some form of control over
parts of their lost territories. However, the subsequent Crusades did
more harm than good to the Byzantines, as the Crusaders, often ignoring
or disrespecting their allies, also often looted Byzantine towns and
villages along the way.
4. Arauco War (1536-1818; 282 years)
The Arauco War was one of the longest wars in the history of the
world, lasting for 282 years from 1536 to 1818. In their attempts to
dominate South America, the Spanish tried to repeatedly colonize the
Mapuche people, the indigenous inhabitants of the region. In 1536, while
the Spaniards were exploring the Strait of Magellan in depth, the
Mapuche refused to allow them to continue onward, and attacked the small
Spanish Army. The Spaniards, though outnumbered, were well equipped
with more advanced weapons that allowed them to kill large numbers of
the Mapuche and force the survivors to retreat. Battles continued into
the future, and the Mapuche managed to maintain their independence,
mainly due to the natural barriers proffered by the region. However,
despite the battles, trade exchanges were also established between the
two sides. During the Chilean War of Independence, the Spaniards were
defeated by the Chileans, and the Spanish rule in Chile was completely
expelled, effectively ending the war between the Mapuches and the
Spaniards. The Mapuches, however, were against this transition of power,
and their worst fears were proved true when the new nation of Chile
also used force and diplomacy to drive out the Mapuches from their
territories, leading to many deaths by starvation and disease, and
crippling economic losses.
3. Dutch-Scilly War (1651-1986; 335 years
One of the longest, and even strangest, wars in our world's history,
characterized by a complete absence of battles and bloodshed, is known
as the Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Years’ war. The conflict began on
March 30, 1651 as a by-product of the English Civil War. The Dutch, long
time allies of England, decided to take the side of the
Parliamentarians. The Royalists, with whom the Dutch had formerly had
friendly relations, took this as a betrayal, and in their anger raided
Dutch shipping vessels as a punishment to their betraying friends.
However, by 1651 the Royalists had been chased away from the entirety of
England except for a tiny group of islands, namely the ‘Isles of
Sicily’. The Dutch, who had suffered commerce losses at the hands of the
Royalists, decided to teach them a lesson themselves by sending their
naval troops to the area to threaten the Royalists. Orders were also
given to the Dutch commander, Tromp, to declare war if the Royalists did
not cough up money. Then, according to the most common story, the
Royalists refused money, forcing Tromp to declare war. However, the
highly reduced Royalist forces, and the chances of poor gains from them,
made Tromp withdraw his pursuit of engagement and return without any
fighting haven taken place. Soon the Royalists surrendered to the
Parliamentarians, and the Dutch had essentially forgot that they had
declared a war. More than 3 centuries later, a local historian, Roy
Duncan, accidentally stumbled upon a historical footnote in Scilly
regarding the war, and he invited the Dutch ambassador to Great Britain
to visit Sicily and negotiate the a armistice. The peace treaty was
signed in April 17, 1986, thus ending the ‘phony war’ between the Dutch
and the Scilly Isles.
2. Persian-Roman Wars (92 BC-629 AD; 721 years)
The Roman Persian Wars were a series of wars that took place over a
period of 721 years between the Roman world and two successive Iranian
empires, namely the Parthians and the Sassanids. The first battle of
this war brew up in 92 BC, when the Roman Republic battled with the
Parthians. After the cessation of hostilities with the Parthians, the
Romans continued their battles against the next Iranian empire to face
them, that of the Sassanids. The war was brought to an end by the Arab
Muslim invasions in 629 AD, which devastated both the Byzantine Eastern
Roman empire and the Sassanid Empire alike. Throughout the extended war
between the Persians and Romans, the frontier remained largely stable,
while towns, fortifications, and provinces near the borders were
continuously being captured and re-captured by these two sets of
battling rival empires. The war, however, had devastating economic
impacts on both the Romans and the Persians (both Parthian and then
Sassanids), and as such rendered them each extremely vulnerable to the
sudden attacks to come at the hands of the Arab Muslims.
1. Iberian Religious Wars (711-1492; 781 years)
The Iberian Religious Wars, or the ‘Reconquista’, was a period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula (including modern Spain
and Portugal) spanning around 781 years, from 711 to 1492. The period
marked by a long series of battles between the Christian Kingdoms and
the Muslim Moors for control over the Peninsula. In 711, the Moors,
Muslims living in the northern African region which is now part of Morocco
and Algeria, crossed the Mediterranean Sea and gradually made their
advances into Europe, establishing their own territories whenever and
wherever possible. The true beginning of the Reconquista in full force
was marked by the Battle of Covadonga in 718, when the Christian King
Pelayo of the Visigoths defeated the advancing Muslim Army in Alcama.
Over the next several centuries, a series of battles were fought between
the Christians and the Moors, with victories and losses on both sides.
In the latter years of the Reconquista, the Catholic Church recognized
the war as a 'holy war' similar to the Crusades, and several military
orders of the Church also participated in the war. Finally, by the
1400’s the Moors had only a few territories remaining under their rule.
In 1469, a historic marriage between King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen
Isabella I of Castille marked the end of the Muslim invasion into the
Iberian Peninsula, when the united forces of Ferdinand and Isabella
fought against the Moors. They were successful in recapturing Grenada from them in 1492, and thus ending the Reconquista.
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