The Bloodiest Sackings Of Cities

 

One sacking that should be mentioned is the one in which Artexerxes III, 11th Emperor of the Acheamenid Empire from 358 BC, and Pharaoh of the 31 dynasty of Egypt, until his death in 338 BC, inflicted upon the city of Sidon. Marching in person, at the head of an army of 330,000 men, comprised of 300,000 foot soldiers, 30,000 calvalry, and with an accompany of 300 triremes and 500 transport/provision ships. The approach of Artexerxes is said to have shook the citizens of not only Sidon, but of the entire region. The city was utterly destroyed, burnt completely to the ground with more than 40,000 of its inhabitants slaughtered. Artexerxes even sold the remains of the cities ruins at high prices. He then marched into Egypt and soundly defeated Nectanebo II, Egypt's last true Pharaoh, and had himself crowned Pharaoh, bringing the Egyptians back into the Persian fold.

 

 

 

Al-Jassas

 

 

 

My apologies, I think your right now I think about it.

 

I actually agree with Regi that the Crusades, though bloody they were, were not the bloodiest episode in muslim history nor in the history of the levant. The Byzantine raides a century earlier were much more bloodier. Misis was a 200 k metropolis now just a mere village. The Syrian coast lost some 100 K killed and the same number enslaved. The crusades did sack a number of cities but muslims remained a majority in the countryside and in several important cities which were not sacked like Tyre, Acre, Beirut etc. The reason why crusades had so much imact is its great length and subsequent conflicts with the same countries that were involved with the crusades.

 

The worst sack in history, before the 20th century goes to the mongol invasions of the muslim lands and the 30 years war. Iraq was known to have some 10 million people living there, fom tax records, after the mongol invasion only 3-5 million were left. In the 30 years war Germany was so depopulated that the pope allowed polygamy if I am not mistaken.

 

Al-Jassas