List of civil wars
The Latin term bellum civile was first used of the Roman civil wars that began in the last third of the second century BC. The term civilis here had the very specific meaning of "Roman citizen". The English term civil war was first used in 1651 to refer to the English Civil War.[1] Since the 17th century, the term has also been applied retroactively to other historical conflicts where at least one side claims to represent the country's civil society (rather than a feudal dynasty or an imperial power).[2]
The terms internecine war and domestic war are often used interchangeably with "civil war", but "internecine war" can be used in a wider meaning, referring to any conflict within a single state, regardless of the participation of civil forces. Thus, any war of succession is by definition an internecine war, but not necessarily a civil war. In modern geopolitics since 1945, "civil war" is also used in a loose sense to refer to any large scale military conflict within a single country (i.e. used as a strict synonym of the generic term "internecine war"), creating terminological overlap with insurgencies or coups d'état.
Past civil wars
Ancient and medieval
This is a list of interstate armed conflicts that fulfil the definition set by this article: civil. Note that some conflicts lack both an article or citation. Without citation, they haven't been guaranteed to have happened.
- Roman civil wars (a list of numerous civil wars in the late Roman Republic and in the Roman Empire, between 100 BC and AD 400)
- First Fitna, 656–661, the first Islamic "civil war" between Ali and the Umayyads
- Second Fitna, c. 680/683-c. 685/692, the second Islamic "civil war" between the Umayyads and Ibn al-Zubayr
- Twenty Years' Anarchy, 695–717, prolonged period of internal instability in the Byzantine Empire
- Civil War between Artabasdos and Constantine V, 741–743
- Third Fitna, 744–752, including the Umayyad civil wars of 744–748 and the Abbasid Revolution
- An Lushan Rebellion, December 16, 755 – February 17, 763
- Fourth Fitna, 809–827, including the Abbasid civil wars and other regional conflicts
- Fitna of al-Andalus, 1009–1031
- Civil war era in Norway, 1130–1240
- Danish Civil War (Denmark), 1131–1157[3]
- The Anarchy (England), 1135–1153
- Revolt of 1173–74, (England)
- Civil war in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem between King Baldwin III and dowager Queen Melisende (1152–1153)
- First Barons' War (England), 1215–1217
- Age of the Sturlungs (Iceland), 1220-1262/64
- Second Barons' War (England), 1264–1267
- Civil War of Livonia between Livonian Order and the city of Riga and the Archbishopric of Riga, 1297-1330.
- Despenser War (England), 1321–22
- Invasion of England, 1326. Continuation of the Despenser War.
- Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
- Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347
- Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357
- Castilian Civil War, 1366–1369
- Byzantine civil war of 1373–1379
- Glyndŵr Rising (England and Wales), 1400–1415
- Ottoman Interregnum, 1402–1413
- Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War, 1407–1435
- Hussite Wars (Bohemia), 1420–1434
- Great Feudal War in Russia, 1425–1453
- Wars of the Roses (England), 1455–1485
- Ōnin War (Japan), 1467–1477
- Sengoku period (Japan), 1467–1615
- War of the Castilian Succession, 1475–1479
- Popular revolts in late-medieval Europe
- German Peasants' War, 1524–1525
- Civil War in Kazakh Khanate, 1522–1538
- War of the Two Brothers (Inca Empire), 1529–1532
- Count's Feud (Denmark), 1534–1536
Early Modern (1550–1800)
- French Wars of Religion, 1562–1598
- Marian civil war (Scotland), 1568–1573
- Zebrzydowski Rebellion (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), 1606–1609
- Shimabara Rebellion (Japan), 1637–1638
- Wars of the Three Kingdoms (England, Ireland, and Scotland), 1639–1651 involved a number of civil wars:
- Irish Confederate Wars, some parts of which were a civil war.[4]
- Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, to some extent a civil war, 1644–1652
- English Civil War, 1642–1651
- First English Civil War, 1642–1646
- Second English Civil War, 1648–1649
- Third English Civil War, 1650–1651
- Acadian Civil War (New France, now Canada), 1640–1645
- Fronde (France), 1648–1653
- Lubomirski's Rebellion (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), 1665–1666
- Monmouth Rebellion (England), May – July 1685
- Glorious Revolution (England), 1688–1689
- War of the Spanish Succession (Spanish Empire), 1701-1714
- American Revolutionary War (United States), 1775-1783
- Pugachev's Rebellion (Russia), 1773–1775[5]
- War in the Vendée (France), 1793–1804; between Royalist and Republican forces, part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Modern (1800–1945)
- Argentine Civil Wars, 1814–1880
- Zulu Civil War, 1817–1819
- Greek Civil War, 1824–1825
- Liberal Wars (Portugal), 1828–1834.
- Chilean Civil War, 1829–1830
- Ragamuffin War (Brazil), 1835–1845
- Carlist Wars (Spain), 1833–1839, 1846–1849, and 1872–1876
- Uruguayan Civil War, 1839–1851
- Māori War (New Zealand), 1845–1872
- Sonderbund War (Switzerland), November 1847
- Revolutions of 1848; numerous European countries, 1848–1849
- Revolution of 1851 (Chile)
- Taiping Rebellion (China), 1851–1864
- Bleeding Kansas, 1854–1858
- Eureka Rebellion (Australia), 1854
- War of Reform (Mexico), 1857–1861
- Federal War (Venezuela), 1859–1863
- American Civil War (United States), 1861–1865
- Klang War (Malaysia); also known as Selangor Civil War, 1867–1874
- Boshin War (Japan), 1868–1869
- Satsuma Rebellion (Japan), 1877
- Jementah Civil War (Malaysia), 1878
- The North-West Rebellion (Canada), 1885
- Revolution of the Park (Argentina), 1890
- Chilean Civil War, 1891
- Argentine Revolution of 1893, 1893
- War of Canudos (Brazil), 1896–1897
- Banana Wars (Central America), 1898–1934
- Federal Revolution, (Bolivia), 1899
- Boxer Rebellion (China), 1899–1901
- Thousand Days' War (Colombia), 1899–1902
- Revolución Libertadora (Venezuela), 1901–1903
- Argentine Revolution of 1905 , 1905
- Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920
- Warlord Era; period of civil wars between regional, provincial, and private armies in China, 1912–1928
- Russian Civil War, 1917–1921
- Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, 1918–2003
- Finnish Civil War, 1918
- German Revolution, 1918–1919
- Irish Civil War, 1922–1923
- Paraguayan Civil War, 1922–1923
- Nicaraguan Civil War, 1926–1927
- Cristero War (Mexico), 1926–1929
- Chinese Civil War, 1927–1937, 1945–1949
- Brazilian Civil War, (Brazil), 1932
- Austrian Civil War, February 1934
- Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939
- Forest Brothers, 1940–1941, 1944–1953
- Yugoslav Civil War during World War II, 1941–1945
- Ukrainian Insurgent Army insurgency, 1943–1956
- Italian Civil War, 1943–1945
- Revolución Libertadora (Argentina), 1955
- Anti-communist resistance in Poland, 1944–1947/1963
1945 to 2000
- Iran crisis of 1946, 1945–1946
- Greek Civil War, 1946–1949
- Paraguayan Civil War, 1947
- Romanian anti-communist resistance movement, 1947–1962
- Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, 1947–1948
- Costa Rican Civil War, 1948
- Yeosu–Suncheon rebellion, 1948
- Jeju uprising, 1948
- La Violencia (Colombia), 1948–1958
- Korean War, 1950 - 1953
- Malayan Emergency (Federation of Malaya), 1948–1960
- Internal conflict in Myanmar, ongoing since 1948
- Laotian Civil War 1953–1975
- Vietnam War 1954–1975
- First Sudanese Civil War, 1955–1972
- Congo Crisis, 1960–1966
- Guatemalan Civil War, 1960–1996
- North Yemen Civil War 1962–1970
- Sarawak Communist Insurgency (Malaysia), 1962–1990
- Nicaraguan Civil War, 1962–1990
- Dominican Civil War, 1965
- Rhodesian Bush War, 1965–1980
- Communist insurgency in Thailand (Thailand), 1965–1983
- Cypriot Civil War, 1963–1967
- Cambodian Civil War, 1967–1975
- Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970
- Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89)
- The Troubles (Northern Ireland), 1969–1998, considered ongoing by extremist minority groups
- Bangladesh Liberation War (Pakistan), 1971 (However, the war is not an official civil war, only to the perspective to those who did not support the existence of the independent state of Bangladesh.)
- Ethiopian Civil War, 1974–1991
- Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990
- Mozambican Civil War, 1975–1992
- Angolan Civil War, 1975–2002
- Free Aceh Movement, 1976–2005
- Soviet–Afghan War, part of / also called War in Afghanistan (1978–present) December 24, 1979 – February 15, 1989 (Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from 1979–1989 and was part of the Cold War but it was inevitable that the regime was to collapse within three to six months after the Soviet withdrawal)
- Salvadoran Civil War (El Salvador), 1979–1992
- Peru's War on Terror 1980–1993
- Second Sudanese Civil War, 1983–2005
- Sri Lankan Civil War, 1983–2009
- South Yemen Civil War, 1986
- Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), February 15, 1989 – April 30, 1992 The continuing part of the civil war where the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, leaving the Afghan communist government to fend for itself against the Mujahideen months later part of / also called War in Afghanistan (1978–present)
- First Liberian Civil War, 1989–1996
- Rwandan Civil War, 1990–1993
- Casamance Conflict (Senegal), 1990–2006
- Georgian Civil War, 1991–1993
- Sierra Leone Civil War, 1991–2002
- Yugoslav Wars, 1991–1999[6][7][8][9][10]
- Algerian Civil War, 1991–2002, conflicts persist
- Civil war in Tajikistan, 1992–1997
- Afghan Civil War (1992–1996), April 30, 1992 – September 27, 1996 When the Afghan communist government falls to the Mujahideen there was a rise in different kinds of ideology, power-sharing, Belligerents and violent fighting continue to escalate part of / also called War in Afghanistan (1978–present)
- Burundi Civil War, 1993–2005
- First Yemeni Civil War, 1994
- Iraqi Kurdish Civil War, 1994–1997
- Afghan Civil War (1996–2001), September 27, 1996 – October 7, 2001 In 1996 the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan part of / also called War in Afghanistan (1978–present)
- First Congo War, 1996–1997
- Clashes in Cambodia, 1997
- Nepalese Civil War, 1996–2006
- Rebellion in Albania, 1997
- Republic of the Congo Civil War, 1997–1999
- Guinea-Bissau Civil War, 1998–1999
- Second Congo War, 1998–2003
- Uprising in Iraq (18 February 1999 – April 1999)
- Second Liberian Civil War, 1999–2003
Since 2000
- Albanian rebellion in Macedonia, 2001
- First Ivorian Civil War, 2002–2007
- Houthi insurgency in Yemen, 18 June 2004 – 6 February 2015
- Fourth Chadian Civil War, 18 December 2005 – 15 January 2010
- First Iraqi Civil War, 2006–2007, a sub-conflict within the Iraq War February 2006 – February 2007
- Fatah–Hamas conflict (Palestine), 2006–2007, tensions ongoing
- South Yemen insurgency, 27 April 2009 – 19 March 2015
- Second Ivorian Civil War, 2010–2011
- Tajikistan insurgency, 19 September 2010 - August 2012
- 2010–12 Myanmar border clashes, 7 November 2010 – 12 January 2012
- First Libyan Civil War, 15 February 2011 – 23 October 2011
- Post-civil war violence in Libya, 1 November 2011 – 16 May 2014
- Iraqi insurgency, 18 December 2011 – 31 December 2013
- Tuareg Rebellion in Mali, 16 January 2012 – 6 April 2012
- Northern Mali conflict, 16 January 2012 – 20 February 2015
- M23 rebellion, 4 April 2012 – 7 November 2013
- Second Iraqi Civil War, 1 January 2014 – 9 December 2017
Ongoing civil wars
The following civil wars are ongoing as of 2018. Only ongoing conflicts meeting the definition of a civil war are listed. See list of ongoing military conflicts and lists of active separatist movements for lists with a wider scope.
Myanmar, Internal conflict in Myanmar, since 1948 Indonesia, Papua conflict, since 1962 Colombia, Colombian conflict, since 1964 Afghanistan, War in Afghanistan, since 1978 Turkey, Kurdish–Turkish conflict since 1978 Somalia, Somali Civil War, since 1988 Sudan, three conflicts - War in Darfur, since 26 February 2003
- Sudanese nomadic conflicts, since 26 May 2009 through at least 2017
- Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 5 June 2011
Pakistan, War in North-West Pakistan, since 16 March 2004 Paraguay, Paraguayan People's Army insurgency, since 2005 Syria, Syrian Civil War, since 15 March 2011, also see List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War Central African Republic, Central African Republic conflict, since 10 December 2012 South Sudan, South Sudanese Civil War, since 15 December 2013 Libya, Second Libyan Civil War, since 16 May 2014 Yemen, Second Yemeni Civil War, since 19 March 2015
References
- ↑ Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan: "Sidney Godolphin, who [...] was unfortunately slain in the [...] late Civill warre" (p. 390).
- ↑ OED: "war between the citizens or inhabitants of a single country, state, or community". Early use of the term in reference to neither the Roman Republic nor the English Civil War include the War in the Vendée (1802) and the civil war in Portugal (1835, 1836).
- ↑ Bøgh, Anders (26 May 2015). "The Civil War periode 1131-1157". danmarkshistorien.dk/ (in Danish). Aarhus Universitet. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ F. Warner, 1768
- ↑ Milner-Gulland, R. R.; Dejevsky, Nikolai J. (1989). Atlas of Russia and the Soviet Union. Phaidon atlases of world civilizations. Phaidon. p. 108. ISBN 9780714825496. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
1774 [...] the civil war against Pugachov reached its climax.
- ↑ "Politics this week:Feb 14th 2002". The Economist. 16 February 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ↑ M. Hayden (1992). "Human Rights and the Civil War in Yugoslavia: Morality of Liberal Absolutism". Economic and Political Weekly: 1252–1254. JSTOR 4398510.
- ↑ Igić (March 2002). "The influence of the civil war in Yugoslavia on publishing in peer-reviewed journals". Scientometrics. pp. 447–452. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ↑ Gerrits (1992). "Some Comments on the Civil War in the Yugoslavia". Helsinki Monitor. pp. 54–56. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ↑ Van Hook. "Yugoslavian Civil War, 1991–1999". Oxford Bibliographies Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.