5. An Lushan Rebellion (China, 755 AD-763 AD): 21 Million-36 Million Deaths
Returning to China yet again, and this time for a battle that was at least twice as bloody as the Russian Civil War, the entry before it on the list. The An Lushan Rebellion saw the rival Yan Dynasty - led by An Lushan - declare itself as a separate nation in Northern China in December 755 AD, revolting against the Tang Dynasty in the process. Spanning the reign of three Tang emperors - Xuanzong, Suzong and Daizong - the rebellion absolutely devastated the Chinese population, resulting in the deaths of between 21million and 36million natives. The Battle of Yongqui, the Fall of Chang'an and the Siege of Suiyang were the most bloody of the conflicts throughout that eight-year war, which ended in February 764 AD. Civil wars usually contain such high death tolls not because of the loss of life to combatants themselves, but as a result of disease, starvation and population dislocation - and the An Lushan Rebellion was no different. In fact, so brutal was the An Lushan Rebellion that it is believed that two-thirds of the entire population of the Chinese Empire died. That accounted for a sixth of the population of the entire world at the time - making it proportionally the largest atrocity in human history.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
