Editing Religious war (section)

==Holy war concepts in religious traditions==
While early empires could be described{{according to whom|date=May 2022}} as [[henotheistic]], i.e. dominated by a single god of the ruling elite (as [[Marduk]] in the [[Babylonian empire]], [[Assur (god)|Assur]] in the [[Assyrian empire]], etc.), or more directly by deifying the ruler in an [[imperial cult]], the concept of "holy war" enters a new phase with the development of [[monotheism]].<ref>Jonathan Kirsch  ''God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism'', Penguin, 2005.</ref>

===Ancient warfare and polytheism===
{{further|Ancient warfare|Polytheism|List of war deities}}

During [[classical antiquity]], the [[Greco-Roman world]] had a [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] with particular attributes and interest areas. [[Ares]] personified war. While he received occasional sacrifice from armies going to war, there was only a very limited "cult of Ares".<ref name="Burkert, p. 170">Burkert, ''Greek Religion'', p. 170.</ref> In [[Sparta]], however, each company of youths sacrificed to [[Enyalios]] before engaging in ritual fighting at the Phoebaeum.<ref>"Here each company of youths sacrifices a puppy to Enyalius, holding that the most valiant of tame animals is an acceptable victim to the most valiant of the gods. I know of no other Greeks who are accustomed to sacrifice puppies except the people of [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]]; these too sacrifice a puppy, a black bitch, to the Wayside Goddess." [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 3.14.9.</ref>

[[Hans M. Barstad]] (2008) claimed that this [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] attitude to war and religion differed from that of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]]: "Quite unlike what we find with the Greeks, holy war permeated ancient Israelite society."<ref name="Barstad"/> Moreover, ever since the pioneering study of Manfred Weippert, "»Heiliger Krieg« in Israel und Assyrien" (1972), scholars have been comparing the holy war concept in the (monotheistic) [[Hebrew Bible]] with other (polytheistic) [[ancient Near East]]ern war traditions, and found "many [striking] similarities in phraseology and ideology".<ref name="Barstad">{{Cite book |last1=Barstad |first1=Hans M. |date=2008 |title=History and the Hebrew Bible: Studies in Ancient Israelite and Ancient Near Eastern Historiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqJxkKy-cMMC&pg=PA57 |location=Tübingen |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |pages=57 |isbn=9783161498091 |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>

===Christianity===
{{further|Christianity and violence|Crusades|European wars of religion|Counter-Reformation#Politics|Sectarian violence among Christians}}
[[File:La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois.jpg|thumb|The [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of French Protestants, 1572]]

According to historian Edward Peters, before the 11th century, Christians had not developed a concept of holy war (''bellum sacrum''), whereby fighting itself might be considered a penitential and spiritually meritorious act.<ref name="Peters First">{{cite book|last1=Peters|first1=Edward|title=The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials|date=1998|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, PA|isbn=0812216563|edition=2|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSOSJWG3E2MC&pg=PA8|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818180508/https://books.google.com/books?id=PSOSJWG3E2MC&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Levine War" /> During the ninth and tenth centuries, multiple invasions occurred which led some regions to make their own armies to defend themselves and this slowly lead to the emergence of the Crusades, the concept of "holy war", and terminology such as "enemies of God" in the 11th century.<ref name="Peters First" /><ref name="Levine War">{{cite web|last1=Levine|first1=David|title=Conflicts of Ideology in Christian and Muslim Holy War|url=https://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/journal-of-history/david-levine.html|publisher=Binghamton University|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625153222/https://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/journal-of-history/david-levine.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In early Christianity, St. Augustine's concept of [[Just war theory|just war]] (''bellum iustum'') was widely accepted, but warfare was not regarded as a virtuous activity<ref name="Peters First" /><ref name="usna">{{cite web|last1=Abels|first1=Richard|title=Timeline for the Crusades and Christian Holy War|url=http://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/crusades_timeline.htm|website=US Naval Academy|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602143411/http://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/crusades_timeline.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and expressions of concern for the salvation of those who killed enemies in battle, regardless of the cause for which they fought, was common.<ref name="Peters First" />

During the era of the [[Crusades]], some of the Crusaders who fought in the name of God were recognized as the ''[[Miles Christianus|Milites Christi]]'', the soldiers or the knights of Christ.<ref>[[Tyerman, Christopher]]. ''The Crusades: A Very Short Introduction''. Oxford University Press, London, 2004. PP. 63.</ref>
The [[Crusades]] were a series of military campaigns against the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim Conquests]] that were waged from the end of the 11th century through the 13th century. Originally, the goal of the Crusaders was the recapture of [[Jerusalem]] and the [[Holy Land]] from the [[Islam|Muslims]], and the provision of support to the besieged Christian [[Byzantine Empire]] which was waging a war against [[Muslim]] [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuq]] expansion into [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] and Europe proper. Later, Crusades were launched against other targets, either for religious reasons, such as the [[Albigensian Crusade]], the [[Northern Crusades]], or because of political conflicts, such as the [[Aragonese Crusade]]. In 1095, at the [[Council of Clermont]], [[Pope Urban II]] raised the level of the war from a ''[[bellum iustum]]'' (a "just war"), to a ''bellum sacrum'' (a "holy war").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/ChurchAndMinistry/ChurchHistory/Crusades_CanerChristianJihad0505.asp |title=Christian Jihad: The Crusades and Killing in the Name of Christ |publisher=Cbn.com |access-date=20 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709000007/http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/ChurchAndMinistry/ChurchHistory/Crusades_CanerChristianJihad0505.asp |archive-date=9 July 2008 }}</ref>

=== Hinduism ===
{{Main|Dharma-yuddha}}
{{See also|Religious violence in India|Violence against Christians in India|Violence against Muslims in independent India|Hindu terrorism|Hindutva}} 
This does not refer to religious conflict. ''[[Dharma-yuddha]]'' in [[Hindu texts]], refers to the protocol to be followed by both parties at war.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present|page=28|publisher=Cambridge University|author=Kaushik Roy}}</ref> It sets the rules for both sides to conduct the war fairly (''jus in bello''). It is important in [[Vedas|Vedic]] and [[Indian epic poetry|epic literature]] such as the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and the ''[[Ramayana]]''.<ref name="Roy"/> The word Dharma may be interpreted variously as righteousness or responsibility or duty based on the context.  

Neither the [[Mahabharata]] nor the [[Ramayana]] were religious conflicts. The Mahabharata was fought over the inheritance of the kingdom of Hastinapura. Ramayana was fought over the abduction of Rama's wife Sita by Ravana. The two epics are of great importance in Hindu tradition.

However, according to Torkel Berkke, the ''Mahabharata'' does not provide a clear discussion on who has the authority to initiate a war (''jus ad bellum''), nor on what makes a war just (''bellum justum'').<ref name="Roy">{{Cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Kaushik |date=2012 |title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRE3n1VwDTIC |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=27–28 |isbn=9781107017368 |access-date=13 March 2022}}</ref>

===Islam===
{{further|Islam and violence|Jihad|Early Muslim conquests|Ghazi (warrior)}}


The first forms of military jihad occurred after the migration ([[Hijra (Islam)|hijra]]) of Muhammad and his small group of followers to [[Medina]] from Mecca and the conversion of several inhabitants of the city to Islam. The first revelation concerning the struggle against the Meccans was {{qref|22|39-40|b=y|pl=y}}:<ref>William M. Watt: ''Muhammad at Medina'', p.4; q.v. the [[Tafsir]] regarding these verses</ref>

{{blockquote|Permission ˹to fight back˺ is ˹hereby˺ granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged. And Allah is truly Most Capable of helping them ˹prevail˺. ˹They are˺ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: "Our Lord is Allah." Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, destruction would have surely claimed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah's Name is often mentioned. Allah will certainly help those who stand up for Him. Allah is truly All-Powerful, Almighty.|{{qref|22|39-40|c=y}}}}

===Judaism===
{{Main|Milkhemet Mitzvah|Herem (war or property)}}
{{Further|Judaism and violence}}
{{See also|Numbers 31#Scholarly discussions}}
[[File:Tissot The Women of Midian Led Captive by the Hebrews.jpg|thumb|Midianite women, children and livestock taken captive by Israelite soldiers after all Midianite men had been killed and their towns burnt. Watercolour by [[James Tissot]] (c. 1900) illustrating the War against the Midianites as narrated in [[Numbers 31]].]]
[[Reuven Firestone]] (2012) stated "that holy war is a common theme in the Hebrew Bible. Divinely legitimized through the authority of biblical scripture and its interpretation, holy war became a historical reality for the Jews of antiquity. Among at least some of the Jewish groups of the late [[Second Temple period]] until the middle of the second century, C.E., holy war was an operative institution. That is, Jews engaged in what is defined here as holy war."{{sfn|Firestone|2012|p=3}} He mentioned the [[Maccabean Revolt]] (167–160 BCE), the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] (66–73 CE) and the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (132–136 CE) as three examples of a "holy war" or "Commanded War" ({{Langx|he|מלחמת מצווה}} ''[[Milkhemet Mitzvah]]'') in the eyes of [[Rabbinic Judaism]] at the time.{{sfn|Firestone|2012|p=3}} He asserted that this concept may have re-emerged in modern times within some factions of the [[Zionist movement]], particularly [[Revisionist Zionism]].<ref>Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2022}}

In 2016, however, Firestone made a distinction between what he regarded as the Hebrew Bible's concept and the 'Western' concept of holy war:<ref>{{cite web|last1=Firestone|first1=Reuven|title=Holy War Idea in the Hebrew Bible|url=http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/private/cmje/issues/more_issues/Holy_War_in_the_Hebrew_Bible.pdf|publisher=USC|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-date=13 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013061244/http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/private/cmje/issues/more_issues/Holy_War_in_the_Hebrew_Bible.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><blockquote>"Holy war" is a Western concept referring to war that is fought for religion, against adherents of other religions, often in order to promote religion through conversion, and with no specific geographic limitation. This concept does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, whose wars are not fought for religion or in order to promote it but, rather, in order to preserve religion and a religiously unique people in relation to a specific and limited geography.</blockquote>Several scholars regard [[The Bible and violence#Warfare from Genesis through Joshua|war narratives in the Hebrew Bible]], such as the [[Numbers 31|war against the Midianites in Numbers 31]], to be a holy war, with Niditch (1995) asserting the presence of a "priestly ideology of war in Numbers 31".<ref name="Niditch">{{Cite journal |last=Niditch |first=Susan |date=1995 |title=War in the Hebrew Bible and Contemporary Parallels |url=http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/15-4_Nations/15-4_Niditch.pdf |journal=[[Word & World]] |publisher=[[Luther Seminary]] |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=406 |access-date=20 March 2021 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101190138/http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/15-4_Nations/15-4_Niditch.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hamilton (2005) argued that the two major concerns of Number 31 are the idea that war is a defiling activity, but Israelite soldiers need to be ritually pure, so they may only fight wars for a holy cause, and are required to cleanse themselves afterwards to restore their ritual purity.<ref name="Hamilton" /> The Israelite campaign against Midian was blessed by the Israelite god [[Yahweh]], and could therefore be considered a holy war.<ref name="Hamilton">{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Victor P. |date=2005 |title=Handbook on the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVcVWPXuMsAC&pg=PT371 |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |publisher=Baker Books |page=371 |isbn=9781585583003 |access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> Olson (2012), who believed the war narrative to be a fictional story with a theological purpose, noted that the Israelite soldiers' actions in Numbers 31 closely followed the holy war regulations set out in Deuteronomy 20:14, although [[Moses]]' commandment to also kill the captive male children and non-virgin women was a marked departure from these regulations.<ref name="Olson">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Dennis T. |date=2012 |title=Numbers |chapter=Numbers 31. War against the Midianites: Judgment for Past Sin, Foretaste of a Future Conquest |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jlFKK7xkxJsC&pg=PA176 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |pages=176–180 |isbn=9780664238827 |access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> He concluded: "Many aspects of this holy war text may be troublesome to a contemporary reader. But understood within the symbolic world of the ancient writers of Numbers, the story of the war against the Midianites is a kind of dress rehearsal that builds confidence and hope in anticipation of the actual conquest of Canaan that lay ahead."<ref name="Olson" />

Dawn (2016, translating Rad 1958) stated: "From the earliest days of Israel's existence as a people, holy war was a sacred institution, undertaken as a cultic act of a religious community".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rad|first=Gerhard von|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ezaCr3i3JeIC
| translator= Marva J. Dawn
|title=Holy War in Ancient Israel|date=2016| orig-year= 1958|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0528-7
| place= Grand Rapids 
|language=en}}</ref>

Other wars known to Judaism include a [[mandatory war]] and a [[voluntary war]].

=== Shinto ===
{{expand section|date=March 2022}}
{{See also|Hachiman}}

=== Sikhism ===
{{Excerpt|Dharamyudh (Sikhism)}}