The 1453 Siege of Constantinople (painted 1499)

A siege is a prolonged military assault and blockade on a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. What follows is a chronological list of sieges.

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completion. You can help by expanding it with sourced additions.

[edit] Military sieges

[edit] Ancient

• Siege of Megiddo (c. 1457 BC)
• Siege of Dapur (c. 1296 BC)
• Siege of Troy (c. 1200 BC)
• Siege of Hermopolis (c. 715 BC)
• Siege of Lachish (c. 715 BC)
• Siege of Jerusalem (701 BC) - the Assyrian siege of Sennacherib
• Siege of Syracuse (415 BC) - the Athenian siege
• Siege of Tyre (332 BC) by Alexander the Great
• Siege of Rhodes (305 BC) by Demetrius Poliorcetes
• Siege of Agrigentum (261 BC) (First Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage)
• Siege of Saguntum (218 BC) - casus belli for the Second Punic War
• Siege of Syracuse (214–212 BC) - the Roman siege
• Siege of Carthage (149–146 BC) by Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
• Siege of Numantia (134–133 BC) by Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
• Siege of Alesia (52 BC)
• Siege of Jerusalem (70 AD) - the Roman siege of Titus
• Siege of Masada (72 AD)
• Siege of Byzantium (193 AD–196 AD) by Septimius Severus forces.

[edit] Medieval

• The First Siege of Constantinople by Avars and Sassanid Persians in 626
• The Siege of Tbilisi (628)
• Siege of Ansi fortress (645)
• The First Arab Siege of Constantinople in 674-678
• The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 717-718
• Siege of Pavia (773–774)
• Siege of Constantinople (860)
• Siege of Syracuse (878)
• Siege of Paris (885–886)
• Siege of Chartres (911)
• Siege of Kiev (968)
• Siege of Dorostolon (971)
• Siege of Graus (Spring 1063)
• Siege of Nicaea (1097) - part of the First Crusade
• Siege of Antioch (1097–1098) - part of the First Crusade
• Siege of Capua (1098)
• Siege of Jerusalem (1099) - part of the First Crusade
• Siege of Weinsberg (1140)
• Siege of Edessa (1144)
• Siege of Lisbon (1147)
• Siege of Damascus (1148)
• Siege of Sanjō Palace (1160) - the main action of the Heiji Rebellion took place in Kyoto
• Siege of Nara (1180) - during Genpei War
• Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
• Siege of Acre (1189)
• Siege of Zara (1202) - part of the Fourth Crusade
• Siege of Constantinople (1203) - part of the Fourth Crusade
• Siege of Constantinople (1204) - part of the Fourth Crusade
• Siege of Beijing (1215) - Genghis Khan conquers Beijing
• Siege of Constantinople (1235) - a joint Bulgarian-Nicaean siege on the capital of the Latin Empire.
• Siege of Bilär (1236) - Batu Khan conquers the city of Bilär.
• Siege of Kiev (1240) - Mongol conquest of Kiev.
• Siege of Xiangyang (1267-1273) - Mongol conquest of the city of Xiangyang in the invasion of the Southern Song.
• Siege of Gibraltar (1309) - first siege of Gibraltar, by Juan Alfonso de Guzman el Bueno in the Reconquista
• Siege of Gibraltar (1316) - second siege of Gibraltar, by the Nasrid caid Yahya in the Reconquista
• Siege of Nicaea (1328-1331) - part of the Byzantine-Ottoman wars
• Siege of Kamakura (1333) - end of Ashikaga shogunate.
• Siege of Gibraltar (1333) - third siege of Gibraltar, by a Marinids army, lead by Abd al-Malik in the Reconquista
• Siege of Gibraltar (1333) - fourth siege of Gibraltar, by King Alfonso XI of Castile in the Reconquista
• Siege of Nicomedia - part of the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars
• Siege of Caffa (1346)
• Siege of Calais (1346–1347) - Hundred Years' War
• Siege of Gibraltar (1349–1350) - fifth siege of Gibraltar, by Alfonso XI in the Reconquista
• Siege of Limoges (1370)
• Siege of Gibraltar (1374) - sixth siege of Gibraltar, by the Nasrid in the Reconquista
• Siege of Maastricht (1407)
• Siege of Marienburg (1410) - in the aftermath of the Battle of Grunwald
• Siege of Rouen (1418) - reopening of the Hundred Years War
• Siege of Constantinople (1422) - first siege of Constantinople, by the Murad II
• Siege of Orleans (1429)
• Siege of La Charité (1429)
• Siege of Gibraltar (1436) - seventh siege of Gibraltar, by the count of Niebla in the Reconquista
• Siege of Constantinople (1453) - second siege of Constantinople by the Mehmed II

[edit] Early modern

Monks successfully defended the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra against the Poles from September 1609 to January 1611.

• Siege of Belgrade (1456) - part of Ottoman wars in Europe
• Siege of Gibraltar (1462) - eighth siege of Gibraltar, by a Castilian army in the Reconquista
• Siege of Harlech Castle (1461- 1468) - part of Wars of the Roses. Longest siege in British history.
• Siege of Gibraltar (1467) - ninth siege of Gibraltar, by the Duke of Medina Sidonia
• Siege of Rhodes (1480) - first siege of Rhodes
• Siege of Gibraltar (1506) - tenth siege of Gibraltar, by the Duke of Medina Sidonia
• Siege of Smolensk (1514)
• Siege of Tenochtitlan (1521) - fall of the Aztec Empire.
• Siege of Rhodes (1522) - second siege of Rhodes
• Siege of Kamakura (1526)
• Siege of Vienna (1529) - first siege of Vienna
• Siege of Cuzco (1536-1537)
• Siege of Beijing (1550)
• Siege of Eger (1552) - part of Ottoman-Habsburg wars
• Siege of Kazan (1552) - part of Russo-Kazan wars
• Siege of Leith (1560)
• Siege of Malta (1565)
• Siege of Szigetvár (1566) - Ottoman siege during which Suleiman the Magnificent died
• Siege of Chartres (1568)
• Turkish siege of Nicosia, Cyprus (1570)
• Turkish siege of Famagusta, Cyprus (1570–1571)
• Siege of Ishiyama Honganji (1570–1580) - longest siege in Japanese history
• Siege of Moscow (1571) - part of Russo-Crimean Wars

During the Cologne War (1583-1589), Ferdinand of Bavaria successfully besieged the medieval fortress of Godesberg; during a month-long siege, his sappers dug tunnels under the feldspar of the mountain and laid gunpowder and a 1500 pound bomb. The result was a spectacular explosion that sent chunks of the ramparts, the walls, the gates, and drawbridges into the air. His 500 men still could not take the fortress until they scaled the interior latrine system and climbed the mountain to enter through a hole in the chapel roof.

• Sieges of Nagashima (1571, 1573, 1574)
• Siege of Haarlem (1572)
• Siege of Nagashino (1575)
• Siege of Pskov (1581–1582)
• Siege of Godesberg (1583)
• Siege of Ypres (1584)
• Siege of Ghent (1584)
• Siege of Bruges (1584)
• Siege of Brussels (1584)
• Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585)
• Second Siege of Neuss (July 1586)
• Siege of Odawara (1590)
• Siege of Jinju (1592)
• Siege of Groenlo (1595)
• Siege of Groenlo (1597)
• Siege of Kinsale (1601–1602)
• Siege of Ostend (1601–1604)
• Siege of Groenlo (1606)
• Siege of Smolensk - (1609–1611) - 20 months
• Siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra (1609-1611) - 16 months
• Siege of Osaka (1614–1615)
• Siege of Breda (1624–1625)
• Siege of Groenlo (1627)
• Siege of La Rochelle (1627–1628)
• Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch (1629)
• Siege of Nuremberg (1632), Thirty Years' War
• Siege of Hara fortress (1637–1638)
• Siege of Azov (1637–1642) - part of Russo-Turkish Wars
• Siege of Candia (Crete) (1648–1669) - possibly the longest siege in history
• Siege of Drogheda (1649) -Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
• Siege of Wexford (1649)
• Siege of Waterford (1649–1650)
• Siege of Clonmel (1650)
• Cromwell's Siege of Limerick City, Ireland (1651)
• Siege of Galway (1652)
• Siege of Jasna Góra (1656) - during The Deluge
• Siege of Riga (1656) - in the Russo-Swedish War of 1656-1658
• Siege of Copenhagen (1658–1659)Second Northern War, Swedes defeated by Danish and Dutch defenders
• Siege of Lille (1667)
• Siege of Solovetsky Monastery (1668–1676) - eight years

Batteries at the Siege of Québec (1690).

• Siege of Groningen (1672)
• Siege of Maastricht (1673)
• Siege of Vienna (1683) - second siege of Vienna
• Siege of Derry (1689)
• Siege of Québec City (1690) - first siege of Québec City
• Siege of Athlone (1691)
• Williamite Siege of Limerick City, Ireland (1690–1691)
• Siege of Gibraltar (1704) - eleventh siege of Gibraltar, by Sir George Rooke's Anglo-Dutch fleet

The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782

• Siege of Gibraltar (1704–1705) - twelfth siege of Gibraltar, by a Spanish-French army)
• Siege of Turin (1706)
• Siege of Gaeta (1707) - during the War of the Spanish Succession
• Siege of Lille (1708)
• Siege of Barcelona (1714) - during the War of the Spanish Succession
• Siege of Gibraltar (1727) - thirteenth siege of Gibraltar, by a Spanish army
• Siege of Danzig (1734)
• Siege of Cartagena de Indias (1741) - by Edward Vernon in the War of Jenkins' Ear
• Siege of Olomouc (1758) - by Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War
• Siege of Québec City (1759) - second siege of Québec City
• Siege of Kolberg (1761)
• Siege of Havana (1762) British fleet headed by George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle lays siege to Spanish controlled Havana for a month.
• Siege of Boston (1775–1776)
• Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783) - fourteenth siege of Gibraltar, by a Spanish-French army in the American Revolutionary War
• Siege of Yorktown (1781)
• Siege of Mantua (1796–1797) - First Coalition, French besieging
• Siege of Mantua (1799) - Second Coalition, French defending
• Siege of Seringapatam (1799)

[edit] Modern

• Siege of Copenhagen (1807) Bombarded by British fleet and by ground forces commanded by Arthur Wellesley
• First and Second sieges of Saragossa (1808–1809) - Peninsular War
• Siege of Gerona (1809) - Peninsular War
• First Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) - Peninsular War by the French Marshal Michel Ney
• Second Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) - Peninsular War by Arthur Wellesley
• Siege of Badajoz (1812) - Peninsular War
• First, Second and Third Sieges of Missolonghi (1822, 1823, 1825—1826)
• Siege of the Alamo (1836)
• Siege of Veracruz (1847) - First U.S. amphibious landing
• Siege of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (1854)
• Siege of Taganrog (1855) - Crimean War
• Siege of Kars (1855) - Crimean War
• Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855) - Crimean War
• Siege of Cawnpore (1857) - The Indian Mutiny
• Siege of Lucknow (1857) - The Indian Mutiny
• Siege of Medina Fort (1857) - Toucouleurs besiege French for 97 days
• Siege of Fort Sumter (1861)Beginning of the Civil War, by Confederates, but was also later besieged later in the War by Union soldiers.
• Siege of Vicksburg (1863) — Union army besieged a Confederate city in the American Civil War.
• Siege of Port Hudson (1863) - Union Army surrounded Confederate river stronghold for 48 days.

Soldiers in the trenches of the siege at Petersburg.

• Siege of Petersburg (1864—1865)
• Siege of Hakodate (1869)
• Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune (1870–1871)
• Siege of Cartagena (1873–1874)
• Siege of Pleven (1877–1878) - Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
• Siege of Khartoum (1884–1885)
• Siege of Baler (1898–1899) - Philippine Revolution
• Siege of Mafeking (1899–1900) - Second Boer War
• Siege of Kimberley (1899–1900) - Second Boer War
• Siege of Ladysmith (1899–1900) - Second Boer War
• Siege of Port Arthur (1904–1905)
• Siege of Antwerp (1914) - World War I
• Siege of Maubeuge (1914) - World War I
• Siege of Alcazar (1936) - Second Spanish Republic militias besieged the Alcazar of Toledo in the Spanish Civil War
• Siege of Gijon (1936) - Spanish Civil War
• Siege of Oviedo (1936) - Spanish Civil War
• Siege of Madrid (1936—1939) - Spanish Civil War
• Siege of Malta (1940–1943) - World War II
• Siege of Tobruk (1941) - World War II
• Siege of Odessa (1941) - World War II
• Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942) - World War II
• Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944) - also known as the 900-Day Siege, probably the most gruesome in history, World War II.
• Siege of Stalingrad (1942–1943) - World War II
• Siege of Budapest (1944 - 1945)
• Siege of Breslau (1945) - World War II
• Siege of Jerusalem (1947–1948) - 1948 Arab-Israeli War - Palestinian Arabs laid siege to the Jewish quarters of Jerusalem, but were driven back. Siege was resumed in May by regular Jordanian and Egyptian forces. Ended in armistice.
• Berlin blockade (1948-1949) - No military action, but the tactic to starve a city by cutting her supply lines is a feature of a siege. The famous Berlin Air Lift supplied the city with food, coal, medical supplies and other goods for nearly a year.
• Siege of Dien Bien Phu (1954) - Vietnamese Viet Minh forces besieged French forces, effecting a final defeat on France's colonial occupation.
• Siege of Erenköy (1964) - Turkish Cypriots holding out against attacking Greek and Greek Cypriot forces.
• Siege of Beirut (1982)
• Siege of Vukovar (1991) - Croatian War of Independence
• Siege of Dubrovnik (1991–1992) - Croatian War of Independence
• Siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996) - Bosnian War
• Siege of Monrovia (2003) - Second Liberian Civil War
• CIMIC-House (2006) - Iraq War
• Siege of Nahr el-Bared (2007) - Lebanon

[edit] Police sieges

• Siege of Sidney Street (1911)
• Attica Siege (1971)
• Munich Olympic Massacre (1972)
• Wounded Knee Siege (1973)
• Norrmalmstorg robbery (1973) famous for the Stockholm syndrome
• Spaghetti House siege (1975)
• Balcombe Street Siege (1975)
• MOVE Siege (1978)
• Iranian Embassy Siege (1980)
• Palace of Justice siege (1985)
• Ruby Ridge Siege (1992)
• Waco Siege (1993)
• Montana Freemen Siege (1996)
• Japanese embassy hostage crisis (1996–1997)
• Republic of Texas Embassy Siege (1997)
• Moscow theater hostage crisis (2002)
• Beslan hostage crisis (2004)