Which city has been captured most frequently?
score:22
Accepted answer
The City of Xi'an / Hsi-an aka Ch'ang-an aka Hao - 51 (58) times
- 771 B.C. - conquered by the Quanrong barbarians
- 771 B.C. - recovered by Qin forces
- 207 B.C. - captured by Liu Bang's army
- A.D. 23 - captured by the Green Forests Army rebels
- 25 - captured by the Red Eyebrows Army rebels
- 26 - recovered by Deng Yu
- 192 - captured by Li Jue and Guo Si
- 198 - captured by Duan Wei
- 306 - sacked by forces under Sima Yue
- 307 - recovered by sacked by forces under Sima Yue
- 311 - captured by Han Zhao forces
- 312 - recovered by Jin loyalist forces
- 313 - partially captured by Han Zhao's Liu Yao in surprise attack
- 313 - abandoned to Jin relief forces
- 316 - conquered by Liu Yao
- 329 - capitulated to Shi Le after being abandoned by the royal court
- 332 - captured by Shi Le's nephew Shi Hu
- 350 - conquered by Fu Jian
- 385 - conquered by Western Yan
- 386 - captured by Yao Chang
- 417 - recovered by the Eastern Jin
- 418 - conquered by Helian Bobo's forces
- 426 - captured by Northern Wei
- 428 - abandoned to advancing Xia forces
- 430 - recovered by Northern Wei
- 467 - recovered by Northern Wei after an royal prince revolted in the city
- 532 - captured by Northern Wei rebels
- 614 - captured by the rebelling Li Yuan
- 756 - fell to rebels during the An Lushan Rebellion
- 757 - recovered by Tang government forces
- 763 - captured by the Tibetan Empire
- 763 - abandoned to Tang reinforcements 15 days later
- 783 - fell to rebels headed by Zhu Ci
- 784 - recovered by Tang government forces
- 881 - fell to Huang Chao insurrection
- 882 - recovered by Tang government forces
- 882 - recaptured by Huang Chao the next night
- 883 - recovered by Tang government forces
- 895 - seized by Li Maozhen
- 909 - seized by Liu Zhijun
- 909 - recovered by Zhu Wen
- 934 - capitulated to Later Tang rebels
- 948 - seized by rebels
- 949 - recovered by Later Han forces
- 1128 - conquered by Jin forces
- 1230 - conquered by the Mongols
- 1369 - captured by Ming forces
- 1643 - captured by rebels under Li Zicheng
- 1645 - conquered by Manchurian forces
- 1911 - captured by Republican revolutionaries
- 1949 - captured by Communist Chinese forces
The following involve hostile forces taking control of the city, but mostly from within (as coups, revolts, etc), so not sure if we want to count them:
- 467 - seized in revolt by a Northern Wei prince
- 626 - seized in coup by Crown Prince Li Shimin
- 705 - seized in coup by Imperial Chancellor Zhang Jianzhi
- 710 - seized in coup by Prince Li Longji
- 835 - seized in coup by eunuchs
- 904 - seized in coup by Zhu Wen
- 1936 - seized in pro-Communist/Chinese Unity coup
Upvote:-4
Cities or municipalities in ancient Mesopotamia can be the clear candidate. Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Alexander, Romans, a long list. Considering how old the city is can have a certain assurance on how many times the city has been turned over.
Upvote:-3
Some cities have been around for a very long time. Alexandria (in Egypt) and Damascus (in Syria) would certainly come out very high on your list.
Upvote:1
The city of Xuzhou in China is said to have seen 200 notable battles. I don't know how many of these ended with the city being captured, but it seems like it would rank very high.
I did a quick check and between 1911 and 1948 it changed hands at least 5 times.
Upvote:1
From what I know, Jerusalem has been controlled by the most separate governments. What I mean is that once it has been controlled by one government, if that government reconquers, then you do not add another number. In this case, Jerusalem, I believe, has been captured the most times.
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