Five of History's Most Brutal Genocides

World history records several cases of genocide or mass murder of a particular group, so horrific that millions of lives were lost.

The following is a list of some of the most horrific genocides ever recorded, as reported by owlcation.com:

1. Mongol Invasion and Conquest (13th century) – 60 million to 100 million victims
2. China's Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) – 55 million to 60 million victims
3. Nazi Germany's Holocaust (1941–1945) – 7 million to 11 million victims
4. The Holodomor (1932–1933) – 3.5 million to 10 million victims
5. Cambodian Killing Fields (1975–1979) – 1.5 million to 2 million victims

The Mongol invasion and conquest is recorded as the genocide that claimed the most lives in world history. The Mongol conquest was a major expansion of the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan to conquer Eurasia in the early 13th century.

The Mongols traveled from one region to another, killing, besieging, and plundering everything in their path. The Mongols were renowned as skilled horsemen, allowing them to quickly and easily conquer their victims.

Besides widespread death and destruction, the invasion also caused the largest population displacement in human history. This was particularly true in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, where entire populations were forced to abandon their homes due to terror and threats.

(Read More: Cases of Murder in Indonesia Continue to Decrease in the Last 5 Years)