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It was a conflict that took place at the end of the 19th century that lasted only 45 minutes. It involved England and a sultan from the island of Zanzibar in East Africa. British and German disputed the territorial control of the region, which was under British influence.
When the Sultan of Zanzibar died in 1896, one of his sons took the throne with German support, angering the British, who feared losing power in the area and demanded his resignation.
In response, the new sultan gathered an army of 2,500 soldiers of Arab origin and declared war on the British. Shortly before the crisis erupted, England, foreseeing trouble, had already sent a small fleet of gunboats to the region.
These warships bombed the island on August 27, 1896 and obtained the surrender of the new sultan of Zanzibar less than an hour after the conflict began.
But this is a war that belongs only on trivia lists and has not caused major consequences.
In the 20th century, two of the shortest wars in history left permanent marks on the Middle East’s political scene, creating problems that extend to this day.
One of them was the Suez War, in 1956, which lasted around a week, pitting England, France and Israel against Egypt, for dominance of the Suez Canal – which, after the fighting, remained under Egyptian control.
Another lightning and even more defining conflict of the 20th century was the Six Day War, fought in 1967, when Israel defeated Arab forces in Egypt, Syria and Jordan in less than a week.