What was the shortest war in recorded history, fought in 1896?

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was the shortest war in recorded history, lasting about 38 minutes.

The conflict began on 27 August 1896 after Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar died and was succeeded by his cousin, Khalid bin Barghash, who seized the palace. Britain supported another candidate, Hamoud bin Mohammed, and demanded that Khalid step aside.

When Khalid refused, British warships bombarded the Sultan’s palace. The shelling began at approximately 09:02 and ended around 09:40, after Khalid’s forces collapsed. The palace was heavily damaged, and Zanzibar’s short-lived resistance ended with Hamoud becoming sultan under British influence.

The exact duration is sometimes rounded to 40 minutes, but 38 minutes is the commonly cited figure based on the recorded start and end times. This was not a conventional conflict between two equal modern states; it was a colonial-era intervention in the sultanate of Zanzibar, which later became part of Tanzania.