Sacred War, a war about sacred places or about religion. Four sacred wars were waged in Greece (595-338 B.C.) chiefly for the defense of the temple of Delphi and the sacred territory surrounding it. A Mohammedan war for the faith is called a Jihad. The Crusades and the wars of the Reformation were sacred wars. The quarrel which led to the Crimean War was at first a dispute between Russia and France about sacred spots at Jerusalem. When Russia fights she uniformly gives out that it is a holy war.
Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia,
1912.