Not to be confused with salt of the earth.

Salting the earth refers to the practice of spreading salt on fields to make them incapable of being used for crop-growing. This was done in ancient times at the end of some wars as an extremely punitive scorched earth tactic. For instance the Assyrians are described in ancient records as doing this to capitals of neighboring countries which repeatedly rebelled against paying them tribute – including Mitanni in c. 1290 BC, and centuries later, Elam in c. 640 BC. For other uses, see Salt of the earth. ... Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the formula NaCl. ... A scorched earth policy is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. ... For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation). ... Mitanni or Mittani (in Assyrian sources Hanilgalbat, Khanigalbat) was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia (in what is today Syria) from ca. ... Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. ...

According to the Book of Judges (9:45) in the Old Testament, Abimelech, the judge of the Israelites, sowed his own capital, Shechem, with salt, ca. 1050 BC, after quelling a revolt against him. Book of Judges (Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... In the Tanakh or Old Testament, Abimelech was a son of the great judge Gideon (Judges 9:1). ... Biblical judges are not to be confused with modern legal judges. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... Shechem is a name of geographical places. ...

The most famous example of salting the earth supposedly occurred at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC between the Roman Republic and Carthage. After sacking the city of Carthage and forcing the few survivors into slavery, an area 50 miles around the city was reportedly salted. It is highly doubtful as to whether this event actually occurred. Aside from the logistics involved (it would have required a tremendous amount of salt, at the time so valuable that it was sometimes used as money) the first reference to the event is found in the Middle Ages, thus making it probable that the story was a later fabrication. Moreover, even if ruining the soil around Carthage had been feasible such an action would have hindered Rome's subsequent growth and development, which relied heavily on grain imported from North Africa. Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Scipio Aemilianus Hasdrubal the Boetarch Strength 40,000 90,000 Casualties 17,000 62,000 The Third Punic War (149 to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC - 140s BC - 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 151 BC 150 BC 149 BC 148 BC 147 BC - 146 BC - 145 BC 144 BC... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Ruins of Roman-era Carthage For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ... Economics offers various definitions for money, though it is now commonly defined by the functions attached to any good or token that functions in trade as a medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ...

In Spain and the Spanish Empire, salt was poured onto the land owned by a convicted traitor (often one who was executed and his head placed on a picota, or pike, afterwards) after his house was demolished. The practice was abandoned in the 17th century. Military flag of the Spanish Empire from the 16th century up to 1843. ...

Stone memorial of the Aveiro's shame in Belém, Lisbon

Likewise, in Portugal, salt was poured onto the land owned by a convicted traitor. The last known event of this sort was the destruction of the Duke of Aveiro's palace in Lisbon in 1759, due to his participation in the Távora affair (a conspiracy against King Joseph I of Portugal). Demolished and salted, the palace's grounds gave place to a stone memorial in order to perpetuate the memory of the shame of the Aveiro House, where it is written (English translation): In this place were put to the ground and salted the houses of José Mascarenhas, stripped of the honours of Duque de Aveiro and others, convicted by sentence proclaimed in the Supreme Court of Inconfidences on the 12th of January 1759. Put to Justice as one of the leaders of the most barbarous and execrable upheaval that, on the night of the 3rd of September 1758, was committed against the most royal and sacred person of the Lord Joseph I. In this infamous land nothing may be built for all time. Image File history File links Aveiro's_stone_memorial. ... Image File history File links Aveiro's_stone_memorial. ... Belém (or Santa Maria De Belém) is an old quarter of Lisbon, Portugal, located 6km west of the present city centre (Baixa) and 2km west of Ponte 25 de Abril (The 25th of April Bridge). ... Jose de Mascarendas was the Duke of Aveiro 1708-1759, and was executed by the Marquis_of_Pombal under orders of Joseph_I_of_Portugal. ... Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa, IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ... 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Távora affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portuguese court. ... Joseph I (Portuguese José, pron. ...

The Red Army also salted Soviet fields as a part of the scorched earth policy against the Nazi invasion^{[citation needed]}. It was reported that when the Soviets reclaimed the territory, they were equally unable to use it.^{[citation needed]} The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) Translation: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow Official languages None; Russian de facto Government Socialist Republic/Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev... A scorched earth policy is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. ... Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler General (later MareÅŸal) Ion Antonescu Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Joseph Stalin Strength ~ 3. ...

Today the term is used in a variety of ways, referring in general to any sort of poisoning. This varies from the direct in the use of area denial weapons or radiological weapons, to the philosophical, where it is often used to describe business strategy to avoid takeovers (similar to but broader in scope than a poison pill). Area denial weapons are used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land. ... A radiological weapon (or radiological dispersion device, RDD) is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive contamination, either to kill, or to deny the use of an area (a modern version of salting the earth) and consists of a device (such as a nuclear or conventional explosive) which spreads... A takeover in business refers to one company (the acquirer, or bidder) purchasing another (the target). ... Poison pill began as a reference to literal poison pills (often glass vials of cyanide salts) carried by various spies throughout history, and by Nazi leaders in WWII. Spies could take such pills when discovered, eliminating any possibility that they could be interrogated for the enemys gain. ...

Vandals sometimes vandalize property by dumping salt into vegetation areas, eventually killing the plants.^{[citation needed]} A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le Père Duchêne illustré magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ...

See also

• Scorched earth
• Soil salination