What caused the reign of terror?

The Reign of Terror (Sept. 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794), also known as the The Terror was a period of violence (following the execution death of King Louis XV1) that occurred for one year and two months after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution."

Caught up in civil and foreign war, the Revolutionary government decided to make "Terror" the order of the day (September 5 decree) and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, hoarders).

Its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. For the tiem period (January 1793-July 1794), France was governed by the Committee of Public Safety.

Estimates vary widely as to how many were killed, with numbers ranging from 16,000 to 40,000; in many cases, records were not kept, or if they were, they are considered likely to be inaccurate.

The guillotine ("National Razor") became the symbol of a string of executions: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Girondins, Louis Philippe II and Madame Roland, as well as many others, such as "the father of modern chemistry" Antoine Lavoisier, lost their lives under its blade.