The Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanjing, refers to a series of atrocities committed after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, then the capital of China, on December 13, 1937. These atrocities included the killing of civilians and disarmed soldiers, mass rapes, and looting. Estimates of the number of victims vary widely with Chinese sources often claiming a death toll as high as 300,000.