Boaz was a city to which the Nephites retreated during the late stages of their protracted conflict with the Lamanites. This city is relevant primarily as a site of military encounter and cultural tragedy. After being soundly defeated by the Lamanites at Desolation, the Nephites fled to Boaz. Their initial defense of the city was successful in repelling the first Lamanite assault. However, the Lamanites’ subsequent attack proved devastating. The ferocity of the conflict and the dire fate of the inhabitants are underscored by Mormon’s account of the battle, in which the Nephites were “driven and slaughtered with an exceedingly great slaughter” and the grim detail that “their women and their children were again sacrificed unto idols” (Mormon 4:20–21). The mention of human sacrifice indicates a dark period of cultural degeneration among the Lamanites and underlines the extremes of violence and religious corruption prevalent during this phase of Nephite-Lamanite relations. Following this calamity at Boaz, the Nephite leader Mormon continued southward, leading the remnants of his people to the land of Antum, in pursuit of further refuge.