Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Asculum

Battle of Asculum was a battle fought in 279 BC at Ascoli Satriano, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Pyrrhic War, which ran from 280 BC to 275 BC. The recorded result: Greek victory.

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Wars between Rome and Taranto Rome Beneventum (mod. Benevento) - Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Asculum (mod. Ascoli Satriano) - Battle of Asculum (279 BC) Heraclea - Battle of Heraclea (280 BC) Tarant
Wars between Rome and Taranto Rome Beneventum (mod. Benevento) - Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Asculum (mod. Ascoli Satriano) - Battle of Asculum (279 BC) Heraclea - Battle of Heraclea (280 BC) Tarant. Panairjdde, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought279 BC
WhereAscoli Satriano, Italy41.216N, 15.558E
OutcomeGreek victory
BelligerentsRoman Republic; Marsians; Marrucinians; Paelignians; Frentanians; Daunians; UmbriansagainstEpirotes; Aetolians; Acarnanians; Athamanians; Macedonians; Thessalians; Italiot Greeks; Samnites; Messapians; Lucanians; Bruttians
Part ofPyrrhic War280 BC to 275 BC

Where it sits in the Pyrrhic War

Battle of Heraclea, 280 BCBattle of Asculum, 279 BCSiege of Venusia, 279 BCSiege of Syracuse, 278 BCBattle of Rhegium, 278 BCSiege of Eryx, 277 BCBattle of the Cranita hills, 277 BCBattle of Kroton, 277 BCSiege of Lilybaeum, 276 BCBattle of the Strait of Messina, 276 BCBattle of Beneventum, 275 BC280 BC275 BCBattle of Asculum, 279 BC
11 placed engagements of the Pyrrhic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date279 BC (year precision)
PlaceAscoli Satriano, Italy
41.216N, 15.558E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength~40,000 (Frontinus); 70,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry including 20,000 Roman legionaries (Dionysius of Halicarnassus); 300 anti-elephant devices; 4,400 Apulian allies~40,000 (Frontinus); 70,000 infantry and over 8,000 cavalry including 20,000 Greek pikemen (Dionysius of Halicarnassus); 19 war elephants
Casualties and losses6,000 (Plutarch); over 15,000 (Dionysius of Halicarnassus)3,505 (Plutarch); over 15,000 (Dionysius of Halicarnassus)
Commanders
  • Publius Decius Mus (279 BC)
Battle of AsculumBattle of AsculumBattle of AscoliBattle of HerdoniaBattle of HerdoniaBattle of OliventoSiege of MelfiBattle of HerdoniaBattle of OliventoSiege of MelfiNaplesSalernoTarantoBeneventoPotenzaCampobasso100 km41.216N, 15.558E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Asculum
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Asculum today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-06-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 307 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 146 to 503 m, 356 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 67% cropland, 21% tree cover, 8% grassland.

cropland: 67%tree cover: 21%grassland: 8%built-up: 5%cropland 67%tree cover 21%grassland 8%built-up 5%
west to east, 10.0 km183 to 384 mnorth to south, 10.0 km152 to 473 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 279 BC

Battle of Asculum is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q756413, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Asculum, revision 1370432630, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.