Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Carchemish

Battle of Carchemish was a battle fought in 605 BC at Carchemish, in what is now Turkey. It was part of Q136386525. The recorded result: Babylonian victory.

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Illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915
Illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915. Egisto C., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought605 BC
WhereCarchemish, Turkey36.830N, 38.015E
OutcomeBabylonian victory
BelligerentsTwenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt; Remnants of the army of the former Neo-Assyrian EmpireagainstNeo-Babylonian Empire
Casualties and lossesHeavyandMinimal
Part ofQ136386525

Record

Date605 BC (year precision)
PlaceCarchemish, Turkey
36.830N, 38.015E
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changeEnd of the Egyptian intervention in the Near East
Casualties and lossesHeavyMinimal
Commanders
Battle of CarchemishBattle of CarchemishSiege of al-BiraBattle of NezibSiege of RumkaleSiege of AintabBattle of Marj DabiqSiege of al-BiraSiege of RumkaleSiege of AintabBattle of Marj DabiqAleppoİskenderunAdıyamanAr RaqqahKilisKahramanmaraşIdlibMadinat ath Thawrah100 km36.830N, 38.015E
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 Carchemish
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 Carchemish today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 347 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 426 m, 426 m of relief, steep country and today it is 39% cropland, 29% grassland, 11% built-up.

cropland: 39%grassland: 29%built-up: 11%bare ground: 8%water: 6%tree cover: 5%cropland 39%grassland 29%built-up 11%bare ground 8%water 6%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 391 mnorth to south, 10.0 km324 to 378 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

Elsewhere in 605 BC

Battle of Carchemish is one of 25 engagements of the 7th century BC in the atlas and one of 622 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q633560, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Carchemish, revision 1375979106, 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.