Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Civitate

Battle of Civitate was a battle fought on 18 June 1053 at San Paolo di Civitate, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Norman conquest of southern Italy, which ran from 1100 to 1200. The recorded result: Norman victory. Recorded strength: 3,000 horsemen; 500 infantry against 6,000, infantry and horsemen.

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Battle of Civitate (Civitella), 18 June 1053 (- detail, by Adolphe Roger, 1841, collection of Versailles: Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon)
Battle of Civitate (Civitella), 18 June 1053 (- detail, by Adolphe Roger, 1841, collection of Versailles: Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon). Adolphe Roger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought18 June 1053
WhereSan Paolo di Civitate, Italy41.733N, 15.267E
OutcomeNorman victory
BelligerentsNormansagainstPapal coalition; Byzantine Empire; Swabians; Italians; Lombards
Part ofNorman conquest of southern Italy1100 to 1200

Where it sits in the Norman conquest of southern Italy

Battle of Cannae (1018), 1018Battle of Olivento, 1041Battle of Montemaggiore, 1041Battle of Montepeloso, 1041Battle of Civitate, 1053Siege of Salerno, 1076Siege of Syracuse, 108610181086Battle of Civitate, 1053
7 placed engagements of the Norman conquest of southern Italy in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date18 June 1053
PlaceSan Paolo di Civitate, Italy
41.733N, 15.267E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength3,000 horsemen; 500 infantry6,000, infantry and horsemen
Commanders
  • Humphrey of Hauteville
  • Robert Guiscard
  • Richard I of Capua
  • Rudolf of Benevento
  • Gerard, Duke of Lorraine
  • Pope Leo IX
Battle of CivitateBattle of CivitateBattle of RignanoSiege of ArpiBattle of GeroniumBattle of HerdoniaBattle of HerdoniaSiege of ArpiBattle of GeroniumBattle of HerdoniaBattle of HerdoniaNaplesSalernoBariPescaraL'AquilaBeneventoCasertaPotenza100 km41.733N, 15.267E
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 Civitate
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Civitate today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-07-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 157 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 23 to 221 m, 198 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 46% cropland, 37% tree cover, 9% grassland.

cropland: 46%tree cover: 37%grassland: 9%built-up: 4%shrubland: 4%cropland 46%tree cover 37%grassland 9%built-up 4%shrubland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km57 to 197 mnorth to south, 10.0 km109 to 173 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 1053

Battle of Civitate is one of 318 engagements of the 11th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q61100, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Civitate, revision 1383139930, 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.