Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Cunaxa

Battle of Cunaxa was a battle fought in 401 BC at Cunaxa, in what is now Iraq. It was part of the Ten Thousand, which ran from 401 BC to 399 BC. The recorded result: Pyrrhic Greek victory. Recorded strength: 25,700; 15,700 Greeks; 10,000 Persians against 40,000.

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The Battle of Cunaxa fought between the Persians and ten thousand Greek mercenaries of Cyrus the Younger, 401 BC. Louvre, Paris.
The Battle of Cunaxa fought between the Persians and ten thousand Greek mercenaries of Cyrus the Younger, 401 BC. Louvre, Paris.. Adrien Guignet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought401 BC
WhereCunaxa, Iraq33.325N, 44.080E
OutcomePyrrhic Greek victory
BelligerentsCyrus loyalistsagainstArtaxerxes loyalists
Casualties and lossesUnknownandUnknown
Part ofthe Ten Thousand401 BC to 399 BC

Record

Date401 BC (year precision)
PlaceCunaxa, Iraq
33.325N, 44.080E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength25,700; 15,700 Greeks; 10,000 Persians40,000
Casualties and lossesUnknownUnknown
Commanders
  • Cyrus the Younger
  • Clearchus of Sparta
  • Cheirisophus (general)
  • Artaxerxes II
  • Gobrias
  • Tissaphernes
  • Orontes I
Battle of CunaxaBattle of CunaxaSiege of BaghdadSiege of BaghdadCapture of BaghdadBattle of MisicheCapture of Baghdad (1638)Capture of BaghdadBattle of MisicheAl HillahKarbalaAl KutBaqubahQasr-e ShirinAl MusayyibMandaliSamarra100 km33.325N, 44.080E
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 Cunaxa
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Cunaxa today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-09-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 36 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 30 to 56 m, 26 m of relief, flat country and today it is 46% tree cover, 26% cropland, 15% bare ground.

tree cover: 46%cropland: 26%bare ground: 15%built-up: 9%shrubland: 3%tree cover 46%cropland 26%bare ground 15%built-up 9%shrubland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km33 to 42 mnorth to south, 10.0 km33 to 39 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

Battle of Cunaxa is one of 99 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 173 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q431205, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Cunaxa, revision 1383589383, 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.