Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Ilipa

Battle of Ilipa was a battle fought in 206 BC at Ilipa, in what is now Spain. It was part of Second Punic War, which ran from 218 BC to 201 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory.

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Change of the Roman battle formation by Scipio and his attack on the Carthaginian flanks. Data for this map were retrieved from a map in the book "The Fall of Carthage" written by Adrian Goldsworthy (
Change of the Roman battle formation by Scipio and his attack on the Carthaginian flanks. Data for this map were retrieved from a map in the book "The Fall of Carthage" written by Adrian Goldsworthy (. Citypeek, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought206 BC
WhereIlipa, Spain37.518N, 5.978W
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstCarthage
Casualties and losses7,000 killedandMore than 48,500 killed or captured; All cavalry killed, wounded or captured
Part ofSecond Punic War218 BC to 201 BC

Where it sits in Second Punic War

Battle of Cissa, 218 BCBattle of Lilybaeum, 218 BCSiege of Mutina, 218 BCBattle of Rhone Crossing, 218 BCBattle of Ticinus, 218 BCBattle of the Trebia, 218 BCBattle of Ebro River, 217 BCBattle of Geronium, 217 BCBattle of Ager Falernus, 217 BCBattle of Plaisance, 217 BCBattle of Lake Trasimene, 217 BCBattle of Nola, 216 BCBattle of Silva Litana, 216 BCSiege of Petelia, 216 BCSiege of Acerra, 216 BCBattle of Cannae, 216 BCBattle of Dertosa, 215 BCBattle of Cornus, 215 BCBattle of Cumae, 215 BCBattle of Nola, 215 BCSiege of Syracuse, 214 BCBattle of Nola, 214 BCBattle of Beneventum, 214 BCBattle of Munda, 214 BCSiege of Arpi, 213 BCBattle of the Silarus, 212 BCBattle of Herdonia, 212 BCBattle of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Beneventum, 212 BCFirst Battle of Tarentum, 212 BCSecond Battle of Beneventum, 212 BCSiege of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Tarentum, 212 BCBattle of the Upper Baetis, 211 BCBattle of Capua, 211 BCBattle of Herdonia, 210 BCBattle of Numistro, 210 BCBattle of Sapriportis, 210 BCBattle of Castulo, 210 BCBattle of New Carthage, 209 BCBattle of Canusium, 209 BCBattle of Tarentum, 209 BCSecond Battle of Tarentum, 209 BCSiege of Baria, 209 BCBattle of Baecula, 208 BCBattle of Petelia, 208 BCBattle of the Metaurus, 207 BCBattle of Grumentum, 207 BCBattle of Carmona, 207 BCBattle of Ilipa, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Cartagena, 206 BCBattle of Iliturgi, 206 BCBattle of Crotona, 204 BCSiege of Utica, 204 BCBattle of the Great Plains, 203 BCBattle of Utica, 203 BCPo Valley Raid, 203 BCBattle of Cirta, 203 BCBattle of Zama, 202 BC218 BC202 BCBattle of Ilipa, 206 BC
62 placed engagements of Second Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date206 BC (year precision)
PlaceIlipa, Spain
37.518N, 5.978W
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changeRoman conquest of Carthaginian Iberia
StrengthTotal: 48,000–55,000; Polybius: 48,000 men; • 45,000 infantry; • 3,000 cavalry; Livy: 55,000 menTotal: 54,500–74,000; Polybius: 74,000 men; • 70,000 infantry; • 4,000 cavalry; 32 war elephants; Livy: 54,500 men; • 50,000 infantry; • 4,500 cavalry; Unknown number of elephants; Modern estimate: 64,000 men; • 60,000 infantry; • 4,000 cavalry; 32 elephants
Casualties and losses7,000 killedMore than 48,500 killed or captured; All cavalry killed, wounded or captured
Commanders
Battle of IlipaBattle of IlipaBattle of MuottentalBattle of ItalicaSiege of SevilleSiege of SevilleBattle of TabladaSiege of SevilleCórdobaCádizMálagaHuelvaFaroMarbellaÉvoraBeja100 km37.518N, 5.978W
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 Ilipa
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 Ilipa today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-11-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 33 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 77 m, 77 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 41% cropland, 29% tree cover, 16% grassland.

cropland: 41%tree cover: 29%grassland: 16%built-up: 6%water: 4%shrubland: 2%cropland 41%tree cover 29%grassland 16%built-up 6%water 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 39 mnorth to south, 10.0 km2 to 65 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

Battle of Ilipa is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 1,070 in present-day Spain.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1055755, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Ilipa, revision 1375858433, 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.