Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of the Allia

Battle of the Allia was a battle fought on 18 July 387 BC at Allia, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Roman–Gallic Wars, which ran from 401 BC to AD 84. The recorded result: Gallic victory; Sack of Rome (390 BC). Recorded strength: about 15,000 against about 20,000.

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Battle of the Allia
Paul Joseph Jamin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought18 July 387 BC
WhereAllia, Italy42.017N, 12.520E
OutcomeGallic victory; Sack of Rome (390 BC)
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstGauls; • Senones; • Boii; • Insubres
Part ofRoman–Gallic Wars401 BC to AD 84

Where it sits in the Roman–Gallic Wars

Sack of Rome, 390 BCBattle of the Allia, 387 BCBattle of the Anio River, 361 BCBattle of the Aniene, 360 BCBattle of Pedum, 358 BCBattle of Faesulae, 225 BCBattle of Clastidium, 222 BCBattle of Cremona, 200 BCBattle of Placentia, 194 BCBattle of Mutina, 193 BC390 BC193 BCBattle of the Allia, 387 BC
10 placed engagements of the Roman–Gallic Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date18 July 387 BC
PlaceAllia, Italy
42.017N, 12.520E
KindBattle, ancient
Strengthabout 15,000about 20,000
Commanders
  • Quintus Sulpicius Longus
  • Brennus (leader of the Senones)
Battle of the AlliaBattle of the AlliaCapture of FidenaeBattle of FidenaeBattle of the CremeraBattle of VeiiBattle of VeiiCapture of FidenaeBattle of VeiiNaplesPescaraPerugiaL'AquilaCampobasso100 km42.017N, 12.520E
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 the Allia
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 the Allia today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-23. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 20 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 138 m, 138 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 49% cropland, 22% tree cover, 14% grassland.

cropland: 49%tree cover: 22%grassland: 14%built-up: 11%water: 3%cropland 49%tree cover 22%grassland 14%built-up 11%water 3%
west to east, 10.0 km16 to 121 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 83 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

Contested ground: this site was fought over 16 times between 476 BC and 1943.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 387 BC

Battle of the Allia is one of 137 engagements of the 4th century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q655777, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Allia, revision 1377862448, 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.