Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of the Caudine Forks

Battle of the Caudine Forks was a battle fought in 321 BC at Caudine Forks, in what is now Italy. It was part of Second Samnite War, which ran from 326 BC to 304 BC. The recorded result: Samnite victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against Unknown.

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A Lucanian painting (fresco) of the en:Battle of the Caudine Forks.
A Lucanian painting (fresco) of the en:Battle of the Caudine Forks.. The original uploader was Bmrbarre at English Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought321 BC
WhereCaudine Forks, Italy41.150N, 14.533E
OutcomeSamnite victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstSamnium
Casualties and lossesNoneandNone
Part ofSecond Samnite War326 BC to 304 BC

Where it sits in Second Samnite War

Capture of Neapolis, 327 BCBattle of Imbrinium, 325 BCBattle of the Caudine Forks, 321 BCBattle of Lautulae, 315 BCBattle of Lake Vadimo, 310 BCBattle of Bovianum, 305 BC327 BC305 BCBattle of the Caudine Forks, 321 BC
6 placed engagements of Second Samnite War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date321 BC (year precision)
PlaceCaudine Forks, Italy
41.150N, 14.533E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthUnknownUnknown
Casualties and lossesNoneNone
Commanders
  • Titus Veturius Calvinus
  • Spurius Postumius Albinus Caudinus
  • Gaius Pontius
Battle of the Caudine ForksBattle of the Caudine ForksBattle of Ager FalernusBattle of SaticulaBattle of BeneventoSecond Battle of BeneventumBattle of BeneventumBattle of Ager FalernusBattle of BeneventoSalernoFoggiaL'AquilaBarlettaVatican CityPotenzaCampobasso100 km41.150N, 14.533E
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 Caudine Forks
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Caudine Forks today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 352 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 32 to 1,347 m, 1,315 m of relief, mountainous country and today it is 84% tree cover, 9% grassland, 3% built-up.

tree cover: 84%grassland: 9%built-up: 3%shrubland: 3%tree cover 84%grassland 9%built-up 3%shrubland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km59 to 900 mnorth to south, 10.0 km119 to 938 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 321 BC

Battle of the Caudine Forks 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 Q1357977, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Caudine Forks, revision 1384381127, 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.