Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of the Frigidus

Battle of the Frigidus was a battle fought on 5 September AD 394 at Vipava Valley, in what is now Slovenia; it lasted 1 day. The recorded result: Theodosian victory. Recorded strength: 20,000–30,000 Romans; 20,000 Goths against 35,000–50,000, about the same as Eastern Romans.

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View from the castle in Zemono at the mountain range “Gora” in the background and the villages Budanje and Duplje in the foreground, surrounded by vineyards, Vipavska Dolina, Goriska, Slovenia
View from the castle in Zemono at the mountain range “Gora” in the background and the villages Budanje and Duplje in the foreground, surrounded by vineyards, Vipavska Dolina, Goriska, Slovenia. Johann Jaritz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought5 September AD 394lasted 1 day
WhereVipava Valley, Slovenia45.870N, 13.936E
OutcomeTheodosian victory
BelligerentsEastern Roman Empire; VisigothsagainstSimple Labarum|15px Western Roman Empire
Casualties and lossesHeavy; 10,000 GothsandHeavy

Record

Date5 September AD 394
to 6 September AD 394
PlaceVipava Valley, Slovenia
45.870N, 13.936E
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changeTheodosius gains Western Empire
Strength20,000–30,000 Romans; 20,000 Goths35,000–50,000, about the same as Eastern Romans
Casualties and lossesHeavy; 10,000 GothsHeavy
Commanders
  • Eugenius
  • Arbogast (magister militum)
Battle of the FrigidusBattle of the FrigidusBattle of NanosNinth Battle of the IsonzoSixth Battle of the IsonzoEighth Battle of the IsonzoSeventh Battle of the IsonzoBattle of NanosSixth Battle of the IsonzoVeniceGrazFerraraMariborKlagenfurtPulaTrevisoRijeka100 km45.870N, 13.936E
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 Frigidus
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 Frigidus today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-12. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 113 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 1,079 m, 1,079 m of relief, mountainous country and today it is 49% tree cover, 30% grassland, 12% cropland.

tree cover: 49%grassland: 30%cropland: 12%built-up: 8%tree cover 49%grassland 30%cropland 12%built-up 8%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 575 mnorth to south, 10.0 km93 to 981 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 the Frigidus is one of 65 engagements of the 4th century in the atlas and one of 21 in present-day Slovenia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q836944, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Frigidus, revision 1370599616, 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.