Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, ancient

Battle of the Silarius River

Battle of the Silarius River was a battle fought in 71 BC at Sele, in what is now Italy. It was part of Third Servile War, which ran from 73 BC to 71 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 40,000; 6 legions; 4 consular legions against 50,000.

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Slave Revolt in the Final Battle Crassus Defeats the Slaves and Spartacus is Killed
Slave Revolt in the Final Battle Crassus Defeats the Slaves and Spartacus is Killed. Nicola Sanesi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought71 BC
WhereSele, Italy40.482N, 14.943E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstSlave army
Casualties and losses1,000 or moreand5,000–10,000 killed
Part ofThird Servile War73 BC to 71 BC

Where it sits in Third Servile War

Battle of Mount Gargano, 72 BCBattle of Modena, 72 BCBattle of the Silarius River, 71 BCBattle of Cantenna, 71 BCBattle of Petilia, 71 BC72 BC71 BCBattle of the Silarius River, 71 BC
5 placed engagements of Third Servile War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date71 BC (year precision)
PlaceSele, Italy
40.482N, 14.943E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength40,000; 6 legions; 4 consular legions50,000
Casualties and losses1,000 or more5,000–10,000 killed
Commanders
  • Marcus Licinius Crassus
  • Spartacus
Battle of the Silarius RiverBattle of the Silarius RiverBattle of the SilarusAllied invasion of ItalyBattle of Capo d'OrsoSiege of AmalfiSiege of Nuceria AlfaternaAllied invasion of ItalyBattle of Capo d'OrsoSiege of Nuceria AlfaternaBariFoggiaBeneventoCasertaBarlettaCampobasso100 km40.482N, 14.943E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 71 BC

Battle of the Silarius River is one of 159 engagements of the 1st century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q233344, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Silarius River, revision 1382552938, 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.