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battle, landmark, ancient

Battle of the Trebia

Battle of the Trebia was a battle fought in December 218 BC at Piacenza, in what is now Italy. It was part of Second Punic War, which ran from 218 BC to 201 BC. The recorded result: Carthaginian victory.

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Battle of the Trebia
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtDecember 218 BC
WherePiacenza, Italy44.987N, 9.568E
OutcomeCarthaginian victory
BelligerentsRomeagainstCarthage
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 the Trebia, 218 BC
62 placed engagements of Second Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateDecember 218 BC (month precision)
PlacePiacenza, Italy
44.987N, 9.568E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength40,000 men; • 16,000 Roman infantry; • 20,000 Italian allied infantry; • 4,000 cavalry40,000 men; • 21,000 African or Iberian infantry; • 8,000 Gallic infantry; • 11,000 cavalry; • ~30 war elephants
Casualties and losses20,000 killed; Many capturedSeveral thousand infantry; Small number of cavalry; Several elephants
Commanders
  • Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)
Battle of the TrebiaBattle of the TrebiaBattle of RottofreddoBattle of TrebbiaBattle of PlacentiaBattle of PlacentiaSiege of PiacenzaBattle of RottofreddoMilanFlorenceTurinGenoaBolognaVeronaBergamoParma100 km44.987N, 9.568E
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 Trebia
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Trebia today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-24. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 91 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 285 m, 285 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 55% cropland, 20% grassland, 13% tree cover.

cropland: 55%grassland: 20%tree cover: 13%water: 5%built-up: 5%bare ground: 2%cropland 55%grassland 20%tree cover 13%water 5%built-up 5%
west to east, 10.0 km86 to 115 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 178 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 218 BC

Battle of the Trebia is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q271873, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Trebia, revision 1384767010, 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.