Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Tolbiac

Battle of Tolbiac was a battle fought in AD 496 at Cologne, in what is now Germany. The recorded result: Frankish victory; End of Alamannic autonomy. Recorded strength: 6,000 Franks against Unknown.

See it on the globe Read the article

Battle of Tolbiac
Évariste-Vital Luminais, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 496
WhereCologne, Germany50.675N, 6.601E
OutcomeFrankish victory; End of Alamannic autonomy
BelligerentsFranksagainstAlemanni
Casualties and lossesHeavyandHeavy

Record

DateAD 496 (year precision)
PlaceCologne, Germany
50.675N, 6.601E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength6,000 FranksUnknown
Casualties and lossesHeavyHeavy
Commanders
  • Sigobert the Lame
  • Clovis I
  • Aurelianus (Gallo-Roman)
  • Gibuld
Battle of TolbiacBattle of TolbiacBattle of Hürtgen ForestBattle of KesternichBattle of Heartbreak CrossroadsSiege of JülichSiege of JülichBattle of Hürtgen ForestBattle of Heartbreak CrossroadsSiege of JülichSiege of JülichFrankfurtAntwerpenLuxembourgMannheimDüsseldorfCharleroiKoblenzEssen100 km50.675N, 6.601E
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 Tolbiac
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 Tolbiac today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 213 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 139 to 357 m, 219 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 66% cropland, 16% grassland, 13% tree cover.

cropland: 66%grassland: 16%tree cover: 13%built-up: 4%cropland 66%grassland 16%tree cover 13%built-up 4%
west to east, 10.0 km159 to 287 mnorth to south, 10.0 km158 to 287 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 Tolbiac is one of 88 engagements of the 5th century in the atlas and one of 538 in present-day Germany.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q264737, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Tolbiac, revision 1370275592, 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.