Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Benevento

Battle of Benevento was a battle fought on 26 February 1266 at Benevento, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Crusade against the Hohenstaufen, which ran from 1240 to 1268. The recorded result: Decisive Guelph victory.

See it on the globe Read the article

Battle of Benevento
Battle of Benevento. Giovanni Villani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought26 February 1266
WhereBenevento, Italy41.134N, 14.773E
OutcomeDecisive Guelph victory
BelligerentsGuelphs; House of Anjou; House of CapetagainstGhibellines; House of Hohenstaufen
Part ofCrusade against the Hohenstaufen1240 to 1268

Where it sits in the Crusade against the Hohenstaufen

Battle of Frankfurt, 1246Siege of Aachen, 1248Battle of Benevento, 1266Battle of Tagliacozzo, 126812461268Battle of Benevento, 1266
4 placed engagements of the Crusade against the Hohenstaufen in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date26 February 1266
PlaceBenevento, Italy
41.134N, 14.773E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength12,000 men; 600 knights; 2,400 men-at-arms and mounted sergeants; 600 crossbowmen; 8,400 infantry13,500–14,000 men; 1,200 German mercenary knights and men-at-arms; 1,000–1,400 Italo-Norman knights and men-at-arms; 1,000 Italian mercenary horsemen; 300–400 Saracen light cavalry; 10,000 Saracen archers
Casualties and lossesUnknown but comparatively lightMost of the army; Only 600 of the 3,600 armoured cavalrymen escaped death or capture; Annihilation of the Saracen corps
Commanders
  • Charles I of Sicily
  • Philip of Montfort, Lord of Castres
  • Gilles de Trasignies
  • Manfred, King of Sicily
  • Giordano d'Agliano
Battle of BeneventoBattle of BeneventoSecond Battle of BeneventumBattle of BeneventumBattle of BeneventumBattle of BeneventumBattle of Ager FalernusSecond Battle of BeneventumBattle of Ager FalernusNaplesSalernoFoggiaBarlettaPotenzaCampobasso100 km41.134N, 14.773E
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 Benevento
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 Benevento today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 116 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 85 to 375 m, 290 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 35% tree cover, 31% cropland, 26% built-up.

tree cover: 35%cropland: 31%built-up: 26%grassland: 5%tree cover 35%cropland 31%built-up 26%grassland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km100 to 234 mnorth to south, 10.0 km116 to 297 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

Contested ground: this site was fought over 5 times between 275 BC and 1266.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1266

Battle of Benevento is one of 629 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q283062, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Benevento, revision 1382319910, 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.