Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Paris

Siege of Paris was a siege conducted on 28 March AD 845 at Paris, in what is now France. It was part of viking expansion. The recorded result: Viking victory.

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Viking Ships besieging Paris.
Viking Ships besieging Paris.. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought28 March AD 845
WhereParis, France48.855N, 2.348E
OutcomeViking victory
BelligerentsVikings (mainly Danes)againstWest Francia
Part ofviking expansion

Where it sits in viking expansion

Battle of Messac, AD 843Siege of Paris, AD 845Battle of Remich, AD 882Battle of Norditi, AD 884Siege of Paris, AD 885Battle of the Geul River, AD 891Viking raids in the Mediterranean, AD 900Siege of Chartres, AD 911AD 843AD 911Siege of Paris, AD 845
8 placed engagements of viking expansion in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date28 March AD 845
PlaceParis, France
48.855N, 2.348E
KindSiege, medieval
Strength120 ships, with at least 5,000 men
Commanders
  • Ragnar Lodbrok
Siege of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisBattle of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisLe HavreRouenOrléansReimsLe MansAmiensTroyesDieppe100 km48.855N, 2.348E
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 Siege of Paris
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Paris today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-08-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 37 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 6 to 137 m, 131 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 88% built-up, 10% tree cover, 2% water.

built-up: 88%tree cover: 10%water: 2%built-up 88%tree cover 10%water 2%
west to east, 10.0 km26 to 73 mnorth to south, 10.0 km26 to 93 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 27 times between 52 BC and 1944.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 845

Siege of Paris is one of 193 engagements of the 9th century in the atlas and one of 1,495 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q3485986, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Paris (845), revision 1384720329, 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.