Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of the Arar

Battle of the Arar was a battle fought in 58 BC at Villefranche-sur-Saône, in what is now France. It was part of the Gallic War, which ran from 58 BC to 51 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 6 Legions (30,000 approx) against 92,000.

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Campagne de César contre les Helvètes (Détail de la carte de la Gaule en 58 av. J.-C.)
Campagne de César contre les Helvètes (Détail de la carte de la Gaule en 58 av. J.-C.). User:Coldeel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought58 BC
WhereVillefranche-sur-Saône, France45.727N, 4.818E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstHelvetii
Part ofGallic War58 BC to 51 BC

Where it sits in the Gallic War

Battle of Magetobria, 63 BCBattle of Bibracte, 58 BCBattle of the Arar, 58 BCBattle of Vosges, 58 BCBattle of Cavillonum, 58 BCBattle of Vesontio, 58 BCBattle of the Sabis, 57 BCBattle of the Axona, 57 BCBattle of Octodurus, 57 BCSiege of Bibrax, 57 BCSiege of the Atuatuci, 57 BCBattle of Morbihan, 56 BCBattle of Vernix, 56 BCBattle against the Aquitanians, 56 BCSiege of Namur, 54 BCBattle of the Sambre, 54 BCAmbiorix's Revolt, 54 BCBattle of the Semois River, 53 BCBattle of Gergovia, 52 BCBattle of Lutetia, 52 BCBattle of Noviodunum, 52 BCBattle of the Saône, 52 BCSiege of Avaricum, 52 BCBattle of Alesia, 52 BCBattle of Vingeanne, 52 BCSiege of Uxellodunum, 51 BC63 BC51 BCBattle of the Arar, 58 BC
26 placed engagements of the Gallic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date58 BC (year precision)
PlaceVillefranche-sur-Saône, France
45.727N, 4.818E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength6 Legions (30,000 approx)92,000
Commanders
  • Dumnorix
Battle of the ArarBattle of the ArarRevolt of Lyon against the National ConventionBattle of LugdunumSiege of LyonBattle of BrignaisBattle of LimonestBattle of BrignaisBattle of LimonestGenevaGrenobleLausanneSaint-ÉtienneVichyAnnecyRoanneFribourg100 km45.727N, 4.818E
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 Arar
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Arar today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 160 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 151 to 337 m, 186 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 58% built-up, 30% tree cover, 8% water.

built-up: 58%tree cover: 30%water: 8%grassland: 4%built-up 58%tree cover 30%water 8%grassland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km160 to 308 mnorth to south, 10.0 km160 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 4 times between 58 BC and 1793.

In the same war

Battle of the Arar is one of 166 engagements of the 1st century BC in the atlas and one of 1,495 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1274566, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Arar, revision 1376627592, 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.