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battle, major, ancient

Battle of Ticinus

Battle of Ticinus was a battle fought in November 218 BC at Ticino, 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. Recorded strength: 6,000 cavalry against 3,600 cavalry; Up to 4,500 velites; Up to 2,000 Gallic mounted infantry.

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Plan of the battle of Ticinus, 218 BC
Plan of the battle of Ticinus, 218 BC. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtNovember 218 BC
WhereTicino, Italy45.250N, 8.867E
OutcomeCarthaginian victory
BelligerentsCarthageagainstRome
Casualties and lossesLightandHeavy
Part ofSecond Punic War218 BC to 201 BC

Where it sits in Second Punic War

Battle of Cissa, 218 BCBattle of Lilybaeum, 218 BCCapture of Malta, 218 BCSiege of Mutina, 218 BCHannibal's crossing of the Alps, 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 BCHannibal's crossing of the Apennines, 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 BCHannibal's raid to Rome, 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 BCRoman invasion of Africa, 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 Ticinus, 218 BC
67 placed engagements of Second Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateNovember 218 BC (month precision)
PlaceTicino, Italy
45.250N, 8.867E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength6,000 cavalry3,600 cavalry; Up to 4,500 velites; Up to 2,000 Gallic mounted infantry
Casualties and lossesLightHeavy
Commanders
  • Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC)
Battle of TicinusBattle of TicinusBattle of MortaraBattle of ScriviaBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of PaviaBattle of MortaraBattle of ScriviaBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraTurinGenoaVeronaBergamoParmaTrentoLuganoComo100 km45.250N, 8.867E
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 Ticinus
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 Ticinus today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 104 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 71 to 132 m, 61 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 82% cropland, 7% built-up, 7% tree cover.

cropland: 82%built-up: 7%tree cover: 7%grassland: 5%cropland 82%built-up 7%tree cover 7%grassland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km73 to 111 mnorth to south, 10.0 km95 to 114 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 Ticinus is one of 193 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q378957, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Ticinus, revision 1384952465, 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.