ORDER OF BATTLE // -48 BCE
Siege of Massilia
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 23,000 estimated
Julius Caesar
15,000
Medium-confidence figure
Pompey
8,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Siege of Massilia was an episode of Caesar's Civil War in which a detachment of Caesar's forces, under senior legate Gaius Trebonius on land and Decimus Brutus commanding the naval operations, engaged Optimate-aligned forces defending the city. The operation encompassed two naval engagements alongside the siege itself. Caesar's forces numbered approximately 15,000 against a Pompeian strength of around 8,000, and the disparity in casualties — roughly 1,100 for Caesar against 4,000 for the Pompeians under L. Domitius Ahenobarbus — indicates the severity of the fighting and the degree to which the defending force was worn down over the course of the siege.
‹ Full battle dossier