The most important battles in history
The top 3 according to 8 votes from people: Battle of Marathon (490 BC) · Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) · Battle of Salamis (480 BC). (Updated Feb 17, 2026.)
The battles that appear most in history magazines' lists of 'battles that changed the world': the ones that decided empires, wars and borders. In chronological order; vote for the most decisive.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 20
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1
Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
The Athenians stop Darius I's first Persian invasion and save Athens' young democracy.
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2
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
Leonidas and his 300 Spartans hold up Xerxes' army in a narrow pass.
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3
Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
Themistocles' Greek fleet defeats the Persian navy and ends Xerxes' invasion.
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4
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Holy League defeats the Ottoman fleet; Cervantes lost the use of his left hand there.
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5
Battle of Waterloo (1815)
Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon, ending his empire.
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6
Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)
Alexander the Great defeats Darius III and takes the Persian Empire.
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7
Battle of Zama (202 BC)
Scipio defeats Hannibal and Rome wins the Second Punic War.
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8
Battle of Alesia (52 BC)
Julius Caesar defeats Vercingetorix and completes the conquest of Gaul.
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9
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (AD 9)
Arminius destroys three Roman legions and halts Rome's expansion beyond the Rhine.
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10
Battle of Tours (732)
Charles Martel halts the Muslim advance into France.
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11
Battle of Hastings (1066)
William the Conqueror defeats Harold II and begins the Norman conquest of England.
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12
Fall of Constantinople (1453)
Mehmed II takes the Byzantine capital, ending the Eastern Roman Empire.
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13
Battle of Vienna (1683)
Jan III Sobieski breaks the Ottoman siege of Vienna with history's largest cavalry charge.
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14
Siege of Yorktown (1781)
The British surrender to Washington and the French decides American independence.
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15
Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
Nelson's fleet defeats the Franco-Spanish fleet; Britain rules the seas for a century.
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16
Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
Lee's defeat marks the turning point of the American Civil War.
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17
First Battle of the Marne (1914)
The French and British stop Germany at the gates of Paris; trench warfare begins.
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18
Battle of Midway (1942)
The US sinks four Japanese aircraft carriers and turns the Pacific war.
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19
Normandy landings (1944)
On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the Allies open the Western Front against Nazi Germany.
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20
Battle of Cannae (216 BC)
Hannibal encircles and destroys a much larger Roman army; still studied in military academies.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 20… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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21
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)
The Christian kingdoms defeat the Almohads and the Reconquista gains decisive momentum.
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22
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)
The bloodiest battle of World War II; the German defeat turns the tide on the Eastern Front.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (6)
Las Termópilas, los 300 de Leónidas.
Las Navas de Tolosa en la lista, bien visto. Cambió la historia de la península.
Falta Ayacucho, que fue decisiva para la independencia de toda Sudamérica.
Cannas sigue siendo la batalla que estudian en todas las academias militares.
Las Termópilas con los 300 espartanos, aunque en realidad eran muchos más griegos.
Stalingrado fue el punto de inflexión de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la más importante del siglo XX.