Battle of Brenta

Battle of the Brenta river
Part of the Hungarian invasions of Europe
Hungarian warrior (10th century) from Patriarchate of Aquileia (fresco)
Date 24 September 899 Location Bank of the Brenta River, Italy Result Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy	Principality of Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Berengar I	Unknown Hungarian Commander
Strength
15,000	5,000
Casualties and losses
Almost all the Italian army	Minor

The Battle of Brenta was fought between the cavalry of the Kingdom of Italy under king Berengar I and the Hungarians, hired by the East Francian king Arnulf of Carinthia, against him, at an unidentified location in northern Italian Peninsula along the river Brenta on 24 September 899. It was one of the earliest battles of the Hungarian invasions of Europe. The result was a crushing defeat for Berengar I, opening the following raids for the Hungarians against Italy. The Hungarian invasion resulted in the burning of many cities, like Feltre, Vercelli, Modena and monasteries like the monastery in Nonantola, and attacking even Venice, however without success.

In the meantime Berengar's arch enemy, Arnulf of Carinthia died in December 899. As a result, the Hungarians, whom he had hired against the Italian king, left the kingdom the following year with all their plunder, but not before concluding peace with Berengar, who gave them many hostages and "gifts". On their way home the Hungarians made an "amphibious assault", a unique achievement from an exclusively land army in the pre-modern times, crossing the Adriatic Sea in order to attack Venice.

In some historians' opinion the returning army had a role also in the conquering of Pannonia, as part of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, from the Bavarians by the Hungarians in late 900.