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.
Hungarian warrior (10th century) from Patriarchate of Aquileia (fresco)
Berengar portrayed as king in a twelfth-century manuscript
The events leading to the Battle of Brenta.
The Hungarian campaign in Italy, with the Battle of Brenta, then the campaign which resulted the capture of Dunántúl.
Berengar I was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896.
Berengar's imperial seal
The so-called Cross of Berengar, said to have been Berengar I's pectoral cross and now in the cathedral of Monza
Some coins of Berengar's found in Hungary, possibly from payments made to Magyar raiders or mercenaries
Berengar portrayed as emperor (Berengarius Imperator) in a twelfth-century manuscript
