Rome Changes Hands Again

Totila's behavior in Rome after the Siege enhanced his reputation. He did not kill very many, and he only destroyed part of the walls, reacting to the letter from Belisarius about preserving the great city and ensuring he would not be seen by posterity as a monster.

It looked like Totila wanted to restore Rome the way things were under Theodoric of the Ostrogoths, but he had to leave Rome with a small garrison and head south to Apulia (the "heel" of the Italian peninsula) where John the Sanguinary had re-conquered some territory on behalf of the Byzantines.

The small garrison Totila left behind was overcome by Belisarius in April 546, however (although it took two attempts). Belisarius was able to recruit from the surrounding towns to increase his army and rebuild the walls. He hadn't restored the gates when Totila returned, but he placed a fighting force that was able to counter the Goth tempts to enter. In one skirmish, Tortila's standard-bearer was killed, the standard fell, and the Byzantines tried to seize it—always seen as demoralizing for the other side. The Goths did manage to retrieve it, but retreated.

Totila returned realized that recovering Rome would require another siege, which he was not up for. He left Rome to control by the Byzantines where it remained until January 550, when Totila once again captured the city.

Justinian had many other problems during his reign as emperor, so many that he eventually gave up trying to reunite the Western Roman Empire with his Eastern half. Soon it would cease to be known as the Roman Empire and simply be the Byzantine Empire.

Let's look next time at some of the other consequential matters facing Justinian, not all of which were military.