The Siege of Ravenna

Ravenna, in the far north coast of Italy on the Adriatic, was the capital city of the Ostrogoths. Capturing it could bring the Gothic Wars to a happy conclusion for the Byzantines, whose emperor, Justinian, wanted to reunite the Western and Eastern halves of the old Roman Empire, with him as the ruler.

General Belisarius also needed a victory, especially after the disaster in Mediolanum (Milan). At least that outcome caused the recall of General Narses to Constantinople, so Belisarius no longer had an influential man disagreeing with strategy and diving the army's loyalty.

Two important cities on the way to Ravenna, Fiesole and Auximus, had to be dealt with first, lest they become a source of Gothic resistance behind the Byzantines around Ravenna. Divisions were dispatched, and each fell in about seven months due to lack of supplies.

It was late 539, and winter was setting in, but Belisarius did not want to wait for better weather that would be months away. Also, since Franks had arrived across the Alps to support the Goths at the request of King Vitiges, Belisarius wanted to act fast before they could come south from Mediolanum.

The River Po formed one side of Ravenna's defenses, the Adriatic another. Belisarius sent men along the Po to prevent supplies coming to Ravenna from north or south. The Po was at unseasonable low levels, preventing some ships from moving. Belisarius' man captured grain ships, which he sent to Belisarius for feeding the troops once the river levels were high enough.

The Frankish King Theudebert offered to help King Vitiges in exchange for part of Italy to rule. Belisarius learned of this offer, and sent his own messengers to Vitiges to remind him that Theudebert had helped during g the Siege of Mediolanum but had then betrayed Vitiges and started attacking northern Italy with an eye to acquiring territory for himself.

Vitiges decided to open negotiations with Belisarius. (The illustration shows the two men: Belisarius on the left from a mosaic in a church in Ravenna, Vitiges from the Nuremberg Chronicle.)

In Constantinople, however, a situation had arisen that made Justinian desperate to resolve the conquest of Italy: threats from the Persians to the east were motivating him to bring Belisarius and the army back.  Fortunately, Vitiges was not seen by his people as a great war leader, and they supported the idea of peace with Constantinople. The terms of that peace, the secret modification made between the Goths and Belisarius, the betrayal by Belisarius, and the elimination of Vitiges, will all be looked at tomorrow.