Totila in Rome

In 546, Goth King Totila walked into Rome after a year-long siege.

The city was nearly empty due to starvation and suicide brought on by the siege. The siege had been so devastating for the inhabitants that Isaurian members of the guard helped the Goths scale the walls and open the gates.

Unlike the typical behavior of Germanic tribes when going through enemy territory, Totila had shown great restraint and not ravaged the countryside. It seems he wanted to restore the era of Theodoric, ruling the peninsula and nominally "under" the emperor in Constantinople. Totila went to St. Peter's Basilica to pray, showing his intention to be peaceful and a good leader.

If Justinian would not allow the suggested arrangement, however, Totila intended to punish Rome itself by destroying it. Justinian told Totila's messengers that Belisarius was in charge of the war, and sent them back. Totila started tearing down the outer walls: he did not want to waste leaving soldiers to hold the city, and didn't want it defensible if the Byzantines re-captured it.

Procopius wrote that Totila claimed he would turn Rome into "a sheep pasture." Hearing of this, General Belisarius (who had failed to lift the siege) wrote Totila a letter, warning him that destruction of Rome would result in the opposite of what Totila wanted to achieve: being seen as a noble ruler:

As those to whom a city owes the construction of beautiful buildings are reputed wise and civilised, so those who cause their destruction are naturally regarded by posterity as persons devoid of intelligence, true to their own nature. Of all cities under the sun Rome is admitted universally to be the greatest and most important. She attained this pre-eminence not suddenly nor by the genius of one man, but in the course of a long history throughout which emperors and nobles by their vast resources and employing skillful artists from all parts of the world have gradually made her what you see her today. Her monuments belong to posterity, and an outrage committed upon them will rightly be regarded as a great injustice to all future generations as well as to the memory of those who created them. Therefore consider well. Should you be victorious in this war, Rome destroyed will be your own loss, preserved it will be your fairest possession. Should it be your fortune to be defeated, the conqueror will owe you gratitude if you spare Rome, whereas if you demolish it, there will be no reason for clemency, while the act itself will have brought you no profit. And remember that your reputation in the eyes of the world is at stake.

Totila relented, and left a small force behind as he went south to re-take some territory that had been re-captured by John the Sanguinary.

That was an "Oops."

I'll explain tomorrow.