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.

The Nika Riots, Part 3

Emperor Justinian's plan to end the Nika Riots involved bribes. One difficulty about the Riots was that two large and influential rival factions, the Blues and the Greens, had joined together against the imperial administration. The Greens were mostly working class: merchants, tradesmen, craftsmen. The Blues, however, were more elite, and more willing to listen to the emperor.

These two factions filled the Hippodrome, the site of chariot races that was attached to the imperial palace. Narses, a eunuch, was given gold with which to bribe the Blues. He entered the Hippodrome through the entrance used by the Blue chariot teams, going to the most influential members of the Blues. He reminded them that Justinian considered them his favorites instead of the Greens. He gave them the gold for their embers, and told them what the emperor wanted in return.

The riots had called for replacing Justinian with Hypatius, a nephew of a former emperor, Anastasius I. Hypatius had taken refuge in the palace with Justinian. An announcement went out that Hypatius would be crowned emperor at the Hippodrome. The teams let down their guard, thinking they were getting a happy outcome.

During the mock coronation, the Blues stood apart from the Greens, having been informed what would happen next. General Belisarius and his troops then entered the Hippodrome and started killing rioters. Belisarius took Hypatius and his brother Pompeius into custody while the soldiers killed anyone, Blues as well as Greens.

Procopius claimed that 30,000 people were killed, although it is likely that many of those deaths were caused not by the soldiers but by the stampede to get out of the Hippodrome. Although it would seem that Hypatius and Pompeius were innocent, Justinian now saw them as a potential threat to his power and had them executed (although later he gave their properties and royal titles to the men's children). Senators who had supported the rioters were exiled and their properties confiscated. John the Cappadocian, whose dismissal was demanded (and received) by the rioters, was reinstated.

Theophanes (c.759 - 817), writing over 200 years later, said the chariot races were not held for a long time afterward. A contemporary chronicler, John Malalas (c.491 - 578), says 35,000 were killed, although he did not have the "inside track" that Procopius had.

General Belisarius went on to be Justinian's chief commander of the military, involved in the first phase of the Gothic Wars, then having to return to northern Italy again to deal with problems (this was before the Justinian Plague and the Lombard invasion). We'll start looking at his return tomorrow.

The Nika Riots, Part 2

Let's look at how Emperor Justinian managed to stop the Nika Riots and save Constantinople. We saw yesterday how the Blue and Green factions were angered over the treatment of some of their own people, and how an attempt by Justinian to placate them with a chariot race erupted into rioting.

Now, previous emperors had sometimes canceled chariot races to avoid bringing people together and getting their adrenalin and testosterone built up, but Justinian took a different approach. He thought a chariot race would appease the crowd and give them something to focus on besides rioting.

How bad had the rioting become? They demanded that Justinian get rid of a prefect, John the Cappadocian, and one other legal administrator. Justinian agreed, and appeared in public from his balcony over the Hippodrome to apologize for the problems of his administration. He carried a Bible, and declared amnesty for all the rioters if they would cease the riots.

They were not appeased, however. Some wanted to declare a new emperor, and picked Hypatius,  a nephew of former emperor Anastasius I who was a favorite of the working-class Greens. Hypatius, uncertain of having popular support and not wishing to go against Justinian, took refuge from the crowd in the imperial palace with Justinian. Hypatius had a brother, Pompeius, who joined him. A cousin, Probus, another nephew of Anastasius, also wanted nothing to do with a potential hostile change in succession and fled the city.

The riots showed no sign of winding down in the next couple days, and Justinian considered fleeing Constantinople himself. The sea was open to him. His wife, Theodora, stopped him, saying (according to Procopius, who may, of course, have been embellishing) "Those who have worn the crown should never survive its loss. Never will I see the day when I am not saluted as empress." (Sounds like she didn't like the thought of exile, no matter how lavish it might be.)

A plan was crafted to quell the danger by bribing some of the rioters and overwhelming others. The plan started with Narses, a eunuch who had no connections or loyalties outside of the royal family that he served, and could therefore be trusted to carry out the first phase. (Narses would later be known as a military strategist during the Gothic Wars.)

Tomorrow I'll tell you how the plan worked.

The Failure at Milan

The insubordination of John the Sanguinary that led to the division in the Byzantine army between the forces commanded by Belisarius and those commanded by Narses created further problems. The Siege of Milan was one example.

Then called Mediolanum, it was the second wealthiest city in Italy after Rome. Archbishop Dantius of Milan sent messages to Belisarius, asking him to come and free them from Ostrogothic rule. Belisarius sent a force of 1000 men to secure it under a man named Mundilas. After occupying Milan, the soldiers spread out to secure the smaller towns and forts.

King Vitiges of the Ostrogoths then sent for help from the Franks (although Byzantine Emperor Justinian had sent gifts to the Franks to get them to stay out of the conflict). A force of 10,000 Burgundians responded, surrounding Milan. (They were sent by Theudebert I, son of Theuderic I, who later explained to the emperor that, since they were Burgundians and not Franks, he had no control over them.) Since the Byzantine force had been dispersed to other towns, Mundilas could not attempt attacking the siege.

Belisarius ordered other divisions to go to Milan, but those divisions would not do so right away. They asked other nearby divisions for support. Those divisions, led by John the Sanguinary and General Justin, would not agree to help until they got advice from Narses.

The delays were making life in Milan difficult. They were not well provisioned, and starvation was becoming a real threat. Belisarius pleaded with Narses to tell the others to help Milan. Narses relented, but the delays in communication and disagreement proved fatal for Milan. Mundilas had taken the city in April 538. It was now March 539, and starvation forced him to accept the terms presented by the enemy: give over the city and your men's lives will be spared.

The soldiers were allowed to leave with their lives, but for the rebellion of the Milan townspeople, punishment was severe. Procopius reports that 300,000 men were slain, the women given to the Burgundians as payment for their service, and the city destroyed. (The illustration is of some of the remaining Roman walls.) One of the victims was Reparatus, brother of Pope Vigilius.

Narses received some blame for this disaster; it led to his recall (mentioned yesterday). Belisarius, now reconfirmed as supreme commander, prepared to go after the capital city of the Ostrogoths, Ravenna.

See you tomorrow.

Belisarius and Narses

The outcome of the insubordination of John the Sanguinary created a dangerous precedent. General Narses disagreed with General Belisarius' approach to the conquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths, and was motivated to disobey the orders from the man who was supposed to be sole commander of the Byzantine forces. Procopius wrote "And from that time both these men began to regard each other with great suspicion." (The illustration shows mosaics of the two generals; Belisarius is on the left.)

One example of the army splitting was at a siege of Urbino. Originally a united army, at one point John's opinion was that the siege would not work. Narses agreed, and John and Narses withdrew their divisions despite Belisarius pleading for them to stay. Belisarius stayed, and Urbino did succumb (after the failure of their water reserves).

John's impatience with sieges worked against him when he tried and failed to besiege Caesena. Abandoning that goal, he got lucky by taking another town by surprise.

The fall and winter of 538 saw the Byzantine army working under two different commanders. Narses even ignored the letter from Emperor Justinian stating that Belisarius was in charge. Narses was recalled to Constantinople, where he remained secure in the emperor's good graces. (Years later he would help the Empress Theodora and Belisarius' wife, Antonina, in a major coup.)

Jumping ahead a little: Narses returned to Italy and the ongoing Gothic Wars in 551 with Justinian's cousin Germanus. Germanus, however, died on the way, and Narses was given supreme command of the army. Belisarius had at this time occupied Rome (after another siege), but was ready to retire from many years of war. (The retirement was temporary.)

Narses later fought a battle against the Goths that made him regarded as Belisarius' equal as a general and strategist. But let's return to the earlier part of the wars and see what Belisarius was doing when some of his commanders would not follow orders.

John and Narses

I thought we'd elaborate a little on the conflict mentioned yesterday about the taking of Ariminum (modern Rimini) by a Byzantine force under a general called John the Sanguinary. Emperor Justinian I was invading Italy to take control of the Western Roman Empire from the Ostrogoths, and John was part of that plan.

Originally tasked by Justinian to bring supplies to Rome, where General Belisarius was surrounded by the forces of King Vitiges, John decided to raid other Ostrogothic territory and capture Ariminum, close to the Gothic capital of Ravenna. That action caused Vitiges to pull his army away from Rome and move back north to protect Ravenna and re-capture Ariminum. Belisarius sent a message to John to pull the army away from Ariminum, but John decided to stay and hold the town.

This meant John and his army were now under siege. A gathering of Byzantine commanders discussed the situation. There was some discussion that John should be taught a lesson for insubordination. Into this discussion came General Narses, who arrived with Byzantine reinforcements.

Narses, at one time Justinian's chamberlain, was considered just as good a general as Belisarius. He argued that a defeat of John by the Goths would embolden them and demoralize the Byzantines. Belisarius created a plan (see illustration) that would give Vitiges an escape route rather than trying to defeat him in battle. As Belisarius' forces approached and camped, they would light far more campfires than needed to give the impression of superior numbers.

The plan worked, Vitiges withdrew the Goth army to Ravenna, and John and Ariminum were saved. John refused to show gratitude to Belisarius, however, and gave credit for the victory to Narses. Belisarius called a meeting of officers to caution that the Goths still were in command of a larger army than the Byzantines. Belisarius wanted a slower approach, securing towns that were favorable to Byzantium.

Narses argued for an attack on Ravenna itself. Opinions and sentiment about leadership were becoming divided, but Belisarius held a trump card. He had a document from Justinian, which he revealed, that stated:

We have not sent our steward Narses to Italy in order to command the army; for we wish Belisarius alone to command the whole army in whatever manner seems to him to be best, and it is the duty of all of you to follow him in the interest of our state.

Narses replied that Belisarius' plan was not, in fact, "in the interests of the state" and Narses would not accept that plan.

The plan to re-assert imperial control over Italy and reunite the Roman Empire could start falling apart. Let's see how these conflicts played out, starting tomorrow.

The First Siege of Rome

King Vitiges of the Ostrogoths besieged Rome, that had been taken and inhabited by the Byzantine forces of Justinian I, led by General Belisarius. Rome had not even put up a fight against Belisarius, so there had been no attack and no damage to the walls.

The Ostrogoth forces besieged Rome for an entire year without success, from March 537 to March 538. They couldn't take down the walls, and Belisarius did not have enough soldiers to leave Rome and attack the army surrounding them.

In April 537, an army of 1600 Huns and Slavs hired by Constantinople approached, capturing towns behind the Goths' siege. An additional 5000 men in November gave the Byzantine army the advantage of numbers. The Byzantine navy prevented the Goths from getting more supplies by sea.

Additionally, 2000 Byzantine cavalry had attacked and captured the town of Ariminum (modern Rimini), which was so near the Gothic capital of Ravenna that Vitiges abandoned the siege of Rome to head back north to protect the seat of his power.

On the way north, he reinforced towns and forts. Belisarius had sent word to John, his commander at Ariminum, to replace the cavalry with infantry, thinking they would be sufficient to hold the town, and bring the cavalry elsewhere. John refused the order, but did not have enough supplies to withstand a long siege, which Vitiges' forces set up.

A meeting of Belisarius with his other commanders who brought reinforcements discussed the Ariminum situation. There was debate about allowing John to fail due to his insubordination. Belisarius and others were willing to allow John to suffer, but General Narses pointed out that a Gothic victory would be bad for morale, so the Byzantine army in two parts moved to surround the Gothic siege of Ariminum. Vitiges saw that he might be surrounded by the enemy, and chose to abandon Ariminum and retreat to Ravenna.

Things looked good for the Byzantine reconquest of Italy, but the Ariminum incident caused a rift in the army between Belisarius and Narses. Before we continue with the Gothic Wars, let's look at a problem that might have led to failure.