Count Belisarius

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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) For Belisarius’ small army, the struggle for Rome required tactics that involved horsemen striking swiftly from walled cities much as the knights of a later age would do. The campaign would amount to a series of sieges against and sorties from fortified places rather than being fought in the field as early Roman wars had been.

The successors of the old legions were highly organized, and their generals were well-trained in both tactics and strategy. The typical Byzantine general adapted his actions to meet his foes–whether Goth, Persian or, later, Arab–such as using horse archers against lancers, or lancers against horse archers where they could be trapped and ridden down. In that respect, at least, the new Romans resembled the earlier legionaries who fought according to plan and understood their enemy before engaging.

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Before he could advance on Rome, Belisarius first had to take Naples to the south, which he invested in the summer of 536. After failing to persuade the populace to submit peacefully, he subjected the city to a month-long siege. Naples was so stubbornly defended that Belisarius began to despair of taking the place–until a curious foot soldier discovered that a destroyed aqueduct could be used as a tunnel past the city walls. Soldiers made their way along the aqueduct into the heart of the city, climbed down by means of an overhanging olive tree, made their way quietly through the streets to a tower in the wall and, after surprising and killing its defenders, held the position while their comrades roped together their scaling ladders–which their carpenters had made too short–and ascended the wall. Belisarius is generally held in extremely high regard among historians. [15] This is mostly because of the victories at Dara, Ad Decimum and Tricamarum. Little attention has been paid to his defeats in the east and at the Battle of Rome. Brogna puts him among the best commanders in history, [12] Hughes says of him that he remains behind Alexander the Great and Caesar, but not by much. Fighting continued all morning, the fiercest opposition allegedly coming from Naples’ Jewish population, who expected to face persecution under an intolerant Christian regime. In consequence, when resistance broke down, the angry Isaurian troops swept through the city slaughtering civilians. Belisarius had hoped to avoid such a massacre, but it did help him to avoid further bloodshed for some time thereafter. As word of Naples’ fate spread, several other Italian towns opened their gates to the Byzantines, and Pope Silverius sent word to Belisarius that he would be welcomed in Rome. Both Hughes and Brogna agree 600 men entered the city. Brogna claims Belisarius sent men to find another entrance into the city. Hughes claims the entrance was found by an Isaurian studying the building techniques of the ancients and doesn’t mention an intentional effort being made by Belisarius.

Finch-Hatton, George James (1851). Abd-el-Kader: A Poem in Six Cantos. Chapman, and Hall. p.60 . Retrieved 2 October 2019. In his early career, Belisarius participated in multiple Byzantine defeats. In the first battle where he held an independent command (together with Sittas, most likely a dual command) he suffered a clear defeat, [15] but he and Sittas were noted as successful raiders, plundering Persian territory, [12] for example, during the first invasion of Persarmenia of the war, taking place shortly before. [15] The next battle was fought at Tanurin (south of Nisbis [16]), where Belisarius played a leading role again. He fled with his troops after his colleagues were lured into a trap. His army was then defeated at Mindouos, but he was promoted shortly afterward, meaning he was not likely held responsible for the defeat. At first, he was likely a junior partner to some higher placed commander like Sittas, while at Thanurin there was no overall commander. Mindouos was probably the first battle in which he led the army entirely on his own. [15]

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I read COUNT BELISARIUS now for two reasons. The first is that I loved Graves' Claudius novels and welcomed the opportunity to read another of his books. Second, seeing another review of this book on GoodReads some months ago caused me to realize that I know almost nothing about the Eastern Roman Empire, even though I have read quite a bit about the Roman Republic and the early decades of the Western Empire. Reading COUNT BELISARIUS seemed an easy way to begin to wade into an unfamiliar epoch in the history of western culture.

Husband, Janet G.; Husband, Jonathan F. (30 July 2009). Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series. American Library Association. ISBN 978-0-8389-0967-6. Main article: Gothic War (535–554) Map of the operations of the first five years of the war, showing the Roman conquest of Italy under Belisarius Carey, Brian Todd; Allfree, Joshua B.; Cairns, John (2012). Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare, 527–1071. Casemate Publishers. p.210. ISBN 978-1-84884-916-7. feels a bit off even for someone writing contemporaneous with the time period - the Gospels are hardly simple. That being said, the breakdown of internal politics and religion serve as useful lodestars. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oman, Charles (2017). The Dark Ages 476–918 A.D. Augustine Books.John Murray (Firm) (1872). A Handbook of Rome and Its Environs. J. Murray, 1872. p. 156. Belisarius built a small oratory in Trivio in Rome. The man Justinian chose to lead the expedition, Count Belisarius, was about 30 years old and fresh from a stunning victory over the Vandals in North Africa. Coming from a Thracian family, Belisarius had served in the corps of bodyguards of Emperor Justin, Justinian’s uncle and predecessor, before distinguishing himself as a general. Bust of Belisarius by the French baroque sculptor Jean-Baptiste Stouf. The sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Villa depicts the general as blind beggar in a manner that suggests a philosopher or saint. In 539, Belisarius set up siege forces around Auximum and sent troops to Faesulae, [15] [40] starving both cities to submission by late 539. [40] He led the siege of Auximum himself; knowing he couldn't storm the city, he tried to cut the water supply but this failed. When the captured leaders from the Faesulae garrison were paraded in front of the city, its garrison too surrendered. If he moved on Ravenna his rear would now be secure. Vitiges hadn't been able to reinforce these places, as there was a food shortage throughout Italy and he couldn't gather enough supplies for the march. Belisarius stationed his army around the Ostrogothic capital of Ravenna in late 539. [41]