The Gothic War, 535–552, was the expression of Justinian's decision in 535 to reverse the course of events of the past century in the West and win back for the Eastern Roman Empire the provinces of Italy that had been lost, first to Odoacer and then to the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great. Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the St. ... Events Beginning of the Western Wei Dynasty in China. ... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... Odoacer solidus struck in name of Zeno. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... Theodoric the Great (454 - August 30, 526), known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the East Goths, the Ostrogoths (488-526), ruler of Italy (493-526), and regent of the Visigoths (511-526). ...

First Campaign

Justinian's cause for war was the exile and assassination in 535 of Amalasuntha, Theodoric's heiress, whose representatives had signed a pact with Justinian that enabled Imperial forces to use Sicilian bases in their campaign against the Vandals in Africa. The Emperor's most successful general in this enterprise, which would lay southern and central Italy waste, was Belisarius, recently successful against the Vandals, whom he now commissioned to attack the Ostrogoths. Belisarius quickly captured Sicily and then crossed into Italy, where he captured Rhegium and Naples by November and Rome in December 536, forcing the Gothic king Witigis to evacuate. The following year, Belisarius, with too few troops to face the Goths in the open field, successfully defended Rome against a Gothic siege (January 537 to March 538), interrupted by minor sallies from the walled city, such as the "Battle of the Pincian Gate", then, finally reinforced from Constantinople, took the offensive. Narses relieved besieged Ariminum (Rimini) and Belisarius' lieutenant Mundalias moved north to take Mediolanum (Milan). Casus Belli is a New Latin expression meaning occasion of war. ... Events Beginning of the Western Wei Dynasty in China. ... Amalasuntha (also known as Amalasuentha or Amalaswintha) (d. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. ... Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Roman provinces ... Belisarius, by Jacques-Louis David (1781); as depicted in a popular legend that may be apocryphal. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Categories: Italy-related stubs | Coastal cities | Towns in Calabria ... Witiges or Vitiges (d. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Narses (478-573) was, along with Belisarius, one of the two great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. during the so-called Reconquest that took place during the Justinians reign. ... Riminis skyline. ... Arcadius solidus, from Mediolanum mint, 400s. ...

The following year (540), the Franks intervened; they took Milan and sacked it. Narses was recalled but Belisarius besieged the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna, where Witiges was captured. The Goths offered to make Belisarius the western emperor, but he refused. The Goths' offer perhaps raised suspicions in Justinian's mind and Belisarius was recalled to the East to fight the Persians in Syria. Events Byzantine general Belisarius conquers Milan and the Ostrogoth capital Ravenna. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ...

Western Europe in 530 CE

Image File history File links 0530. ...

Second and Third Campaigns

In 541 the Ostrogoths acclaimed Totila as their new leader, having assassinated his predecessor who had opened negotiations with the Empire, and Totila mounted a vigorous and successful campaign against the East Romans, recapturing all of northern Italy and even driving the East Romans out of Rome, after a long, second siege (547–549). Totila, born in Treviso, was king of the Ostrogoths, chosen after the death of his uncle Ildibad, having engineered the assassination of Ildibads short-lived successor his cousin Eraric in 541. ...

Belisarius returned to Italy in 544, where he found that the situation had changed greatly. He managed to recover Rome briefly, but his Italian campaign proved unsuccessful, thanks in no small part to his being starved of supplies and reinforcements by a jealous Justinian, if we adopt the view of Procopius. In 548, Justinian relieved him in favor of Narses, who was able to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. For his part, Belisarius went into retirement. Narses (478-573) was, along with Belisarius, one of the two great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. during the so-called Reconquest that took place during the Justinians reign. ...

In the third campaign of the Gothic War, Rome was besieged a third time, and captured by Totila, whose offers of peace were rejected by Justinian. A new Italian campaign was organized under Justinian's nephew Germanus, while Liberius harassed the Visigoths in Hispania. With the death of Germanus in 551, Narses took on Totila, and at the Battle of Taginae Narses defeated and killed Totila. The Goths holding Rome capitulated, and at the Battle of Mons Lactarius, in October 553, Narses defeated Teias and the last remnants of the Gothic army in Italy. Germain of Auxerre - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. ... Events Jordanes publishes The Origin and Deeds of the Goths. ... Narses (478-573) was, along with Belisarius, one of the two great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. during the so-called Reconquest that took place during the Justinians reign. ... At the battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in July of 552, the Byzantine Empire under the eunuch Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and brought the entire peninsula under the rule of Constantinople. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ostrogoths Commanders Narses Teia The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 553 during the Gothic War waged on behalf of East Roman Emperor Justinian I against the Ostrogoths in Italy. ... Events The Ostrogoth Kingdom is conquered by the Byzantines after the Battle of Mons Lactarius. ...

The Pyrrhic victory of the Gothic War drained the Eastern Roman Empire of much-needed resources that might have been employed against more immediate threats in the East. In Italy, the war was devastating to the urbanized society that was supported by a settled hinterland.The great cities of Rome and her allies would be abandoned as Italy would fall into a long period of backwardness. The impoverishment of Italy and the drain on the Empire made it impossible for the East Romans to hold Italy. The economic destruction of Italy was so total that it took several centuries for the communes to recover. Imperial gains were fleeting: only three years after the death of Justinian, the mainland Italian territories fell into the hands of a far more primitive Germanic tribe, the Lombards, leaving the Exarchate of Ravenna a band of territory that stretched across central Italy to the Tyrrhenian Sea and south to Naples, along with southern Italy as the only remaining Imperial holding. Justinian also managed to carve out an Imperial domain in Southern Spain but that too would be conquered by German tribes a few decades later. After the Gothic Wars the Empire would entertain no more serious ambitions in the West. Rome itself would remain under imperial control until the Exarchate of Ravenna was finally abolished by the Lombards in 751. Southern Italy would remain under East Roman (administered directly from Constantinople) rule until the late 11th century. A Pyrrhic victory (pronounced pirric) is a victory which is won at too great a cost for the victor. ... Defensive towers at San Gimignano, Tuscany, bear witness to the factional strife within communes. ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from northern Europe that entered the late Roman Empire. ... The Exarchate of Ravenna was a center of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751 A.D., when the last Exarch was put to death by the Emperors enemies in Italy, the Lombards. ... Tyrrhenian Sea. ...

References

• Procopius, History of the Wars.
• Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
• Claudian, The Gothic War.

Primary sources for the history of the Gothic War are by Belisarius' secretary, Procopius, whose History covers the Gothic War in three of its eight books. Moreover, Procopius was no friend of Justinian, and his assessments require caution. Procopius was a prominent Byzantine scholar of the family Procopius. ...

Edward Gibbon depended on Procopius for the first modern account (vol. iv, part V.ch 41). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Claudian's panegyric, De Bello Gothico ("The Gothic War") which celebrates the earlier war, see's Alaric expelled from Italy. Its narrative is seen from the perspective of a client of Stilicho, "the restorer of civilization's glory" in Claudian's phrase. Claudius Claudianus, Anglicized as Claudian, was the court poet to the Emperor Honorius and Stilicho. ... A Panegyric is a formal public speech delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally high studied and undiscriminating eulogy. ... Alaric may refer to: Alaric I, King of the Goths, sacked Rome Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths in Spain This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Flavius Stilicho (occasionally written as Stilico) (c. ...

See also

• Battle of Taginae, July 552
• Battle of Mons Lactarius, October 553

At the battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in July of 552, the Byzantine Empire under the eunuch Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and brought the entire peninsula under the rule of Constantinople. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ostrogoths Commanders Narses Teia The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 553 during the Gothic War waged on behalf of East Roman Emperor Justinian I against the Ostrogoths in Italy. ...

External links

• Claudian, De Bello Gothico (in English)
• Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Chapter xli)
• Matteo Cioci, "Belisarius at bay : two battles of the Gothic War"