Totila, born in Treviso, was king of the Ostrogoths, chosen after the death of his uncle Ildibad, having engineered the assassination of Ildibad's short-lived successor his cousin Eraric in 541. The Byzantine historian Procopius, who accompanied the general Belisarius in the Gothic War employed his nom de guerre "Totila": his real name, which can be seen from the coinage he issued, was Baduila. Treviso is a town (population 83,598 as of 1991) in the Veneto region of Italy. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... Ildibad (or Heldebadus) (d. ... Eraric (d. ... Events January 1 - Flavius Basilius Junior appointed as consul in Constantinople, the last person to hold this office January 2 - Earthquake strikes Laodicea. ... The writings of Procopius of Caesarea (500 ? - 565 ?), in Palestine, are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian. ... Belisarius, by Jacques-Louis David (1781); the depiction is now believed to be fictionalized. ... The Gothic War was the expression of Justinians decision in 535 to reverse the course of events of the pasty 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...

His life's work was the restoration of the Gothic kingdom in Italy and he entered upon the task from the very beginning of his reign, collecting together and inspiring the Goths, thwarting the Roman recapture of the Gothic stronghold of Verona, largely through the distraction and delay of the emperor's generals, then winning a decisive victory over the troops of Justinian I, near Faventia (Faenza). Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... Map of Italy showing Verona in the north Verona (population est. ... Justinian I depicted on a Byzantine mosaic Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus or Justinian I (May 11, 483–November 13/14, 565), was Eastern Roman Emperor from AD August 1, 527 until his death. ... Faenza is an old Italian cathedral town, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna. ...

Having gained another victory in 542, this time, avoiding stoutly defended Florence, in the valley of Mugello, where Totila showed his nature by treating his prisoners so well that they were induced to serve under his banner, he left a well-defended Tuscany with his enlarged forces, while three of the Byzantine generals withdrew from Florence, dividing their forces, to Perusia, to Spoletium and Rome, cities which Totila would have to take by siege. Events The plague killed upwards of 100,000 in Constantinople and perhaps two million or more in the rest of the Byzantine Empire (possibly exaggerated). ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Perugia (population 150,000) is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... Spoleto (Latin: Spoletium), 42°44′ N 12°44′ E, an ancient town in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria, at 385 meters (1391 ft) above sea-level on a foothill of the Apennines. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1...

In the meantime, instead of pursuing the conquest of central Italy, where the Imperial forces were too formidable for his small army, he decided to transfer his operations to the south of the peninsula (Bury 1923), where he captured Beneventum and received the submission of the provinces of Lucania and Bruttii, Apulia and Calabria, essentially the whole of the Greek south; their Imperial taxes were now diverted to his benefit. Benevento is a town and archiepiscopal see of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 32 miles northeast of Naples. ... For the mountain in Canada named after Lucania, see Mount Lucania. ... Apulia (official Italian name: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ...

Totila's strategy was to move fast and take control of the countryside, leaving the Byzantine forces in control of well-defended cities, and especially the ports. When Belisarius eventually returned to Italy, Procopius relates (Anecdota ch. V) "during a space of five years he did not succeed once in setting foot on any part of the land... except where some fortress was, but during this whole period he kept sailing about visiting one port after another." Totila circumvented those cities where a drawn-out siege would have been required, but razing the walls of cities that capitulated to him, such as Beneventum. Totila's conquest of Italy was marked not only by celerity but also by mercy, and Gibbon says "none were deceived, either friends or enemies, who depended on his faith or his clemency." After a successful siege of a resisting city, such as ar Perusia, however, Totila could be merciless, as the Byzantine historian Procopius recounts. Procopius also left a word portrait of Totila before his troops drawn up for battle: Benevento is a town and archiepiscopal see of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 32 miles northeast of Naples. ... Edward Gibbon. ... Perugia (population 150,000) is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... The writings of Procopius of Caesarea (500 ? - 565 ?), in Palestine, are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian. ...

The armor in which he was clad was abundantly plated with gold and the ample adornments which hung from his cheek plates as well as his helmet and spear were not only purple, but in other respects befitting a king ... And he himself, sitting upon a very large horse, began to dance under arms skillfully between the two armies. And as he rode he hurled his javelin into the air and caught it again as it quivered above him, then passed it rapidly from hand to hand, shifting it with consummate skill.”

Procopius's picture is given an uncharacteristic setting, for Totila generally avoided formal battles with opposing armies drawn up in battle array and excelled at skirmishing. A siege was required at Naples, however, where the report of Totila's courteous treatment of Romans at Cumae and other surrounding towns undermined morale. Justinian was alarmed, but jealousy kept his one brilliantly competent general Belisarius at Constantinople. An attempt to relieve Naples by sea was badly bungled when Totila was informed during unnecessary delays, and a storm dispersed a second attempt, delivering the general, Demetrius, into Tolila's hands. Totila offered generous terms and Conon's starving garrison at Naples opened their gates in the spring of 543. Cumae (Cuma, in Italian) is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. ... Belisarius, by Jacques-Louis David (1781); the depiction is now believed to be fictionalized. ... Events The doctrine of apocatastasis is condemned by the Synod of Constantinople. ...

"On this occasion Totila exhibited a considerable humanity which was not to be expected, as the historian Procopius remarks, from an enemy or a barbarian. He knew that if an abundance of food were at once supplied, the famished inhabitants would gorge themselves to death. He posted sentinels at the gates and in the harbour and allowed no one to leave the city. Then he dealt out small rations, gradually increasing the quantity every day until the people had recovered their strength. The terms of the capitulation were more than faithfully observed. Conon and his followers were embarked in ships with which the Goths provided them, and when, deciding to sail for Rome, they were hindered by contrary winds, Totila furnished horses, provisions, and guides so that they could make the journey by land." (Bury 1923).

The fortifications were partly razed. Totila spent the following season establishing himself in the south and reducing pockets of resistance, while the unpaid Imperial troops in central Italy made such poor reputations pillaging the countryside that when Totilas turned his attention to taking Rome, he was able proudly to contrast Goth and Greek behavior in his initial negotiations with the senate. They were refused, however, and all the Arian priests were expelled from the city, on suspicion of collaboration. Arianism was a Christological view held by followers of Arius in the early Christian Church, claiming that Jesus Christ and God the Father were not always contemporary, seeing the Son as a divine being, created by the Father (and consequently inferior to Him) at some point in time, before which...

Towards the end of 545 the Gothic king took up his station at Tivoli and prepared to starve Rome into surrender, making at the same time elaborate preparations for checking the progress of Belisarius who was advancing to its relief. Pope Vigilius fled to the safety of Syracuse; when he sent a flotilla of grain ships to feed the city, Totila's navy fell on them near the mouth of the Tiber and captured the fleet. The Imperial fleet, moving up the Tiber and led by the great general, only just failed to succour the city, which must then, perforce, open its gates to the Goths. Events The Ostrogoths besiegeRome. ... Tivoli, Italy, called Tibur in ancient times, was a favored site for Roman villas that was taken up again by the aristocrats of the Renaissance. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Belisarius, by Jacques-Louis David (1781); the depiction is now believed to be fictionalized. ... Vigilius was Pope from 537 to 555. ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third-longest river in Italy (disputed — see talk page) at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in two branches that...

It was plundered, although Totila did not carry out his threat to make it a pasture for cattle, and when the Gothic army withdrew into Apulia it was from a scene of desolation. But its walls and other fortifications were soon restored, and Totila again marched against it. He was defeated by Belisarius, who, however, did not follow up his advantage. Several cities including Perugia were taken by the Goths, while Belisarius remained inactive and then was recalled from Italy. In 549 Totila advanced a third time against Rome, which he captured through the treachery of some of its starving defenders. Perugia (population 150,000) is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... Events Emperor Jinwen succeeds Emperor Wu as ruler of the Liang Dynasty in China. ...

Totila's doubtless historical meeting with Benedict of Nursia at Monte Cassino preserved in Pope Gregory I's Dialogues (ii.14-15), whether before or soon after the siege of Naples (the Benedictines' traditional date is March 21, 543), has been embellished in the telling with the abbot's discernment of an aide of Totila's, dressed in royal robes, as an imposter and his predictions for Totila, who knelt to him, a favorite subject for Italian painters. Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. ... The restored Abbey Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about eighty miles (130 km) south of Rome, Italy, a mile to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Cassinum having been on the hill) and about 1700 ft (520 m) altitude. ... Pope Saint Gregory I or Gregory the Great (c. ...

His next exploit was the conquest and plunder of Sicily, after which he subdued Corsica and Sardinia and sent a Gothic fleet against the coasts of Greece. By this time the emperor Justinian was taking energetic measures to check the Goths. The conduct of a new campaign was entrusted to the eunuch Narses; Totila marched against him and was defeated and killed at the battle of Taginae (also known as the battle of Busta Gallorum) in July 552, which brought an end to the long struggle between Byzantium and the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy, and left the Eastern Emperor for the time being in control of Italy. Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... Capital Ajaccio Area 8,680 km² Regional President Ange Santini (UMP) (since 2004) Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density (Ranked 25th) 272,000 260,196 31/km² (2004) Arrondissements 5 Cantons 52 Communes 360 Départements Corse-du-Sud Haute-Corse Note: The Regional Presidents title is President of... Sardinia (Sardigna, Sardinna or Sardinnia in the Sardinian language, Sardegna in Italian, Sardenya in Catalan), is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily is the largest), between Italy, Spain and Tunisia, south of Corsica. ... Justinian I depicted on a Byzantine mosaic Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus or Justinian I (May 11, 483–November 13/14, 565), was Eastern Roman Emperor from AD August 1, 527 until his death. ... A eunuch is a human male whose testicles have either been removed or are non-functional. ... See Narseh of Persia for the Persian king Narses of the Sassanid. ... 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. ... 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. ... Events July - Battle of Taginae: The Byzantine general Narses defeats and kills Totila, king of the Ostrogoths. ...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) represents, in many ways, the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: Totila
• Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: vol 4.xliii.3 (Totila takes Rome)
• J.B. Bury, 1923. History of the Later Roman Empire chapter xix

Eraric (d. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... Teia (d. ...