Belisarius: The Last Battle (6/6)

544 AD. Eastern Roman general Flavius Belisarius and 4,000 troops have arrived at Salona, poised to cross the Adriatic to Italy. Four years have passed since Belisarius' great victory over the Ostrogoths, but in his absence, the Eastern Roman position in Italy has collapsed. After several coups and assassinations, the Goths have chosen a new king to lead them, a brilliant warrior who is also wise and active. His name is Tortilla. While Emperor Justinian had been distracted by the war in the east, and ravages of plague, Tortilla had attacked. He swept to victory against a demoralised Roman army, that had been left without pay or supplies, and led by corrupt, squabbling generals. Many Romans chose to switch sides, rather than fight. Much of what Belisarius had achieved in four years of campaigning is undone. Only Rome, and a few other cities and ports are still in Roman hands. Belisarius, veteran of great Roman victories against Persians, Vandals and Ostrogoths, will face his toughest campaign yet. A struggle once more for Italy, against the odds, and against a formidable enemy. Belisarius seems to face an impossible task. With just 4,000 inexperienced troops, he cannot risk facing the Goth king Tortilla in battle. For the time being, he must remain on the defensive. He has an early success when he is able to relieve and resupply the garrison of Dryas, which had been on the point of surrender. Then he moves his force up, by sea, to Ravenna. But Belisarius finds that every move he makes in Italy, to reinforce a garrison, or extend Roman control, is hamstrung by a lack of troops, supplies, and money. He sends his old rival John, nephew of Vitellian, back to Constantinople, with an urgent appeal to the Emperor. We have arrived in Italy, most mighty Emperor, without men, horses, arms, or money. And no man, I think, can carry on a war without a plentiful supply of these things. Belisarius asks, above all, that his household troops, his famed buccalari, be released from service in the east, and sent to join him in Italy. Belisarius withdraws to Dyrrhachium, to await the Emperor's reply. Tortilla, meanwhile, tightens his grip on central Italy, and in late 545, he advances on Rome. The Eternal City is held by just 3,000 Roman troops, commanded by Bessas. For months, the Goths have been intercepting supplies sent to the city. Civilians are already starving. The garrison will be next. The city cannot hold out for long. A few months later, John rejoins Belisarius at Dyrrhachium, with some reinforcements. But not for the first time, the two generals disagree about their next move. John wants to cross to southern Italy, and march overland to Rome, a journey that could take 40 days. Belisarius thinks they'll be too late to save the city. He wants to get troops and supplies there as fast as possible, which means sailing directly to Portus, a five-day voyage in favourable winds. John can land in southern Italy, clear the region of Goths, and meet Belisarius near Rome. Belisarius' plan risks dividing his small force. But it may, at a stroke, secure Rome and southern Italy for the Emperor. However, his last campaign is to be plagued by misfortune. When Belisarius arrived in Italy, things went wrong with him daily, for he had clearly incurred the enmity of heaven. Belisarius sails for Portus, accompanied by his troops and his wife Antonina. But they are hit by a storm, and have to put in at Dryas. They are spotted by Goths besieging the port, who send word to Tortilla. By the time Belisarius reaches Portus a few days later, the Goths are on high alert, ready for any attempt to relieve Rome. Tortilla knows Belisarius will try to move supplies from Portus to Rome along the Tiber River. So 10 miles downriver from the city, he builds a fortified wooden bridge, with towers on each bank filled with Goth warriors. It's a formidable obstacle that Belisarius will have to break through to save Rome. Meanwhile, John lands with his troops in the south. He quickly routes local Goth forces, and secures the region. But despite appeals from Belisarius, John refuses to march to their rendezvous at Rome. He cites the presence of 300 Goths at Capua, who shadow his movements, and convince him that he would be marching into a trap. Belisarius can wait no longer. He leaves Isaac in command at Portus, with strict orders not to leave their only secure base for any reason. He also sends word to Bessus in Rome, ordering him to make a diversionary attack on the Goth camp. Then his convoy of 200 reinforced galleys begins to row up the Tiber, packed with troops and supplies. An infantry force supports them on the right bank. After clearing an iron chain that lay across the river, they reach Tortilla's fortified bridge. Thanks to skilled reconnaissance, Belisarius not only knows its location, but its exact dimensions. He has built a taller tower, which floats on two barges. The Romans push it up to a Goth tower, and drop a burning boat, packed with pitch and tar, on top of it. The tower, with scores of Goth warriors still inside, is incinerated. Goths now race from their camp to join the battle, and throw back Belisarius' river assault. Heavy fighting breaks out around the wreckage of the bridge, but there is no sign of the diversionary raid by the garrison of Rome. Bessus, it will emerge, has decided not to risk his own men. Belisarius' troops gain the upper hand, and start to dismantle the bridge. But then, a messenger arrives with news that the Goths have captured Isaac, left in command at Portus. Belisarius, for once, seems to lose his usual cool head. He assumes Portus has been captured, along with his wife, and the army's only refuge. Without waiting for more information, he turns his entire force around, to launch an immediate attack to retake Portus. But when Belisarius gets there, he discovers that Portus is quite safe. Despite his orders to stay put, Isaac had been captured, leading a reckless attack on the Goths, in pursuit of glory. Now crucial moments have been lost. The Goths are reinforcing their position. To renew the attack would be futile. Belisarius' attempt to save Rome has failed. He is overcome with despair. Then he falls sick with fever, and comes close to death. Ten years after Rome fell to Belisarius, the city falls to Tortilla, its gates opened by starving Roman troops. Procopius records that just 26 soldiers and 60 civilians are slain, before Tortilla orders his men to stop the killing. Within Rome, the Goths find just a few hundred civilians, hungry and destitute, sheltering amid the monuments and temples of what had been the world's greatest city. Rome is a ghost town. Tortilla decides to raze it to the ground, and begins demolishing the city walls. When Belisarius hears of this, he writes to the Goth king. Among all cities under the sun, Rome is agreed to be the greatest and most noteworthy. Any insult to these monuments would rightly be considered a great crime against the whole of humanity. For by such an action, the men of former generations are robbed of the memorials of their virtue, and future generations of the sight of their works. Belisarius adds that if the Romans win this war, they'll show no mercy to the man who levelled Rome. Tortilla changes his mind. Having destroyed Rome's gates and much of its walls, he marches south, taking the last of its inhabitants with him. John retreats behind the walls of Dryas, and southern Italy is soon back under Goth control. Rome, the Eternal City, is abandoned. We are told it is forsaken by all living things. But doubtless there are those desperate enough to roam the empty forums and deserted streets. In the spring of 547, Belisarius, recovered from his illness, makes a personal reconnaissance of Rome to inspect its defences. Word of his movements reaches the Goths, and Belisarius and his escort have to fight their way out of a dangerous ambush. But the Roman general has seen enough. He has decided to reoccupy Rome. There is no Goth garrison to oppose Belisarius, but strategically it seems madness. How can he expect to hold the empty city? For 25 days, he and his men work furiously to lay in supplies, and shore up the city's defences, before the Goths return. Their presence encourages some Romans to begin moving back into the city. By the time Tortilla and his army arrive, the Romans have rebuilt much of the walls with loose stone, but they haven't had time to make new gates. The Goths attack, confident of victory. The Romans have a nasty surprise for them – caltrops, spread over the approach routes, to maim Goth men and horses. For two whole days there is savage fighting at the open gateways. But Belisarius' men stubbornly hold their positions. A few days later, the Goths prepare to launch another attack. This time, the Romans are so confident, they come out of the city, and fight the enemy in the open. Tortilla's own standard-bearer is cut down. The Goths are routed. Tortilla, harangued by his own men for neither destroying Rome when he had the chance, nor garrisoning it, withdraws to Tivoli. At last, Roman fortunes seem to be on the rise. There's more good news when Emperor Justinian decides to send Belisarius more reinforcements, around 2,500 men. Belisarius is ordered to link up with them at Tarentum, before re-establishing control of southern Italy. He sails from Portus, with 900 picked men. But once more, ill winds force him off course, and he has to land at Crotone, a hostile shore. Despite their experience, his cavalry fail to set sentries while outforaging for supplies, and a large force of Goth cavalry takes them by surprise. The Romans are outnumbered 4 to 1. Many of Belisarius' best men fall in the fighting. The rest of his force hurriedly re-embarks, and sails for Sicily. It's a humiliating withdrawal for Belisarius, a general who's conquered nearly all before him, now chased out of Italy by a small band of barbarians. Belisarius' wife Antonina has been by his side throughout the campaign. Now she returns to Constantinople. As a close friend and confidante of Empress Theodora, she hopes that in person, she can persuade her to send Belisarius the troops and supplies he so desperately needs. The mission will prove futile. When Antonina arrives in the capital, she learns that Empress Theodora has fallen sick, and died. At this point in the war, the barbarians became unquestionably masters of the whole west. Though the Romans had been at first decisively victorious in the Gothic War, as I have previously recounted, the result for them was that they had not only spent money and lives in huge amounts, and to no advantage, but they had also lost Italy. Belisarius' second Italian campaign ends in frustration and failure. In January 549, he is recalled to Constantinople, allegedly at the request of his wife Antonina. Soon after he leaves, the Goths finally take Perugia. The next year, they take Rome. Goth fleets begin to raid Sicily and Dalmatia. But Justinian continues to ignore Totila's offers of a generous peace, because he has, at last, assembled an army big enough to take the war to the Goths. He awards command, not to Belisarius, but to his old rival, Narces the Eunuch, Chamberlain of the Palace. Narces leads the army into Italy in 552. He decides to act fast, and force a decisive battle against Totila at the first opportunity. He gets his wish at Busta Gallorum. Totila risks everything on a massed cavalry charge against the Roman centre. He is met with a storm of arrows. It is a debacle. Totila himself is among scores of Goth lords who perish. Goth military power in Italy is broken. Within two years, Narces will win more brilliant victories against the Goths and Franks, and bring the war in Italy to a victorious end. Belisarius' feelings at news of Narces' triumphs can only be guessed at – joy and gratitude for a Roman victory, but bitterness perhaps that he'd had to fight the war for so long, with so little support. After 25 years commanding Roman troops, Belisarius' military career seems at an end. He lives as a rich and famous patrician in Constantinople, and serves as trusted advisor to Justinian. Little more is heard of the great general for several years… until 559. And now, after a great lapse of time, as he once more put on his breastplate and helmet, and donned the familiar uniform of his younger days, the memory of past exploits came flooding into the old man's mind, and filled him with youthful ardour. Kutrigors, Turkic warrior nomads, perhaps descended from the Huns of Attila, have menaced the Eastern Roman Empire for decades. Justinian uses a combination of bribes, fortifications, and shrewd diplomacy to keep them at bay. The system does not always work. In 559, their chief Zabagan leads the Kutrigors south across the frozen Danube. They split into three groups. Zabagan himself leads 7,000 men towards Constantinople. They bypass the outer fortifications, the long walls, which are crumbling and undefended. There are hardly any troops in Constantinople, and as the Kutrigors draw near, panic spreads. Justinian knows there is one man in the city he can rely on. He summons Belisarius, and orders him to take charge of the city's defence. The Great General, now almost 60, gathers 300 veterans and a crowd of citizen volunteers, and marches out to face the enemy. He sets an ambush for the advance party of 2,000 Kutrigors. When they've entered the trap, his veterans attack from both flanks, hurling javelins. Then Belisarius leads forward his main force in a head-on charge. His men scream and roar to terrify the enemy. Horses drag branches to stir up dust and hide their numbers. The Kutrigors are hemmed in, attacked from all sides, unsure of the enemy's strength. They panic and flee. In the words of the historian Agathias, the Romans followed them in an orderly and disciplined pursuit, making short work of all they could lay their hands on. The barbarians were slaughtered in great numbers, as they galloped away, without even turning round to look back. Belisarius has won yet another famous victory. Yet three years later, after a failed assassination plot against the Emperor, he finds himself in disgrace once more. Under interrogation, the conspirators name members of his household, who in turn implicate Belisarius himself. It's flimsy evidence, but Belisarius is persona non grata for seven months, before Justinian restores his honours. This incident spawns a medieval legend, that as punishment, Justinian had had Belisarius blinded, and he became a beggar at the gates of Constantinople. The story was a favourite of 18th century neoclassicists, with its dramatic themes of But there is no contemporary evidence to support it. Three years later, a single line in the Chronicle of Theophanes records the death of one of Rome's greatest generals. In March of this year, in the 13th Indiction, Belisarius the Patrician died in Constantinople, and his property accrued to the Imperial House of Marina. Nothing more is said. The year is 565. Belisarius would have been in his mid-sixties. The fate of his wife Antonina is not known. As for Procopius, his great work History of the Wars of Justinian is published in the 550s, within the lifetime of Justinian and Belisarius. It is an astonishing achievement. From an author who witnessed many of its major events, and knew many of the great figures involved. It comes to be regarded as one of the greatest, and longest, histories to reach us from the ancient world. But Procopius also writes another account of these times, unpublished in his lifetime, known as the Secret History. In its introduction, he writes, I have been forced to conceal the real causes of many of the events recounted in my former books. It will now be my duty, in this part of my history, to tell what has hitherto remained untold. What follows is a scandalous assault on the reputations of Theodora and Justinian, Antonina, and Belisarius. Procopius describes the Imperial couple as vicious, scheming, and above all, greedy for money. He asserts that Theodora had been a notorious prostitute in her youth, and that Justinian is possessed by demons. Antonina, he claims, is a serial adulterer, who holds the pathetically devoted Belisarius under her spell. Many of their actions, even major strategic decisions, are attributed to self-obsession, lust, and manipulation. The Secret History remains little known for a thousand years, until a manuscript copy is found in the Vatican Library, and published. Historians have debated its contents ever since. A common view is that this work stems from Procopius' later disillusionment with Justinian's rule, the wars, taxes, and crucially, the influence of Theodora and Antonina. For it is a ferociously misogynistic attack, in which women are insatiable, scheming, deceptive, and vengeful. But it is also clear that much of the Secret History is deliberate hyperbole and parody, not to be taken literally, or perhaps even seriously. Emperor Justinian died 8 months after Belisarius, in 565. In such an age, to reign 38 years, and die in bed aged 83, was itself an astonishing achievement. His funeral, an event of stunning magnificence, saw him laid to rest in a golden tomb, within the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. He left a Roman Empire that stretched from the Caucasus to the coast of Spain, from the Alps to the Atlas Mountains. These conquests came at a vast cost, in lives, treasure, and human suffering. Nor could they be sustained. Three years after Justinian's death, the Lombards fell upon Italy, conquering most of the peninsula. In the 7th century, Avars and Persians advanced to the walls of Constantinople, before the tidal wave of Muslim-Arab conquest swept away much of the empire. It has been argued that Justinian's costly wars left the Eastern Roman Empire exhausted, unable to resist these new threats. But recent assessments place more emphasis on the blunders of his successors. Justinian had been immensely fortunate to be served by one of the great generals of Roman history, even though he did not always repay his loyalty. In all his commands, Belisarius distinguished himself as loyal, intelligent, humane, and decisive. He was a skilled tactician who defied the odds at Dara. He waged a hearts-and-mind campaign to retake North Africa almost without loss. He liberated Rome, and held it in two desperate sieges. He has been called the Last Roman. The Empire would see few generals of his stature again. Big thanks to Legendarian for providing our Total War Attila gameplay footage. Check out his own YouTube channel for more videos on the military history of late antiquity. Thank you also to Professor David Parnell of Indiana University Northwest, our series consultant. You can follow David on Twitter at ByzantineProf, or via the link in our video description. And thank you, of course, to all the Epic History TV Patreon supporters who make this channel possible.