On This Day In Roman History, March 2
The First Siege of Rome occurs at the command of Belisarius starting on March 2, 537 CE. This attack to re-take Rome was only possible after an earlier campaign that took place in north Africa. A successful triumph over the Vandals there paved the way for Justinian I to re-capture the eternal city. This seizure of the old capital was easier than anticipated due to internal strife within the Ostrogothic state on the Italian peninsula; ever since the death of Theodoric the Great in 526 things were deteriorating for the Ostrogoths. After Belisarius had taken Rome, the Goths were unable to completely encircle the city. They instead set up several camps guarding the main gates in an attempt to starve Rome. Ultimately, Belisarius was able to negotiate with the besiegers and achieve a costly victory on the southern stretches of Italy and Sicily.
Did you know?
The Goths cut off water to the city by vandalizing the aqueducts that flowed into it. Justinian countered the situation by setting up a series of floating mills in order to operate the gristmills required to supply the city with grain. King Vitiges of the Ostrogoths in Italy noticed how extensively this abled the Romans to hold out and proposed a free passage of the army if they surrendered. "...As for Rome, moreover, which we have captured, in holding it we hold nothing which belongs to others, but it was you who trespassed upon this city in former times, though it did not belong to you at all, and now you have given it back, however unwillingly, to its ancient possessors. And whoever of you has hopes of setting foot in Rome without a fight is mistaken in his judgment. For as long as Belisarius lives, it is impossible for him to relinquish this city."
Pictured: The Walls and Gates of Rome in the 6th century. The Gothic camps from the Siege of Rome 537-538 are depicted. Illustration by Edward Stanford, via Wikimedia Commons.
Procopius writes, quoting the later dialogue between Belisarius and the Goths. "And the barbarians said: "[...] we give up to you Sicily, great as it is and of such wealth, seeing that without it you cannot possess Libya in security."7
And Belisarius replied: "And we on our side permit the Goths to have the whole of Britain, which is much larger than Sicily and was subject to the Romans in early times. For it is only fair to make an equal return to those who first do a good deed or perform a kindness."
The barbarians: "Well, then, if we should make you a proposal concerning Campania also, or about Naples itself, will you listen to it?"
Belisarius: "No, for we are not empowered to administer the emperor's affairs in a way which is not in accord with his wish."
Opinion
Sorry for the late post today! In all fairness, it is still March 2nd here in Michigan. I had an important test today and am happy to announce I passed my FAA Commercial Checkride!
Times really are a changing during this era of Roman history. It's sad to see Belisarius attempting to hold out the old city. At this time, the cities value to the East was literally only the prestige of re-gaining the once sacred territory. The city itself was decaying in shambles and had long since been abandoned the new capital city of Ravenna. I have previously discussed Belesarius' accomplishments in North Africa, and it's my opinion this campaign was actually borderline beneficial to the East in terms of displays of force over the Vandals. Borderline at best. But this conquest into the Italian peninsula for just the sake of honor was largely a waste of resources.
Times really are a changing during this era of Roman history. It's sad to see Belisarius attempting to hold out the old city. At this time, the cities value to the East was literally only the prestige of re-gaining the once sacred territory. The city itself was decaying in shambles and had long since been abandoned the new capital city of Ravenna. I have previously discussed Belesarius' accomplishments in North Africa, and it's my opinion this campaign was actually borderline beneficial to the East in terms of displays of force over the Vandals. Borderline at best. But this conquest into the Italian peninsula for just the sake of honor was largely a waste of resources.
Sources
Claudianus, C., & Garuti, G. (1991). Cl. Claudiani De bello Gothico. L'Aquila: Japadre editore.
Dupuy, R. E., & Dupuy, T. N. (1993). The Harper encyclopedia of military history: from 3500 BC to the present. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Rosser, J. H. (2012). Historical dictionary of Byzantium. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Further Reading:
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