The Gothic War between the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Justinian I and the Ostrogoths (Goths) took place from 535 to 554 in the Italian Peninsula, Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Corsica. It was the last of the Gothic wars against the Byzantine Empire. The war had its roots in Justinian's ambition to recover the provinces of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost to invading barbarian tribes during the Migration Period.
The war followed the Byzantine reconquest of the diocese of Africa from the Vandals. Historians commonly divide the Gothic War into two phases. The first phase starts in 535 with the reconquest of Italy by the Byzantines with Belisarius as the commander-in-chief and ends in 540 with the fall of Ravenna, the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. The second phase, which lasted from 540/541 to 554, featured a Gothic revival under Totila that was suppressed only after a long struggle by the Byzantine general Narses. The Byzantines also had to repel an invasion in 554 by the Franks, who were initially allies of the Byzantines but were also in secret with the Goths.
In 554, Justinian promulgated a pragmatic sanction that prescribed Italy's new government. Several cities in northern Italy held out against Constantinople until 562. By the end of the war, Italy had been devastated and depopulated. It was seen as a pyrrhic victory for the Byzantines, who were unable to resist an invasion by the Lombards in 568, resulting in Constantinople permanently losing control of large parts of the Italian peninsula.
Background
In 476, Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself as their king (rex), resulting in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Although Odoacer recognized the nominal suzerainty of the Byzantine emperor, Zeno, his independent policies and increasing strength made him a threat in the eyes of Constantinople. To provide a buffer, the Ostrogoths (Goths) of Theodoric the Great were settled as foederati (foreign allies) of the empire in the western Balkans but unrest continued. Zeno sent the Goths to Italy as the representatives of the empire to remove Odoacer. Theodoric and the Goths defeated Odoacer and Italy came under Gothic rule. In the arrangement between Theodoric and Zeno and his successor Anastasius, the land and its people were regarded as part of the Empire, with Theodoric a viceroy and head of the army (magister militum).
This arrangement was scrupulously observed by Theodoric; there was continuity in civil administration of Italy, which was staffed exclusively by Romans, and legislation remained the preserve of the emperor. The army was exclusively Gothic, under the authority of their chiefs and courts. The peoples were also divided by religion: the Italo-Romans were Chalcedonian Christians, while the Goths were Arian Christians. Unlike the Vandals or the early Visigoths, the Goths practiced considerable religious tolerance. The dual system worked under the capable leadership of Theodoric, who conciliated the Italian aristocracy, but the system began to break down during his later years and collapsed under his heirs.
With the ascension of Emperor Justin I, the end of the Acacian schism between the Eastern and Western churches, and the return of ecclesiastical unity within the East, several members of the Italian senatorial aristocracy began to favor closer ties to Constantinople to balance Gothic power. The deposition and execution of the distinguished magister officiorum Boethius and his father-in-law in 524 were part of the slow estrangement from the Gothic regime. Theodoric was succeeded by his 10-year-old grandson Athalaric in August 526, with his mother, Amalasuntha, as regent; she had been educated in the Roman tradition and she began a rapprochement with the Senate and the Empire. This conciliation and Athalaric's Roman education displeased Gothic magnates, who plotted against her. Amalasuntha had three of the leading conspirators killed and wrote to Justinian, asking for sanctuary if she was deposed. Amalasuntha remained in Italy.
Prelude
In 533, using a dynastic dispute as a pretext, Justinian sent his most talented general, Belisarius, to recover the North African provinces held by the Vandals. The Vandalic War produced an unexpectedly swift and decisive victory for the Byzantine Empire and encouraged Justinian in his ambition to recover the rest of the lost western provinces. As regent, Amalasuntha had allowed the Byzantine fleet to use the harbors of Sicily. After the death of Athalaric in 534, Amalasuntha offered the kingship to her cousin Theodahad, who accepted the offer but then had her arrested; she was killed in early 535. Justinian tried, through his agents, to save Amalasuntha's life, and eventually her death became a casus belli against the Goths. Procopius wrote that "upon learning what had befallen Amalasuntha, immediately entered upon the war, being in the ninth year of his reign".
Belisarius was appointed commander in chief (strategos autokrator) for the expedition against the Goths with 7,500 men. Mundus, the magister militum per Illyricum, was ordered to occupy the Gothic province of Dalmatia. The forces made available to Belisarius were small, especially when compared with the larger army he had fielded against the Vandals, an enemy weaker than the Goths. The preparations for the operation were carried out in secret. Justinian secured the neutrality of the Franks with gifts of gold and adopted the Frankish king Theudebert I as his son.
First Byzantine campaign, 535–540
Conquest of Sicily and Dalmatia
Belisarius landed at Sicily, between Byzantine Africa and Italy, whose population was well disposed toward the Empire. The island was quickly brought under Byzantine control, with only Palermo resisting before falling in late December. Belisarius prepared to cross to Italy, and Theodahad sent envoys to Justinian, proposing at first to cede Sicily and recognize his overlordship, but later to cede all of Italy.
In March 536, Mundus overran Dalmatia and captured its capital, Salona, but a large Gothic army arrived. Mundus's son Mauricius died in a skirmish. Mundus defeated the Goths but he was mortally wounded in the pursuit. The Byzantine army withdrew, and Dalmatia was abandoned to the Goths except for Salona. Encouraged by these developments, Theodahad imprisoned the Byzantine ambassadors. Justinian sent a new magister militum per Illyricum, Constantinianus, to recover Dalmatia and ordered Belisarius to cross into Italy. Constantinianus accomplished his task speedily. The Gothic general, Gripas, abandoned Salona, which he had only recently occupied, because of the ruined state of its fortifications and the pro-Byzantine sympathies of its citizens, withdrawing to the north. Constantinianus occupied the city and rebuilt the walls. Seven days later, the Gothic army departed for Italy, and by late June, the whole of Dalmatia was in Byzantine hands.
Naples and first siege of Rome
In 536, Belisarius crossed into Italy, where he captured Rhegium and made his way north. Naples was besieged for approximately three weeks before imperial troops breached the city's defenses in November. Byzantine forces, some of barbarian origin, then sacked Naples. Belisarius quickly restored order, let his troops keep the looted goods, and freed all the prisoners.
The speed of the Byzantine advance took the Goths by surprise, and the inactivity of Theodahad enraged them. After the fall of Naples, he was deposed and replaced by Vitiges. The new Gothic King installed a 4,000-strong garrison in Rome and then left for Ravenna, where he married Amalasuntha's daughter Matasuntha by force to strengthen his claim to the throne. He also began rallying his forces against the invasion. Vitiges then proceeded to negotiate with the Franks, who were in alliance with the Byzantines. Theodahad had proposed handing over the Gothic territory in Gaul, along with 2,000 pounds of gold, in return for their agreement to assist him in the war. Theodahad died before the transaction was concluded and Vitiges sought to complete this arrangement. The Frankish kings agreed, but they were unwilling to openly break their alliance with the Emperor Justinian. Instead, they secretly promised to send warriors drawn from their tributary peoples to maintain plausible deniability. In the meantime, Belisarius moved north to Rome. The citizens of Rome, in view of the fate of Naples, put up no resistance. The Gothic garrison, recognizing the difficulty of defending a city whose population was openly hostile to Gothic rule, chose to withdraw. Belisarius entered unopposed on 9 December 536.
The Byzantine capture of Rome placed the Goths in a difficult position. Although the city held limited strategic value, its political and symbolic significance was immense. The Goths were forced to surrender initiative and retake the city immediately. According to Procopius, Vitiges led a 150,000-strong force against Rome, where Belisarius, who did not have enough troops to face the Goths in the open field, remained. The subsequent siege of Rome, the first of the major three in the Gothic War, lasted from March 537 to March 538. Belisarius was able to utilize Rome's fortifications with the use of artillery and local conscripts to balance the odds. After the arrival of 1,600 Byzantine Hunnic and Slavic mounted archers from Constantinople in April 537, Belisarius started the offensive with hit-and-run tactics, inflicting considerable casualties upon the Goths, who were unable to counter them. The imperial navy cut off the Goths from seaborne supplies, worsening their difficulties. An armistice was agreed for both sides by the end of 537, however, the arrival of another 5,000 reinforcements prompted the Byzantines to capture several towns near Rome from the Goths. Belisarius also dispatched John the Sanguinary with 2,000 cavalry to the Picenum region, ordering him to avoid open conflict until the armistice was broken. Following three Gothic attempts to breach Rome, Belisarius ordered John to commence raids. John instead captured Ariminum (modern-day Rimini), a strategically important city near Ravenna. The close proximity to the Gothic capital forced Vitiges to abandon the siege and withdraw.
Siege of Ariminum
As Vitiges marched to the northeast, he strengthened the garrisons of towns and forts along the way to secure his rear and then turned towards Ariminum. The Byzantine force of 2,000 horsemen occupying it comprised some of Belisarius's finest cavalry; Belisarius decided to replace them with an infantry garrison. Their commander, John, refused to obey Belisarius and remained at Ariminum. Shortly after the Goths arrived, an assault failed, but the city had few supplies with which to stand a siege. Reinforcement of 5,000 Byzantine troops under the Chamberlain Narses arrived at Picenum and a force of 2,000 Herul foederati joined Belisarius just before Narses arrived. Belisarius and Narses met at Firmum, where they convened a council of officers to decide whether the army should march to John's aid in Ariminum. Most of the officers opposed helping John, resentful of his challenge to Belisarius's authority. Narses appealed to Belisarius and his officers to carry out the rescue, as a Gothic victory could boost their morale. The arrival of a letter from John, which illustrated the immediate danger of the city's fall, resolved the issue in favor of Narses. Belisarius divided his army into a seaborne force under lieutenant Ildiger, another under the equally experienced Martin, which was to arrive from the south and the main force under him and Narses, which was to arrive from the northwest. Vitiges learned of their approach and, faced with the prospect of being surrounded by superior forces, he retreated to Ravenna.
Despite the bloodless victory by Belisarius at Ariminum, John declined to express any gratitude to Belisarius and instead claimed that Narses deserved the credit because it was Narses who had compelled Belisarius to come to his rescue. Belisarius recognized the growing tensions with Narses, fuelled by his aides and convened a meeting with the army officers. At the meeting, he cautioned the officers against overconfidence, noting that the Goths still held numerical superiority and had only been defeated through the united Byzantine leadership. Belisarius outlined the surrounding Gothic forces and proposed dividing the army to relieve Milan while besieging Auximus, a strategic stronghold for the capture of Ravenna. Narses opposed this plan, arguing instead for securing Via Aemilia and pressuring Ravenna. Historian Ilkka Syvänne argues that Narses's strategy overlooked Gothic logistical weaknesses and effectively abandoned Milan, noting that eventually Belisarius proved correct. Upon hearing Narses's argument, Belisarius revealed to him the emperor's letter stating that he had supreme authority.
We have not sent our steward Narses to Italy to command the army; for we wish Belisarius alone to command the whole army in whatever manner seems to him to be best, and it is the duty of all of you to follow him in the interest of our state.