Belisarius
General (Magister Militum) of the East and of Italy
"It is the part of a general to win by planning rather than by the sword."
Biography
The greatest general of his age and the sword of Justinian's reconquest, Belisarius rose from the imperial bodyguard to reconquer half the lost Roman West with tiny armies. He first made his name defeating the Persians at Dara, then helped crush the Nika Riots. Sent to Africa in 533, he destroyed the Vandal kingdom in a single lightning campaign, and then crossed to Italy, where he took Naples and Rome and held the ancient city through a legendary year-long siege. He finished the Gothic War by tricking his way into Ravenna and capturing the Gothic king — then, when the Goths offered to make him emperor of the West, refused and remained loyal, only to be recalled by a jealous Justinian. Repeatedly starved of men and money by a suspicious emperor, he nonetheless never lost his loyalty. The later legend that he ended his days blind and begging is almost certainly false, but it captured a real truth: the empire's finest servant was never fully trusted or rewarded.
Did you know?
His campaigns are the main subject of the histories of Procopius, who served on his staff — giving Belisarius one of the fullest biographies of any ancient general.
Key Battles
Battle of Ad Decimum
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victorySeptember 13, 533 · 3,000 total casualties
Ad Decimum opened the road to Carthage and the astonishingly swift destruction of the Vandal kingdom — a century of Vandal rule in Africa unravelled in a single campaign, restoring the richest provinces of the old West to the empire.
Battle of Tricamarum
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victoryDecember 15, 533 · 3,000 total casualties
Tricamarum ended the Vandal kingdom outright. In barely a year Belisarius had reconquered Roman Africa, captured the Vandal royal treasure, and handed Justinian a triumph unseen in Constantinople since the days of the old empire.
The Siege of Naples
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victoryNovember 536 · 2,000 total casualties
The fall of Naples opened central Italy and Rome to Belisarius, and its violent capture persuaded the Romans to open their gates to him. But it also hardened Gothic resolve and led to the deposition of their king Theodahad in favour of the warrior Vitiges.
The Siege of Rome
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victory537 – 538 · 15,000 total casualties
The year-long defence of Rome was Belisarius's masterpiece of active siege warfare and saved the reconquest of Italy. But the fighting, the severing of the aqueducts, and the famine devastated the ancient city, accelerating its decline from a metropolis to a shrunken medieval town.
The Fall of Ravenna
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victoryMay 540 · 500 total casualties
The bloodless capture of Ravenna seemingly ended the Gothic War and completed the reconquest of Italy. But a suspicious Justinian recalled the over-mighty Belisarius, and the settlement collapsed almost at once when a new Gothic king, Totila, reignited the war.
Totila's Reconquest and the Sack of Rome
Vandals & Ostrogoths victoryDecember 546 · 10,000 total casualties
Totila's revival turned the war into a ruinous seesaw that dragged on for years and reduced Italy to devastation. The repeated sieges and sackings of Rome in these years, more than any single event, ended the ancient city's life as a great metropolis.
Life Journey
Timeline
c. 505
🌅 Birth
Born in the Balkans
533
⚔️ Battle
Destroys the Vandal kingdom in Africa
537–538
⚔️ Battle
Holds Rome through a year-long siege
March 565
✝️ Death
Dies in Constantinople