Belisarius: The Last Roman General (49 page)

In 552 Narses ordered his army to gather at Salona. He did not take the sea route to Italy due to the presence of a large Gothic fleet in the southern Adriatic. Instead, in the summer of 552, after a delay caused by another invasion across the Danube (this time by a large number of Huns), he entered Italy by land from the north. Totila gathered his troops and moved to face the invasion. It was to prove a mistake: at the Battle of Taginae, he was defeated and killed. Undeterred, the Goths decided to crown Teias as their new king. Whilst the Goths were making their choice, Narses began the siege of Cumae where Totila had deposited the majority of his treasury (Proc,
Wars,
VIII.xxxiv.19, 21).

In the following year, 553, Teias gathered the remainder of the Gothic army together and marched towards Narses. Again, the decision to fight an open battle was to be fatal. At the Battle of Mons Lactarius, Teias was defeated and killed by Narses. That same year a Frankish army under Lothar and Butilin invaded Italy and defeated the Byzantines’ Herulian allies, whilst the Byzantines took the city of Lucca and Aligern surrendered Cumae to Narses.

In 554, the vanguard of Lothar’s army was defeated, and shortly afterwards Lothar died. Upon his death, his army quickly disintegrated and returned home. Meanwhile, Butilin was heavily defeated by Narses at the Battle of Casilinum.

In 555 the last major Gothic force surrendered at Campsa. Yet some of the cities remained loyal to the Goths and the last one to surrender, Verona, only did so in 561.

The Three Chapters

It is not known what Belisarius’ reaction was to the appointment of Germanus, and later Narses, to the command in Italy. Since Belisarius had only recently been recalled and had achieved little in his five years of command in Italy, it is unsurprising that he was not chosen to lead the army of invasion in 550 or 551/552. It may also be possible that Justinian remained jealous and that he did not want Belisarius to win more renown by completing the conquest. Alternatively, as suggested previously, we must bear in mind the possibility that Justinian was in need of people he could trust around him to give him sensible, unbiased advice now that Theodora was dead. Given his past record, Belisarius was an ideal man to fill such a position. Justinian could not afford to lose his most loyal and trustworthy advisor.

When Belisarius returned to Constantinople the religious debate of the ‘Three Chapters’ was in full swing. At this time there were major divisions between the Orthodox Church, which dominated the west and the majority of the east, and the Monophysites, who were mainly to be found in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The Orthodox Church followed the decision of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451) which maintained that Christ was one man possessed of two natures, while the Monophysites maintained that Christ had only one nature, the divine.

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Justinian had – under pressure from Theodora – issued ‘The Three Chapters’, an edict condemning the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Ibas of Edessa. The edict declared that these writers were too supportive of Nestorian beliefs. Nestorianism, first preached by Nestorius (appointed bishop of Constantinople in 427) declared that Christ had two distinct persons, one divine and one human. This belief was now only held by a small and dwindling minority and it would appear that Justinian may have been attempting to unite the Orthodox and the Monophysites against a common ‘enemy’.

The attempt failed. The Monophysites, who had been hoping for real concessions were unappeased and the Orthodox bishops of the east only accepted the ruling under pressure. However, in the west the teachings of Theodore, Theodoret and Ibas had been approved by the Council of Chalcedon, supported by the Orthodox church. Accordingly, western bishops believed that the move had been an attempt to favour the Monophysites and the papal legate in Constantinople pronounced the ban of the Church upon the patriarch of Constantinople as a response to the edict.

Summoned to Constantinople from Sicily, Pope Vigilius found himself opposing the emperor and, fearing for his safety, he took sanctuary in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Appointed as one of the
‘memorati iudices’,
Belisarius was sent to Vigilius and, along with his colleagues, succeeded in persuading the Pope to leave the sanctuary and continue to participate in the debate. Although Belisarius was no longer used in a military role, the fact that Justinian was willing to use him in such a delicate mission, plus the fact that Vigilius was willing to listen to the delegation, make it obvious that he remained in favour and was seen as a man of influence.

Despite returning to the palace, Vigilius realised that he was under close supervision and in a position equivalent to close arrest. Accordingly, he fled to the Church of St Euphemia in Chalcedon. This was more than just a clever escape: by placing himself in the same church where the Council of Chalcedon had deliberated in 451, Vigilius was making a very clear statement of his intentions.

Sent to see the Pope for a second time, Belisarius and his associates could not on this occasion persuade Vigilius to return to Constantinople. Instead, Vigilius sent a letter known as the
Encyclica
to the emperor, putting his own views and proposing negotiations, whilst simultaneously excommunicating the patriarch of Constantinople and two eastern bishops.

The matter dragged on, through the deliberations of the Fifth Ecumenical Council held at Constantinople, until the defeat of Totila and the removal of the Goths as a threat in Italy. Realising that he now had no need to keep the Italian bishops on his side, the emperor struck. He sent a letter to the council asking them to condemn/excommunicate Vigilius and pass the emperor’s edict. The council agreed and Vigilius was banished to an island in the Sea of Marmara, while Theodore and Theoderet were anathematised. Strangely, it was decided that the offending letter attributed to Ibas was not written by him, and so he was not anathematised.

It is interesting to note, however, that in the intervening period when the Pope decided to reply in a negative manner to the conclusions of the Council, he summoned Belisarius along with three other secular individuals and three bishops, and requested that they carry his judgement to Justinian. Although they refused to carry his message, it is significant that Belisarius was still placed highly enough in the esteem of the emperor and of the Pope that he was considered vital to communication between the two at a very difficult time. His political good sense and support seems to have been highly valued by both.

Spain

Whilst Narses was defeating Totila at the Battle of Taginae, Justinian had already made plans to intervene in Spain. Earlier, in 534, Belisarius had sent a force along the north coast of Africa to evict the Visigoths from their stronghold at Septem (modern Ceuta). Although in 547 King Theudis made an attempt at recovery, his force had been heavily defeated.

Yet the situation began to deteriorate for the Visigoths. As in both Vandal Africa and Gothic Italy, the Visigothic rulers of Spain had internal difficulties with their subjects which finally erupted in 550/551. In a situation equivalent to that of Gelimer with Tripolitania and Sardinia, the new King Agila was faced with two simultaneous rebellions. In this case, it was the ‘Romans’ of Cordova and his kinsman Athanagild that rebelled.

Realising that he was faced with yet another opportunity at conquest, Justinian ordered Narses to detach Liberius along with approximately 2,000 men from his army and send them to Spain. They landed in 552 and so began the reconquest of large parts of the south of Spain. After three years of campaigning the Byzantines captured Cartagena, helped by the disunity of the Visigoths who were divided in their support between Agila and Athanagild.

Realising that they were faced with a similar peril to the Goths and Vandals, the Visigoths took matters into their own hands. In 555 Agila was murdered by his own troops and Athanagild became sole king. Nevertheless, due to their temporary weakness, the Visigoths were forced to negotiate with the Byzantines, who were allowed to keep most of the territory under their control, including the Balearic Islands.

Persia

Meanwhile, the war with Persia dragged on. In 547 Justinian sent 8,000 men to support Goubazes, ruler of Lazica, who had transferred his allegiance back to the Byzantines. Although the Byzantine attack on Petra was interrupted by Mehr-Mehroe arriving with 30,000 Persian troops, such a large force could not be adequately supplied so was later forced to withdraw, after reinforcing the garrison in Petra.

In 549 there were battles in Lazica, but these were inconclusive until Byzantine reinforcements arrived to tip the balance. Dagisthaeus dismounted many of his cavalry to form an infantry phalanx that stopped the
savaran,
the Persian general being killed and his army defeated.

In 551 the Byzantines determined to finally take Petra. Despite a stubborn defence, the city fell at last. Although Mehr-Mehroe arrived with an army containing elephants and laid siege to Archaeopolis, these were defeated with heavy losses (Proc,
Wars,
VIII.xiv. 1–44).

In a reversal of fortune, in 554 Mehr-Mehroe counter-attacked again and this time captured the city of Telephis, held for the Byzantines by Martinus. (Agathias. II. 19.5 – 21.11). Escaping from the city, Martinus attempted to capture Ottogaris in 555 but was heavily defeated.

Finally, in 556, Martinus beat a Persian army said to be 60,000 strong in the final battle in Lazica. The war gradually petered out, but peace was not signed until 560/561, when a fifty-year peace was declared upon the payment of 30,000 gold
solidi
by the Byzantines.

The Last Battle

We have little information concerning Belisarius’ activities between the controversy of the ‘Three Chapters’ and the late 550s. It is likely that he remained in Constantinople to act as a councillor to the emperor and was given duties commensurate with his standing as a successful and highly-regarded international figure. It is almost certain that he was in the capital when a new outbreak of plague occurred in 558. It is also probable that he may have given up hope of being given a military appointment or of achieving military glory, yet there was to be one final chance.

It has been noted that possibly the weakest frontier and the one most often crossed by armies intent on plunder was the Danube. Throughout Belisarius’ campaigns one of the most recurrent themes is that of potential reinforcements being needed to expel either Slavs or Huns after they had crossed the Danube and attacked the Balkans. In 550 Germanus had been stopped from invading Italy by an irruption of Slavs, and in 552 Narses was similarly impeded by an invasion of Huns.

In 559 there was yet another invasion across the Danube. An army of Kutrigur Huns led by Zabergan crossed the frozen Danube in March and invaded Byzantine territory. Passing through the provinces of Scythia and Moesia, they invaded Thrace before the army split, with one part heading towards Greece and the other, led by Zabergan, heading for the Chersonese (Agathias, V.l 1.5–7).

According to Agathias, Zabergan had determined to cross into Asia Minor, an area completely unplundered and extremely wealthy in comparison to the often-ravaged Balkans: consequently, he led 7,000 troops to attempt the crossing (Agathias, V. 12.4–5). After taking a large number of prisoners and a vast quantity of booty, the Huns passed the Long Walls and approached Constantinople (Agathias. V. 13.1–5).

At this point Agathias denounces Justinian for his disregard for military affairs. Agathias claims that the army, which had once numbered 645,000 men had been allowed to decline until only 150,000 men remained (V.13.7); he had also allowed the quality of the troops in the capital to decline, due to his neglect and abuse and his failure to pay their wages. Furthermore, they were no longer concentrated in the city ready to be deployed but were scattered around Thrace, intent upon their own business (V. 14.2–5). As a final concern, the
Scholari
(Guards) were now of poor quality, due to their being composed of friends of the emperor or of men who had paid large sums to enrol in the unit. Therefore, when the capital was under threat, the men comprising the ‘elite force’ surrounding the emperor were not actually soldiers at all (Agathias, V. 15.1–6).

Advancing steadily, the Huns reached the village of Melantias on the River Athyras, only a short distance from the capital itself. Understandably, there was panic in the city. With all of his generals engaged abroad and unable to return at such short notice, Justinian had only one course of action open to him. He appointed Belisarius to take command against the Huns.

However, it seems likely that there were no combat-ready troops left in Constantinople to meet the crisis. We are told by Agathias that Belisarius only had ‘300 heavily-armed veterans from Italy’ (V.16.2). These were probably the last remnants of his
comitatus,
left over from his earlier days of military activity, retained as his personal bodyguards; even in peace he would have needed a certain number of attendants in accordance with his dignity and status. Strangely, these men are described as being armed with ‘shields and javelins’ by Agathias, where they might have been expected to be armed with bows (Agathias.V.19. 4). Although it is possible that they did indeed have bows that are simply not mentioned by Agathias, there is a possible explanation for their armament. It is not unreasonable to assume that these men were a dedicated group of Goths, Vandals or other Germanic tribe armed in their native fashion and dedicated to the service of Belisarius. Alongside these he was followed by a large number of unarmed civilians from the capital and peasants who had lost their farms during the Hunnic advance.