Constantinianus was a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
military commander during the reign of
Justinian the Great
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
who took part in the
Justinian’s Gothic War.
After the death of
Mundus he was sent into
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
to defend
Salona
Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia.
Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in t ...
.
While he was still gathering his troops a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
force under
Gripas captured Salona.
Hearing of the approach of a large Byzantine force Gripas retreated when Constantinianus moved against him.
Constantinianus immediately began rebuilding the crumbling fortifications.
After this Constantinianus quickly gained control of Dalmatia and
Liburnia
Liburnia ( grc, Λιβουρνία) in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a ...
.
Constantinianus’ strong position in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
In combination with the
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
threat caused the Gothic king
Witigis
Vitiges or Vitigis or Witiges (died 542) was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540.
He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and w ...
to send only a small force to defend
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
from
Belisarius
Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...
but instead position himself as such that he could move to counter threats from all directions.
As the city of Rome surrendered to Belisarius without a fight, its garrison abandoning it, Witigis’ strategy failed.
Later Constantinianus defeated a gothic force under
Uligisalus, who was sent to attack him, at the
Battle of Scardon.
The Goths retreats to the city of Burnus.
After
Asinarius arrived with
Suevic reinforcements Constantinianus noticed he couldn’t defeat the combined army and retreated.
He ordered an extra ditch to be dug around Salona and prepared for a siege.
The Gothic army under Uligisalus and Asinarius built a ditch and a stockade around the city to blockade it by land while the Gothic fleet moved to close the blockade by sea.
In a sally the Gothic fleet was defeated allowing the Romans freedom of movement by sea but the siege continued on land.
References
{{reflist
Generals of Justinian I