The city of

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 ...

was

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

in AD 549–550 by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...

, led by

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

, during a campaign to recapture Italy from the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

. After Totila imposed a

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

, soldiers from the city's garrison opened the gates to him. Many of the male inhabitants were killed in the city or while attempting to flee. The city was afterwards repopulated and rebuilt.

Background

At this time Totila, military and political leader of the Ostrogoths, was attempting to re-conquer the whole of Italy from the Byzantine emperor

Justinian 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 ...

and his great general,

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 ...

. Belisarius, under Justinian, aimed to conquer all of Italy and restore it to its former glory. After Belisarius conquered much of Italy, including the Ostrogoths' capital, Ravenna, the Ostrogoths appointed Totila to power and took back much of Italy as soon as Belisarius returned to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. These Gothic Wars laid waste to much of Italy. In 549–550, Totila, the Ostrogothic leader, besieged Rome for the third and final time. With Belisarius' return to Constantinople the summer before, Totila encountered less difficulty than previously in the campaign. The Ostrogoths had attempted to besiege Rome twice before, but had failed or were defeated by Belisarius.

The siege

Totila first attempted to capture Rome by storming the walls and overpowering and exhausting the small Roman garrison of 3,000, but to no avail. He then decided to blockade the city and starve out the defenders, rather than losing any more of his own soldiers. Totila understood that a blockade could take months or years, but was in a far better position than the last siege attempt and decided it was the best course of action. The Byzantine commander Diogenes had previously made preparations of food stores, had wheat fields sowed, and made ready the city walls in preparation for a long-lasting blockade. The Roman soldiers, suffering from hunger and mistreatment from Justinian, were given a choice by Totila: to open the gates of the city, surrender, and be paid a hefty sum, as the garrison had done during the second siege; or continue fighting for Justinian, who had not paid the men in years, and be killed. Some of the soldiers decided to side with Totila and opened the gate for him. Totila’s men entered the city and destroyed the unsuspecting Roman garrison. They swept through the city, killing and looting all but the women, who were spared on the orders of Totila. Expecting the nobles and the remainder of the garrison to flee as soon as the walls were taken, Totila set traps along the roadways to neighboring towns that were not yet under his control. Many Romans were caught by ambush while fleeing Rome. Only a few, including Diogenes, the Roman commander, escaped Totila’s takeover of Rome and his roadside ambush.

Aftermath

In earlier sieges Totila had intended to destroy Rome, but once he had captured the city, he decided to repopulate and rebuild it, and defend it against all future attacks from Justinian.

References

* Bury, J.B.
History of the Later Roman Empire.
Reconquest of Italy (2011): n.pag. Web. 19 Nov 2012. * Morris, Charles.
Fall of the Ostrogoths.
Wars of the Ostrogoths (2007): n.pag. Web. 19 Nov 2012. * Tisi, Claudio.

Sardinia (2002): n.pag. Web. 19 Nov 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Rome (549-50)

540s in the Byzantine Empire 550s in the Byzantine Empire

Rome 549-550 Gothic War (535–554) Massacres of men Military history of Rome Rome 549-550 Violence against men in Europe