The siege of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

of 539-540 took place during

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 ...

’s Gothic War. After clearing out Ariminum, Urviventus, Urbinus and Auximus the road to Ravenna was open to the Byzantines. In late 539 or early 540

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 terr ...

, victor of engagements like Dara, Ad Decimum and

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 ...

, marched on Ravenna while Vitalius was already in the area. Vitalius discovered a grain shipment destined for Ravenna and captured it. When news of the siege spread many Gothic garrisons began to surrender. The city itself was taken when Belisarius was offered the Ostrogothic throne and faked acceptance.

Background

During the early part of the Gothic War, the Byzantine conquest of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the Byzantines quickly captured a vast amount of land. among the captured cities was Rome which the Goths attempted to retake in a siege. During the Siege of Rome, the Byzantine commander

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, successfully took Ariminum. This threatened the Gothic capital Ravenna so the Goths lifted the siege and moved against John. After successfully holding out against the Goths in Ariminum and capturing Urviventus, Urbinus, Fisula and Auximus, slowed down by fierce resistance at Auximus and the insubordination of

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

and John, the Byzantines were ready to march on Ravenna. Meanwhile Byzantine forces were campaigning too in Dalmatia, and Vitalius moved up from there poised also to threaten the Gothic capital.

Siege

Starting negotiations

In late 539 or early 540 Belisarius advanced to Ravenna. A large force, commanded by

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

, was sent to patrol the south bank of the Po River and threaten Ravenna from another direction. At the same time Vitalius was advancing from Dalmatia, arriving in a position to patrol the north bank of the Po. For unknown reasons the river had fallen to such a low level that ships, meant to supply Ravenna, were unable to proceed and were subsequently captured by Vitalius’ forces. When the water rose again Vitalius sent the grain to Belisarius, who distributed it among Byzantine troops. Byzantine dominance on sea prevented the Goths from shipping any other grain to the city. Seeing how desperate the Gothic position was becoming Theudibert, king of the Franks, offered help to Witigis, the Gothic king, in return for a peaceful division of Italy. Hearing of the Frankish proposal, Belisarius sent an envoy of his own. The Byzantine envoy pointed out the oppression of the

Thuringians The Thuringii, Toringi or Teuriochaimai, were an early Germanic people that appeared during the late Migration Period in the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thuringia. It became a kingdom, which came into confl ...

and Burgundians by

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 ...

kings and the betrayal the Franks had committed earlier in the war, when they attacked the Goths with whom they were until then allied, an alliance made in secret despite an already existing one with the Byzantines. Witigis decided to take his chances with the Byzantines instead of with the Franks.

Final relief attempt

While Witigis was still deliberating, Belisarius sent Vitalius to Venetia in order to capture as many settlements as possible. At around the same time the grain stores in Ravenna caught fire. This was possibly caused by Byzantine agents or arranged by Matasuintha, queen of the Ostrogoths, who had been forced to marry Witigis. Another possible cause of the fire was lightning. Hearing of the siege the Gothic garrisons in the Cotian Alps decided to surrender. Belisarius accepted the surrender and sent troops to occupy the region.

Uraias Uraias or Uraïas ( grc-gre, Οὐραΐας) was an Ostrogothic general during the Gothic–Roman War of 535–540. Uraias was a nephew of King Witiges. Although probably of humble origins, he rose through the military ranks to become a '' dux' ...

, a Gothic commander who had earlier fallen victim to the treachery of the Frank and been defeated in a surprise attack, now marched with an army of 4.000 men to relieve the city. When the Byzantines occupied the Cotian Alps, many of the families of Uraias’ soldiers came in danger of being captured, forcing him to march there instead. Uraias besieged the Byzantine-Gothic army. Another Byzantine army moved into the area, leading to the families of Uraias’ troops being captured anyway and his army disintegrating. Now there was no hope of Ravenna being relieved but the city was impregnable by land and ship, so it had to be starved out or taken by bribery or trickery.

Gothic surrender

A message from Justinian arrived, a light peace-deal, offering Witigis kingship over the territory north of the Po as the emperor’s vassal. As commander in the field Belisarius had to ratify it for it to go into effect but he refused to do so. The Gothic nobility was afraid of a peace-deal with the Byzantines as they would most likely be deported to the east of the empire, forced to fight the

Sasanians The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

. They secretly offered Belisarius the western imperial throne, when Witigis found out he voiced his support. Belisarius accepted the deal and made all pledges required of him by it except ones about the western throne, which he said he would make in the presence of Witigis. In May 540 Belisarius entered Ravenna, taking it for the east instead of the west. After he let the surrendered Goths go home, the Byzantines outnumbered the Goths in their former capitol. Upon hearing of the fall of the Ravenna the last remaining Gothic forces offered their surrender to Belisarius.

Aftermath

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Ravenna (539-540) Ravenna 539 Ravenna 539

Gothic War (535–554)

539 540 Ravenna