Ian Hughes - Belisarius: The Last Roman General

Belisarius

The Last Roman General

Ian Hughes

Copyright 2009 Ian Hughes

Published by Westholme Publishing under an agreement with Pen & Sword Books, Ltd.

47 Church Street

Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2 AS

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Westholme Publishing, LLC

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ISBN: 978-1-59416-528-3 (electronic)

Also available in hardback.

Produced in the United States of America.

Contents

Appendix I: Chronology

Acknowledgements

Many people have made this book possible and I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few for their exceptional support.

Firstly, I would like to thank Nik Gaukroger and Niall Taylor for their support with background material and Chris Lillington-Martin for access to his thesis on the location of the Battle of Dara.

For their help in allowing me to use their photographs I would like to thank: Adrian Wink of Armamentaria for pictures of reconstructions of Roman/Byzantine equipment; Zach at beastcoins.com, and Joseph Sermarini and Richard of forumancientcoins.com for giving permission to use photographs of coins from their sites; Chris Constantine of spitfirehorsebows.com for both the pictures of bows and the illuminating discussions on the difference between the symmetrical and asymmetrical bow; Roberto Piperno of romeartlover.it for permission to use the pictures of the gates of Rome; Anik Messier of Bishops Stortford, England, for the photos of Carthage; and Dorieo21 of Flickr for permission to use the photo of Belisarius asking for alms on the decorative plasterwork in the archway of the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco, Sicily. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Adrian Fletcher for permission to use his pictures of the mosaics of Justinian and Theodora at San Vitale.

I would like to thank Dr Kaveh Farrokh for permission to use his line drawings of Sasanid equipment, both those previously published and those unpublished prior to this book, and Peter Inker for his labours on the drawing board to produce the drawings of some of the troops who took part in the wars described.

However, without the patience and guidance of three people this book would not have been written: to Phil Sidnell for having faith in an unknown and for fielding endless questions about the processes of book-publishing; to Joanna for putting up with endless discussions on some bloke called Belisarius and for reading endless drafts of the book with patience and clear insights; and finally to Adrian Goldsworthy for both his recommendation and his endless patience in answering queries and reading drafts of the finished product. Without them, you would not be reading this. However, despite our best efforts at achieving perfection, no doubt mistakes have been made and the responsibility for these rests solely on my shoulders.

List of Illustrations

Line Drawings

Plate Section

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(Cabinet de Medailles et Antiques, Paris)

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(courtesy of Anik Messier)

(courtesy of Forum Classical Coins)

( Peter Inker)

( Peter Inker)

( Peter Inker)

( Peter Inker)

( Peter Inker)

(Peter Inker)

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(Rheinischen Landesmuseum, Bonn)

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(Smithsonian Institute)

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(courtesy of the Yorck Project)

List of Maps

Strategic Maps

Tactical Diagrams Page

Introduction

The main aim of this book is to tell the story of one man: Flavius Belisarius. According to no less an authority than the eminent historian John Julius Norwich, In Belisarius [Justinian] had found one of the most brilliant generals in all Byzantine history. Despite this, his story is now relatively little known, especially when compared to the giants of the ancient world such as Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Hannibal.

This is a strange situation, for the story is one of excitement and adventure the dramatic account of Emperor Justinian and his attempt to rewind the clock and restore the western empire to imperial rule, which gives us the paradox of a Roman emperor trying to capture Rome. Although the undertaking is usually seen as a failure, Africa, Italy and a large part of Spain were retaken.

Certainly one of the most celebrated, renowned and revered generals of late antiquity, Belisarius was chosen by the Emperor Justinian to spearhead this projected reconquest of the western empire. His subsequent accomplishments in the province of Africa (modern Tunisia) and Italy have elevated Belisarius to his standing as one of the greatest generals who ever lived, and certainly one of the greatest in Byzantine history.

The military activity is set against the context of a Christian empire, where divisions within the church often had a wide political impact. There were also widespread political divisions and one result of these was that Belisarius, early in his career, led his troops in the massacre of thousands of civilians during the Nika Riots of 532. In spite of his actions, he remained a major political and military figure who became loved by the people, and is depicted alongside the Emperor Justinian in a mosaic in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna.

Compared to the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire, the period of Justinian and Belisarius remains relatively unknown. Those historians who have covered the period have tended to do so only briefly, concentrating on the social, legal, political and economic aspects of Justinians reign and merely outlining the military campaigns of Belisarius. As a consequence, the strategies, tactics, armies and enemies of Belisarius are now poorly known. Yet there is no real reason for this situation. The era is relatively well documented and Procopius, Belisarius secretary, wrote History of the Wars, a detailed account of Belisarius campaigns in Persia, Africa and Italy. They are comprehensive and are generally accepted as the relatively trustworthy account of an eyewitness. Procopius also wrote The Secret History, a tabloid account of the reign of Justinian, which is famous for its intrigues, backstabbing and character assassination. When used alongside other, less well-known, authors it is possible to build quite a detailed picture of events.

Therefore, together with the stimulating story of Belisarius there is an analysis of warfare in the period. The new, changed Roman Army was at war with three different enemies: the exotic army of the Persians, which sometimes included elephants; the army of the Goths, which relied more on cavalry; and the totally mounted knight army of the Vandals (a precursor of the later, medieval knights). Recent research has improved our knowledge of the organisation of these armies and this allows a new emphasis and analysis to be made of the military campaigns of Belisarius.

In order to keep the length of the book within reasonable limits two compromises have had to be made. The first is that I have attempted to limit descriptions of events to those which directly impinged on Belisarius life, otherwise it would be difficult to keep the story to a single volume. The reign of Justinian is replete with wars, barbarian invasions, international diplomatic manoeuvrings, internal political squabbling and revolts, and a major outbreak of bubonic plague. To include them all would not only make tedious reading but would also expand the book into at least a trilogy. A slightly wider remit has been attempted in the chronology, but, again to keep this within acceptable limits, many events have not been included. Only where it is necessary to explain the background to the narrative does the account shift away from Belisarius for example, to describe the revolt in Africa following Belisarius conquest and so clarify the need for his recall.