On this day in 538 AD, Byzantine forces, also recognized as the Eastern Roman Empire, were victorious in their defense of the city of Rome after over a year of siege from the Ostrogothic army led by their king, Vitiges. The siege and following conflict served to function in the Byzantine’s larger goal of reforming the antecedent territories of the Roman Empire.
The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, having control over the eastern half of the Roman Empire (the west had fallen into disarray and disorder more than 50 years prior to these events) sought to bring much of the lost territories of the west – including the likes of North Africa, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula – back within his realm. It is recorded that as a Christian emperor, Justinian saw it as his divine duty to rebuild the Empire to its former glory. Ascending to his position in 527 AD, alongside his mass judicial and economic reforms, as well as the investment of resources into the production of magnificent architectural pieces, Justinian took it upon himself to achieve the restoration of the fractured Roman Empire. Choosing to entrust the daunting task upon the incredibly capable Flavius Belisarius, a dramatic power shift within Europe and the world had been put into motion.
From 527 to 532, Byzantine forces entered a conflict in the east with the last imperial Persian dynasty, the Sassanid Empire. Immediately suffering defeats to the Sassanid forces, Justinian and Belisarius were only able to derive peace from the war after the death of the King Kavadh I. Justinian paid a large sum of 11,000 pounds of gold to Kavadh’s successor, Khosrau, in order to secure the eastern Byzantine border in what was known as the Perpetual Peace. Only a year later, Justinian, through Belisarius, would endeavor to recapture the territories of North Africa. In the conquest of North Africa from 533 to 534, Byzantine forces surprised the Vandal authority who had taken hold of the territories, winning striking victories at Ad Decimum and Tricamarum that would allow for the Byzantium takeover of Carthage. And in 535, the opportunity presented itself for Justinian to take back what had once been the center of the Roman Empire: Rome.
In 534 AD, the Ostrogoth King Athalaric suddenly passed away, giving way for Theodahad to usurp the throne. The disorder and strife caused by the sudden usurpation of the Ostrogoth throne allowed Byzantine forces ample opportunity to recapture the Italian Peninsula. Following Belisarius’ victories within Northern Africa, he and a force of 7,500 soldiers invaded the Italian island of Sicily, eventually marching into the most southerly point of mainland Italy. Within a year Belisarius had marched on Naples, sacking the city, only before he and his forces moved toward Rome. In December of 536, Belisarius and his remaining forces took the city of Rome by force – winning Justinian and the Byzantine Empire an incredibly important victory – though the conflict was nowhere near to reaching an end. Within the period of the Byzantium campaign, the Ostrogoth king, Theodahad, had been deposed of by his subjects and in his place Visitgis was named king. In response to the capture of Rome, Visitgis gathered a large force and marched on Rome in 537, beginning more than a year of siege. Belisarius repelled all Ostrogoth attempts to retake the city, the Ostrogoth situation by the end of the siege had become dire; disease ran rampant through the Ostrogoth camps, greatly weakening any offensive they sought to produce – giving way to their defeat. On March 12th, 538 AD, the first siege of Rome came to an end.
Belisarius engineered a treaty with the Ostrogoth forces which would define the boundaries of each side’s territories. The Byzantine Empire was given supremacy over the lands south of the Po River, returning the center of the former Roman Empire into the hands of Justinian. Byzantine forces would continue to campaign into the Iberian peninsula, gaining southern territories in modern day Spain. Despite the original successes of Justinian’s attempted restoration of the Roman Empire, his dream would only be partially realized. Wars with the Goths did not end with the Italian or Spanish victories, but would instead continue as the Gothic kingdoms endeavored to beat back Justinian’s forces. He continuously diverted resources into his western campaign, stretching the limits of his Eastern Empire – a fact that was recognized with Northern tribes incursions into the heart of the Byzantine Empire: Constantinople.
Justinian’s attempts to regain masses of territories within Western Europe, although only partially successful, still managed to present an influential shift in power within Europe. His tenure as Emperor would bring much economic and judicial development to the Byzantine Empire, an empire that would continue to survive well into the 15th century. His reign would make history – for better and for worse – bringing with it the first siege of Rome.
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