Belisarius: The Last Roman General (2 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 Justinian’s 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.

The second compromise is that I have attempted to avoid an in-depth discussion of modern controversies that have arisen concerning any of the main players, or of the reliability of the sources that are used except where these are central to the story. At such a point a brief explanation of the debate will be included, but the story will be built upon the version of events I feel most likely to be true. However, readers should note that I do not claim to be infallible. Anyone wishing to delve deeper into the controversies and the events surrounding the life of Belisarius or into the reign of Justinian is referred to the bibliography. The books mentioned usually include their own bibliographies of even wider reading.

At the end of the book an attempt will be made to judge Belisarius as a general using the most basic of standards. However it is hoped that the book will give the reader enough information so that they can judge Belisarius’ capabilities for themselves.

Spelling

As is increasingly the case when studying ancient history, especially when studying cultures which do not share a common alphabet, and even more so in an epoch of great change and disruption such as the sixth century, decisions have had to be made concerning the spelling of names and places.

When dealing with the peoples of the eastern Roman Empire and the ‘barbarian’ successor states in the west, I have retained the traditional, Latin
versions of names and places (for example, Belisarius and not Belisarios, Procopius and not Prokopios, Justinian and not Iustinianos etc). In this way I have attempted to avoid confusion for the reader used to this form of spelling. It is also likely that, given their perception of themselves as
Romanoi
or Romans, the individuals would not be too upset at such a use.

However, when dealing with the Persian Empire there is a slightly greater difficulty. The forms of names traditionally used in the West have been based upon Roman/Latin approximations, suitable for use when addressing/describing ‘barbarians’. In an attempt to counter the possible negative image this can foster, a form of spelling based upon modern research has been used (for example, Khusrow and not Chosroes, Kavadh and not Kobad or Kobades etc.). This is not an attempt to be ‘politically correct’, but a desire to recognize that the Sasanid Persian Empire was a great civilised power worthy of being dealt with on their own terms, rather than through the sometimes-patronising eyes of the Greeks and Romans.

Nomenclature

In order to avoid confusion, the following names of empires and peoples will be used throughout the book:

• For the empire based upon Constantinople the terms ‘Byzantine’, ‘Byzantines’ and ‘the Byzantine Empire’ have been used throughout this book rather than ‘Romans’, ‘Romans’ and ‘the east Roman Empire’. This is not due to any emphasis upon the differences between east and west, or a decision as to when these differences became so profound that the eastern empire needs to be renamed. It is simply to avoid potential confusion, since a large section of the book deals with Belisarius’ campaigns in Italy and the naming helps to clarify when either the troops under Belisarius or the citizens of the city of Rome are being described.

• ’Goths’ and ‘Gothic’ always refers to that branch of the Goths, now known as the Ostrogoths, who settled in Italy. The term Visigoth will always refer to that branch which was settled in Aquitaine before later expanding into Spain.

Sources

Procopius

Our main source for the wars of Belisarius is Procopius. Born around the year 500 in Caesarea, Palestine, he lived until approximately 565.
*
After obtaining a traditional education in the Greek classics, he attended law school – possibly at Berytus (modern day Beirut) – before becoming a
rhetor
(barrister) and travelling to Constantinople. In 527, the first year of Justinian’s reign, Belisarius
was appointed a general in the war with Persia and Procopius became Belisarius’
assessor
(legal advisor) and private secretary.

Procopius served alongside Belisarius in the war and then accompanied Belisarius to the court at Constantinople when he was recalled from the east. He was thus an eyewitness not only to Belisarius’ involvement in the Persian Wars, but also to the events surrounding the Nika riots of 532. Procopius then stayed with Belisarius for the invasion of Africa, but remained there after the general’s recall to Constantinople and so missed the events in Sicily. He later rejoined Belisarius for the Gothic Wars in mainland Italy, ultimately witnessing the capture of the Gothic capital, Ravenna, in 540. However, by the time that Belisarius returned to Italy in 544 to fight against the Gothic rebellion, Procopius no longer appears to have been a member of his staff. As a result of serving on Belisarius’ staff, Procopius is an eyewitness to most of the events in his books. Furthermore, during this time he would have become acquainted with many of the top military leaders, and they would later be able to provide him with an excellent source for those events that he did not personally witness.

Procopius wrote the
History of the Wars
in eight books. Books 1 and 2 describe the wars in Persia, Books 3 and 4 the Vandalic War, and Books 5, 6 and 7 the Gothic War. These were first published together and describe events down to early 551. He later added an eighth book to bring the entire history up to the final destruction of the Gothic kingdom by the general Narses in 554. Whilst primarily a history of the wars fought during the reign of Justinian, the
History of the Wars
also includes information on non-military affairs such as the Nika Riots and the plague of 540.

It should be noted that recent work by Averil Cameron (1996) has resulted in a greater understanding of Procopius. It would appear that as time and his work progressed he slowly lost faith in Belisarius, which is why his portrayal of his hero slowly declines from adulation to scepticism. However, despite some inaccuracies, his work does stand up to modern criticism and is, on the whole, reliable despite the bias.

Another book that Procopius wrote is
De Aedificus,
a panegyric praising Justinian for his empire-wide building programme. This can be seen as a belated attempt to gain the emperor’s favour. Justinian is unlikely to have been impressed at his portrayal in
the Wars,
where he is given a lower profile than Belisarius and is sometimes criticised in the book, for example due to a perceived lack of support for the great general.

Also attributed to Procopius is
Anekdota,
also known as
The Secret Histories.
Published after the deaths of Justinian and Belisarius, this is an undiluted attack upon the morals and behaviour of Justinian’s inner court, and especially upon the Empress Theodora. Its revelation of intrigues, betrayal and scandal makes interesting reading and gives us an engrossing if sordid portrayal of court life in the sixth century. However, we should probably not take the book
at face value, since it is likely to include events that have been blown out of proportion or inaccurately reported.

As a final note, the exact date of Procopius’ death is unknown, yet in 562 Belisarius was accused of taking part in a conspiracy against Justinian in front of the urban prefect – Procopius. Although the possibility that this is the same Procopius must be deemed slight, it is an intriguing notion that Procopius may in his later years have had to sit in judgement of his one-time mentor.

Agathias

Agathias (or Agathias Scholasticus) was born around the year 536 at Myrina in Asia Minor, and died some time after 582. He travelled to Alexandria to study law before travelling to Constantinople to work in the courts. A poet and historian, he was persuaded by friends to write a continuation of Procopius following the death of Justinian in 565. Written infive(unfinished) books,
On the Reign of Justinian
is the main source for the period 552-559. Book 1 and the first half of Book 2 deal with Narses’ campaigns in Italy. The remainder of Book 2 covers the war fought against Persia in Lazica up to the death of the Persian general Mermeroes (Mihr Mihroe), which was probably in 555. Book 3 continues the conflict in Lazica until the Byzantine victory at Phasis and the subsequent Persian withdrawal. Book 4 contains details of the peace treaty following the Battle of Phasis and Book 5 gives some details on the situation after the treaty. As a historian he is generally less well-regarded than Procopius, yet he remains practically the only secular source for the history of the end of Justinian’s reign.

Other sources

Alongside the two main sources are several others, only these are of less significance. Some fail to cover the specific period, such as Jordanes’
Getica
(‘On the Goths’), or they deal specifically with the history of the Church, such as Zacharias Rhetor’s
Historia Ecclesiastica.
Other writers with information along these lines include Vigilius, John Malalas, John of Nikia and Marcellinus Comes, who wrote a continuation of the annals of Eusebius in the sixth century. Yet, although in many cases they cover areas outside our remit and tend to treat the military aspects in less detail, they can be used to supplement, check or correct our main sources. They can also be used to fill in the background detail concerning the religious, social and economic concerns of the time and so give us a context in which to work.