| Siege of Verona | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theGothic War (535-554) | |||||||
 Main army movements during the Gothic War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Byzantine Empire |  Ostrogothic Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Constantian Alexander | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12,000 | Unknown | ||||||
  Siege of Verona (Mediterranean) Show map of Mediterranean | |||||||
Thesiege of Verona in the winter of 541 AD, was an engagement during theGothic War (535–554), where theOstrogoths (Goths) repelled the besiegingByzantine forces.[1]
Byzantine EmperorJustinian compelled his commanders inItaly to take the initiative in the war against the Goths. After some deliberation, they sent a 12,000-strong army to takeVerona, one of the last bastions of the Goths. The Byzantines sent a small detachment to secure the entrance since an insider had opened the city gate for them. The Gothic garrison panicked and moved out of the city. Quarrels over the distribution of the expected booty delayed the main Byzantine army's advance. The Goth defenders exploited the confusion, regained control of the city at dawn and forced the small Byzantine force, that had entered the previous night, to flee by jumping from the city walls. When the main Byzantine force arrived early in the morning, they found the gates closed and its commander chose to withdraw. The Byzantines were pursued by the Gothic KingTotila, and they were defeated at theBattle of Faventia, marking the beginning of the Gothic recovery of the Italian peninsula from Byzantine control.
Following thefall of Ravenna in May 540 AD, the capital of the Gothic kingdom,Belisarius had succeeded in restoring formerWestern Roman territories (Sicily and most of theItalian peninsula) to Byzantine rule. However, hisstratagem of inducing the Goths to surrender by offering him the Western Roman imperial crown had spooked Byzantine EmperorJustinian. Although Belisarius returned toConstantinople in mid-summer 540 with theRavenna's treasury and the defeated Gothic KingVitiges as prisoner, Justinian refused him atriumph. The general's departure was also needed on the eastern front against thePersians in the upcomingLazic War (541–562).[2]
Justinian replaced Belisarius with three commanders of equal authority—Bessas,John the Sanguinary, andConstantinianus. The three commanders fell into rivalry and turned to plundering the Italian population instead of fighting the remaining Goths.[3] The situation deteriorated further when Justinian imposed a severe tax audit, compelling Italians to pay allegedarrears dating from Gothic rule, while simultaneously reducing soldiers' rewards for wounds and acts of bravery.[4] This climate of lawlessness undermined discipline, alienated the troops, and rapidly destroyed Italian loyalty to the empire.[5][6]
Belisarius's withdrawal from Italy also encouraged the newly crowned Gothic king,Ildibad, whose cause was strengthened by Byzantine abuses. A Byzantine army wasdefeated at Treviso by Ildibad, enabling the Goths to regain control of much of the Po Valley. His success, however, was short-lived, as he was assassinated before he could consolidate power. Unable to agree on a suitable candidate from among themselves, the Goths acceptedEraric, who belonged to a tribe distinct from the Goths, as their ruler. Eraric convened a council and secured Gothic approval to send an embassy to Constantinople to negotiate peace on the same terms previously offered to Vitigis before the fall of Ravenna. Privately, however, he dispatched his own agents and instructed them to inform Justinian that, in exchange for the rank ofpatrician and a substantial payment, he wouldabdicate and surrender northern Italy to the empire. In late 541, Eraric was assassinated by the Gothic nobility for his willingness to surrender to the Byzantines, and Ildibad's nephew,Totila, succeeded him as king.[7][8][9]
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Following the murder of the Gothic King Eraric,Justinian realized that the Goths were paralyzed by internal dissensions and his Byzantine commanders stationed in Italy had not done anything to take advantage of the situation. He sent a letter reprimanding them for their inactivity and demanded action. The Byzantine commandersJohn the Sanguinary,Bessas andCyprian gathered inRavenna to debate their course of action.[10] The Byzantine commanders decided to send a 12,000-strong army to takeVerona.[11] The army had eleven commanders with two at the top of the command, Constantian andAlexander. While Constantian was the de factocommander-in-chief, he lacked the skill and authority to compel the other commanders to follow his commands.[12]
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The Byzantines managed to bribe or otherwise win over Marcianus, one of the city's guards. He was to open a city gate at night so that a small Byzantine unit would seize the gate and prepare the entry for the rest of the army.Artabazes was chosen to lead the operation, and his unit for the night consisted of 100 hand-picked men.[a] The small force entered the city and took control of thegate and the wall on both sides after killing the Gothic guards. The remaining Goths panicked and fled outside the city to a hill overlooking the city and remained there through the night.[10][12]
The rest of the Byzantine army failed to arrive on time because the co-commanders were allegedly involved in a nightly dispute over how to divide the plunder once the city was taken. The delay proved disastrous. By dawn, the Gothic garrison had time to organize itself and assess the situation. They advanced against the Byzantine detachment through the city gate, which was still open, leaving the Byzantine soldiers trapped within the city. The subsequent fighting was unusual, as the Byzantine men had to resist an attack frominside the city. Byzantine troops retreated towards thebattlements. The main Byzantine army arrived, but it found the city gates closed with Goths in control of the city. Artabazes begged them not to abandon them, but the main army ignored his pleas and started to withdraw.[12] The only way of escape for the trapped Byzantine soldiers was to jump down from thecity walls. They did so, with several of them killed by the fall.[10][14]
The Byzantine army retreated towardsFaventia and eventually camped next to astream variously known as Anemo or Lamone. When the news reached Totila, he pursued with about 5,000 men, and defeated them at theBattle of Faventia and then inBattle of Mucellium.[1] Totila went on to seizeCaesena andPetra Pertusa in the region ofUmbria.Tuscany remained under Byzantine control. Totila did not attempt the conquest of central Italy, where the Byzantines controlled large well-fortified cities. Instead, he advanced rapidly through southern Italy with great success, including the capture of the fortress ofCumae.[15]
The Byzantine generals and the remaining troops fled to isolated strongholds (Bessas toSpoleto, Justin back to Florence, Cyprian toPerugia, and John to Rome), where they made preparations against a siege as they did not want to meet the Goths in the open.[15][16] From then, they failed to coordinate their efforts against the Goths leading to the prolongation of the war.[b] In response to the setbacks in Italy, Justinian sent the civilian Maximin to bePraetorian Prefect of Italy, but Maximin's indecision left him unable to formulate a strategy against the Goths. As a result, Totilacaptured Naples and razed its walls. He advanced to besiege Rome in spring 544. Upon receiving this news, Justinian recalled generalBelisarius from the eastern front, where he commanded a Byzantine force againstPersia and dispatched him to Italy.[18]
