August 24, 410 CE "Your Majesty, the Visigoths are preparing to attack the city!" Finding the Goths already in possession of the fortified bridge, Belisarius and his escort became engaged in a fierce fight, and suffered great casualties before extricating themselves. This confusion gave the Goths the time to regroup, and charging once again, they drove the Romans back with great loss. For it is only fair to make an equal return to those who first do a good deed or perform a kindness. [20], Shortly thereafter the truce was irretrievably broken by the Goths, when they attempted to enter the city in secret. The city was besieged by the Ostrogothic army under their king Vitiges; the defending East Romans were commanded by Belisarius, one of the most famous and successful Roman generals.The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents, and … Unfortunately for them, the torches they used to explore it were detected by a guard on the nearby Pincian Gate. [15] Fortunately for the besieged, twenty days later, the promised reinforcements, 1600 cavalry, arrived and were able to enter the city. At first Belisarius refused because of the still-great numerical disparity, but was at length persuaded, and made his preparations accordingly. [19] Belisarius took advantage of it and brought the 3,000 Isaurians, who had landed at Ostia, along with a large amount of supplies, safely to Rome. Although several cities in the north continued resistance up to the early 560s, Gothic power was broken for good. Milan, the second largest and wealthiest city in Italy (after Rome), sought liberation from the Goths. The Goths were an ancient Germanic people from the Baltic coast region who migrated towards Dacia in the 3rd century AD, but before that they were reputed to have crossed the Baltic from their original homeland. [3] From there, in June next year, he crossed over to Italy at Rhegium. The siege lasted just over one year, beginning on March 2, 537, and ending March 12, 538. The Ostrogothic army, led by Vitiges, was overrunning the city through various attack strategies, such as the simultaneous assaults carried out on the north and western side of the city. Finally, after many weeks of attrition, Roman reinforcements arrived. [17], Vitiges, for his part, deployed his army in the typical fashion, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on the flanks. The oxen were dispatched quickly, and the four towers were left there, useless, before the walls. Belisarius, with his small force, was unable to continue his march northwards towards Ravenna, since the Ostrogoth forces vastly outnumbered his own. 374 days after the siege had begun, the Goths burned their camps and abandoned Rome, marching northeast along the Via Flaminia. March 11. ", The barbarians: "Well, then, if we should make you a proposal concerning Campania also, or about Naples itself, will you listen to it? These articles have not yet undergone the rigorous in-house editing or fact-checking and styling process to which most Britannica articles are customarily subjected. Eventually, Ravenna itself was taken by deceit in May 540, and the war seemed to be effectively over. Reinforcements under Narses arrived, which enabled Belisarius to take several Gothic strongholds and control most of Italy south of the River Po by the end of 539. He set up his headquarters on the Pincian Hill, in the north of the city, and started repairing the walls of the city. Belisarius took Todi and then left a contingent of men to lay siege to Orvieto, in order to ensure the safety of Rome. This left the southern side of the city open. Articles such as this one were acquired and published with the primary aim of expanding the information on Britannica.com with greater speed and efficiency than has traditionally been possible. The Goths also tried to spread dissent in the city while they set about constructing siege towers and battering rams behind the five major camps established outside the gates of the northern arc of the city's walls. Six of them were east of the river, and one on the western side, on the Campus Neronis, near the Vatican. Of the original 13 aqueducts only two remained functional, and the populated area was 10% of that at its peak. Instead, upon arriving at Rome on March 2, 537, they established a series of six camps facing several of the main gates. MessageToEagle.com – On March 2, 537, during the Gothic War, the First Siege of Rome began and lasted for a year and nine days, from 2 March 537 to 12 March 538.. The legendary kings of Rome and the shaping of Roman culture. The Goths seized the Portus Claudii at Ostia, which had been left unguarded by the Romans. There is an inescapably monty-python-esque vision here of the Romans hearing a great deal of distant hammering and sawing. Omissions? However, realizing that the tide was turning in his favor, Belisarius waited as the condition of the Ostrogoths deteriorated still more. The Ostrogoth garrison quickly realized that, with the population hostile, their position was untenable. This was on the 24th august in the year 410. Siege . Indeed, Justinian had already dispatched reinforcements under the tribunes Martinus and Valerian, but they had been delayed in Greece due to bad weather. The Goths lay siege to Rome. First they tried to do so by using the Aqua Virgo aqueduct. Thus they inflicted great casualties on the Goths, who were unable to adapt to these tactics, and by midday, the Romans seemed close to victory. The Ostrogoths built seven camps around the city and destroyed aqueducts that supplied fresh water. The aqueduct was put under close guard, and the Goths, perceiving this, made no attempt to use it again. The arrival of Narses in 551 spelled the beginning of the end for the Goths, and in the Battle of Taginae in 552 the Goths were routed and Totila was killed. After a twenty-day siege, the Romans sacked Naples in early November. He then crossed into Italy at Rhegium and lay siege to Naples. The Siege of Rome is a story that takes place in 410 CE, when Visigoths lay siege to Rome before attempting to sack it. [4] Theodahad, who fled from Rome to Ravenna, was murdered by an agent of Vitiges on the way. Thus, when the Gothic cavalry in the right wing perceived their opponents' weakness, they moved against them and routed them. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Questions or concerns? 537 in History. The Goths are an infantry civilization. Justinian took advantage of this to intervene in the affairs of the Ostrogoth state. Belisarius liberated Rome from the Goths, but then had a hard fight to hold the city. As soon as the Goths breached the wall, he ordered a few soldiers to attack them before they could form up, but with the majority of his troops, he sallied forth from the gate. Procopius describes what happened next: On the eighteenth day from the beginning of the siege the Goths moved against the fortifications at about sunrise [...] and all the Romans were struck with consternation at the sight of the advancing towers and rams, with which they were altogether unfamiliar. There resistance was fierce, and the already small Roman force suffered casualties in close combat. Vitiges then departed Rome for Ravenna, leaving a 4,000 strong garrison to secure the city.[5]. Thus, at the news of Ariminum's fall, Vitiges decided to withdraw in all haste towards his capital. Belisarius refusing the crown of Italy offered by the Goths, woodcut, 1830. The dialogue, as preserved by Procopius, clearly illustrates the reversed situation of the two parties, with the envoys claiming having suffered injustice and offering territories, and Belisarius being secure in his position, dismissive of the Goths' claims, and even making sarcastic remarks at their proposals. Kulikowski claims that, because Jordanes is the only source we have on early Gothic history and … Invariably, the Roman horsemen, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen, would close in on the Goths, who relied primarily on close quarters combat and lacked ranged weapons, loose a shower of arrows, and withdraw to the walls when pursued. In 537 AD this siege was successful. He therefore wrote a letter to Justinian, asking for aid. He set up his headquarters on the Pincian Hill, in the north of the city, and started repairing the walls of the city. On this day in 537, fighting was especially fierce around the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium. (Brill, Leiden 2013), pages 599–630. At the same time, whether by chance or design, the Romans at the Salarian Gate also attempted a sortie, and likewise succeeded in destroying many of the siege engines. ... Mar 11 Goths lay siege to Rome; Hagia Sophia. In February 537, Vitiges sent his commander Vacis to the Salarian Gate to beseech the Romans not to abandon the Goths. Belisarius liberated Rome from the Goths, but then had a … After the fall of Naples, the Goths, who were enraged with the inactivity of their king, Theodahad, gathered in council and elected Vitiges as their new king. The mills were those situated on the Janiculum, and provided most of the bread for the city. Thus, on December 9, 536 AD, Belisarius entered Rome through the Asinarian Gate at the head of 5,000 troops, while the Ostrogoth garrison was leaving the city through the Flaminian Gate and headed north towards Ravenna. This day marked the beginning of the Gothic War from which the First Siege of Rome emerged. Belisarius now marched north and took Milan before moving in on Ravenna.