Belisarius

The Last Roman General

Ian Hughes

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781844689415
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

A military history of the campaigns of Flavius Belisarius, the greatest general of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justinian. Back in the 6th century, Belisarius twice defeated the Persians and reconquered North Africa from the Vandals in a single year at the age of 29, before going on to regain Spain and Italy, including Rome (briefly), from the barbarians. This book discusses the evolution from classical Roman to Byzantine armies and systems of warfare, as well as those of their chief enemies: the Persians, Goths, and Vandals. Belisarius: The Last Roman General reassesses Belisarius's generalship and compares him with the likes of Caesar, Alexander, and Hannibal. It is also illustrated with line drawings and battle plans as well as photographs.

Chapter 1

Historical Background

When Theodosius the Great died in 395 the Roman Empire was still recognisable in shape, if not in function, from the empire of Augustus. Over the intervening centuries some provinces had been gained, such as Mesopotamia, Dacia and Britain. Although some, like Dacia, had been lost again, these gains and losses made little difference to the overall map of the empire.

Internally, however, things were different. The old senatorial order had been replaced by a new system of rank, and the large legions upon which the empire had been founded had also changed. Gone was the legio of 5,000 or so men with supporting cavalry units (aloe) and more flexible auxilia infantry formations. In their place was a complex new army with the increasingly elaborate hierarchy required to run it. The army was now split into two. On the frontiers were the Umitanei (land frontier) and ripanenses (river frontier) formations, comprising legio and auxilia, supported by alae. Stationed in the cities to the rear were new formations which have been interpreted by modern authors as ‘mobile field armies’. These comprised ‘new’ units of auxilia palatina, legionespalatina (both infantry), vexillationes (cavalry) and the comitatenses or ‘field army’ regiments of which the majority were formed by dividing older formations. The infantry units appear to have been of around 1,200 men, the cavalry around 4–600 strong.

In theory, these rear ‘mobile’ armies were under the command of a high-ranking officer and would deal with any enemy that broke through the frontier defences. The belief is that they could also be transferred to a different part of the empire without visibly weakening the frontiers and so inviting barbarian attacks. The fact that the system rarely functioned effectively at this level and was seldom – if at all – used in this manner has tended to be overlooked by historians.

The empire was also in the process of dividing internally. The west now spoke derivatives of Latin and looked to the imperial past of Augustus and his heirs for their role models. The east was increasingly speaking Greek and focusing for their guidance upon Greek and Persian models of royalty and systems of government. This divide was, in effect, given official sanction upon the death of Theodosius when his sons split the empire, with Honorius taking the west and Arcadius taking the east. This resulted in an increasing tension between the rival empires. The eastern upper hierarchy now tended to see their western equivalent as being barbarians who were behind scientifically, aesthetically and culturally. In contrast, the western upper hierarchy saw the easterners as being effete Greeks with their increasing subservience to the emperor (based on Persian models) and their employment of ‘un-Roman’ eunuchs and other Persian influences.

In both halves of the empire there had been a growth in the number of barbarian generals rising to high posts and positions of power within the empire. Individuals of ‘Germanic’ origin such as Merobaudes, Bauto and Stilicho in the west, and Gainas and Tribigild in the east became politically powerful and had followings of barbarian troops to support their positions. The result was that barbarian kings and leaders on the fringes of the empire realised that they could increase their power and personal prestige whilst working within the framework of the imperial administration. With luck and skill they might even rise to the post of magister utrimque militae (Master of all the Troops), with the added title of patricius – hence this era sometimes being given the designation ‘Patrician Rome’.

Although the post of magister utrimque militae, the most senior military post in the empire, was always desirable in itself, by the late fourth century the holder of the post in the west was actually in control of the empire. They dictated policy and often – especially later – made and unmade emperors. Obviously, the position was highly prized and the political fighting to obtain it was accordingly vicious, usually ending in the death of the loser.

The two empires also faced completely different problems with regards to foreign invasion and internal revolt, and as a result of these the financial burden was becoming more and more insupportable in the less-civilised and wealthy west. In both halves of the empire foreign invasion was a constant threat.

The Balkan question

Although many barbarian tribes were to invade the Balkan provinces that were nominally part of the eastern empire, pickings here were relatively lean and invaders were increasingly tempted to go west. Furthermore, where possible, barbarians who were defeated by the eastern empire were not allowed to remain at large as foederati, large groupings of barbarians keeping their own leaders and ostensibly serving the Romans. Instead, the defeated barbarians were dispersed as settlers and so merged with the local population. As an example, when the Hun Uldin invaded Thrace he was defeated and killed. Thereafter, his followers were widely separated and settled. In this way they could not reunite and cause further trouble to the empire.

Moreover, invaders could never take Constantinople by force and so could never reach the economically-vital regions of Asia Minor; although the Balkans was repeatedly ravaged, the heartland of the empire remained secure. Therefore, as a result of the geographical nature of the empires, and since invaders invariably turned west after first attacking the Balkans, for the purposes of this chapter the Balkans are included in the background history of the western empire.

The West – including the Balkans

In the west, Julian’s victory over the Alamanni at the Battle of Strasbourg (Argentoratum) earlier in the century (357) was only a temporary respite in a series of wars that were to overwhelm the western empire. For it was at about this time that the Huns were making their first impact upon the west. They destroyed the Gothic empire of the almost mythical King Ermanarich, forcing some of the Goths to flee westwards in search of sanctuary. In 376 such a group of Visigoths were allowed to enter Roman territory by Valens. However, they were badly treated and revolted. Joining with a second group that had forced entry into the empire, they won the Battle of Adrianople in 378, a battle which destroyed a large part of the eastern army and killed the emperor Valens himself. However, the losses the Visigoths themselves had suffered, plus the rapid recruitment of fresh troops by Valens’ replacement Theodosius I, resulted in a stalemate, and in 382 a treaty was signed by Theodosius that granted the Visigoths land between the Danube and the mountains of the Balkans.

At first glance this would not appear to be a problem for the west, since only the east had suffered from the ordeal. Yet, despite repeatedly ravaging the Balkans, the Visigoths – and all invaders after them – could not take Constantinople or force the eastern empire to surrender to their demands. The Balkans were simply not vital to the survival of the east, being relatively poor economically. In the end, the Visigoths set the precedent and headed west, where there were fewer obstacles to their movement, and where Rome itself lacked the massive fortifications and protection given to Constantinople.

It was at this time (c.395–400) that Alaric emerged as leader of the Visigoths. A strong warrior and politician, he invaded the west and made demands on the western government. During the course of the ensuing war the centre of government was moved from Milan (Rome had long been abandoned as too remote) to Ravenna, which behind its marshes was easier to defend. In 402, after much political and military intrigue, Alaric was defeated at Pollentia by Stilicho, magister utrimque militae of Emperor Honorius, and forced to withdraw.

Increased political manoeuvring followed, but in 406 Constantius III rebelled in Britain and was proclaimed emperor. Moreover, on the last day of 406 a force of Vandals (a coalition of the Asding Vandals and the Siling Vandals), Sueves and Alans invaded Gaul across the frozen Rhine. The resultant emergency led to an agreement in 407 whereby Alaric was made magister militum (Master of the Troops), Stilicho remaining in the superior post of magister utrimque militae. Alaric was also given land for his followers and was to be paid an annual tribute. The settlement was undone in 408, when Stilicho was arrested, refusing to allow his barbarian bodyguard to protect him. He was then executed and the regular soldiers of Italy, seizing their opportunity, rose and massacred the families of the barbarians that had been recruited by Stilicho. Constantius III crossed from Britain to the continent, but the Vandals, Sueves and Alans were left to roam Gaul at will.

The barbarian troops whose families had been killed, a force estimated as high as 30,000 men (though 10,000 is a more likely number), understandably joined Alaric, who promptly invaded Italy and besieged Rome. The Roman senate paid him off, but, being rebuffed by the Emperor Honorius in Ravenna, he returned to Rome and proclaimed Priscus Attalus as a puppet emperor. Finally, in late August 410, Rome was sacked for three days. The event shocked the inhabitants of the empire, even stimulating the eastern empire to send troops, but was of little political consequence, since Rome was no longer the seat of power and the emperor in Ravenna made no concessions.

The year before, in 409, the Vandals, Sueves and Alans that had invaded Gaul passed into Spain, where they set up kingdoms of their own. During the course of this the Vandal coalition of Asding and Siling separated, with the Asding Vandals and the Sueves taking the northwest province of Galicia, the Alans taking Lusitania, and the Siling Vandals taking Baetica. The provinces of Carthaginiensis and Tarraconensis appear to have been left to their own devices.

In Italy, after the sudden death of Alaric in 411, his successor Athaulf led the Visigoths into Gaul. Here they were blockaded into submission and were then sent to Spain to attack the Germanic settlers there. After wiping out the Siling Vandals and the majority of the Alans, the Visigoths were recalled and settled in Aquitaine in 418.

Following the attack, the Asding Vandals could never feel safe in Spain and King Gaiseric led them, along with the remnants of the Alans and the Asding Vandals, across the Straits of Gibraltar into Africa in 429. The Sueves stayed in northwest Spain. Advancing along the North African coast, by 435 the Vandals forced the Romans into a treaty whereby the Vandals gave military aid in return for land. Yet the treaty was probably due to the activities of east Roman troops in Tripolitania putting pressure on the Vandals, without which the Vandals may easily have taken Carthage. In fact, shortly afterwards, the military manoeuvres of the eastern empire in Tripolitania ceased, and in 439 the Vandals struck and secured the city for themselves.

As previously stated, the main cause of the turbulence in the west was the arrival of the Huns. Ferocious warriors, the Huns destroyed the Gothic power east of the Danube and by around 375 had built up an empire opposite Rome. The Huns were powerful enough to extract payment of annual tribute from the eastern empire, and when this was refused they would attack and ravage the Balkans. The greatest and most (in)famous of their leaders was Attila (433–53). Attila was not satisfied with the petty raiding of his forbears. Instead, after agreeing a treaty with the eastern empire, he assembled an army and in 451 prepared to invade the west.

Attila did not head towards Italy, but instead invaded Gaul. He knew that the provinces of Gaul had been devastated by repeated despoilment by barbarian tribesmen and that they were disunited. He even sent an embassy to the Visigoths, now settled in Aquitaine, attempting to persuade them to ally with his cause against the Romans. Gaul would be a much softer target than Italy.

In Italy there had been a minor revival. After the execution of Stilicho, the post of magister utrimque militae was retained in the hands of Roman generals. Constantius and later Flavius Aetius both waged successful wars against barbarians and their use of diplomacy was enough to revive some of the strength of the Roman west. It was Aetius that faced the Huns under Attila. He persuaded the Visigoths to support him in the war, arguing that the Huns were the common enemy of all in the west. He also convinced several smaller tribes, such as individual tribes of the Franks and Alans, to support him in the war. Slowly the empire gathered its forces.

Attila advanced as far west as the city of Orleans, which was besieged. This was the farthest that any of the nomadic tribes were ever to penetrate; even the Mongol Empire was never to pierce this far into Europe. But upon the approach of the imperial alliance, the Huns fell back to the Catalaunian Plain near Troyes. The battle that followed determined the fate of Europe. Victory to the Huns would have left large areas of the west under the Hunnic yoke, with unknown ramifications for the present day. As it was, a close victory for the Romans forced the Huns to retire, although the Visigothic king, Theodoric, perished in the battle. The Huns withdrew to the Hungarian plain.

This was not quite the end of the story. Attila, realising that he could not take Gaul if the Visigoths remained hostile, decided to strike at Italy after all – possibly assuming (correctly) that the Visigoths would not leave their homes to fight for a foreign country. He invaded Italy in 452, sacking Aquileia and capturing Milan. However, a meeting with Pope Leo I followed and, surprisingly, Attila again returned home to Hungary. It is possible that his retirement was caused more by fear of disease, or possibly due to reports reaching him of eastern Roman troops attacking his homelands, than by anything said by the Pope. Whatever the reason, he never repeated his attacks. The following year he died after celebrating his marriage to a new wife.

The threat from the Huns rapidly receded. Their empire passed to Attila’s sons, but they did not have the ability to maintain it. In 454 the Hunnic subjects, led by the Gepids, revolted and defeated their masters at the Battle of the Nedao. The Hun empire rapidly disintegrated and, rebuffed in their attempts to blackmail the eastern empire in the Balkans, the Huns finally retreated to the Russian steppe.

However the end of the west was in sight. In 454 the Emperor Valentinian III killed Aetius in person. The emperor was in turn killed by Petronius Maximus on 16 March 455, Petronius becoming emperor on 17 March. In the confusion surrounding these events, the Vandals moved swiftly and in late May of the same year they sailed from Africa and sacked Rome. Due to his cowardice during the attack, Petronius was killed by the Roman citizenry as he fled. With the west in confusion, the Vandals quickly proceeded to annex Tripolitania, Sardinia and the Balearics.

In the meantime, the Visigoths had slowly consolidated their rule. In 451 their king, Theoderic I, had been killed fighting alongside Aetius at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, yet when Euric came to the throne only fifteen years later he expanded his realm, incorporating most of southern Gaul and the greater part of Spain – except for the Sueves and the Basques – during his long reign (466–84). Despite some unsettled legal fictions, the western emperor now only controlled Italy and Sicily.

Paradoxically, with the death of Attila, the west could envisage a recovery, but this would probably take more than the resources of Italy and Sicily alone. However, action was needed and it was decided to attack the weakest and most easily-recoverable area under barbarian control. Furthermore, the barbarians in question had recently sacked Rome. In 461 the latest western emperor, Majorian, with his magister utrimque militae, Ricimer, attempted the reconquest of Vandal Africa. The army was sent via the land route through Spain and a fleet was mobilised to transport the army across the Straits of Gibraltar. Unfortunately, the fleet was destroyed by the Vandals, the attempt failed and Majorian himself was later killed, allegedly on the orders of Ricimer.

Shortly thereafter, Anthemius, an eastern general distantly related to the House of Constantine, was made emperor upon the recommendation of Leo I in Constantinople. A second attempt upon Africa was now launched with massive eastern aid. In June 468 a fleet of 1,100 ships and up to 30,000 troops anchored near Cape Bon, a short distance from Carthage. However, the Vandal fleet arrived and sent in fireships to disrupt the Romans. In the ensuing chaos, some ships were set on fire, some collided and others were attacked by the Vandals. It was the end of the second attempt to reconquer Africa, as the survivors scattered and the idea of a joint venture was never resurrected.

When Ricimer died in 472 another general, Gundobad, took his place as magister utrimque militae. But Gundobad seems to have recognised that things were never going to be the same again, and when his father died he left Italy to become a king of the Burgundians alongside his brothers.

At this late stage the collapse of the west was clearly visible and this fact was now acknowledged. In 474 the Vandals were recognised as independent by the new eastern emperor Zeno, and in 475 the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse was so powerful that the western emperor, Julius Nepos, confirmed the Visigoths in the territories in their possession.

With Gundobad gone, Ecdicius briefly became magister utrimque militae before he was forced to yield by Nepos, who gave the post to Orestes. This proved to be a mistake, since Orestes gathered the troops in Italy and forced Nepos to retire to Dalmatia. Orestes then made his own son, Romulus Augustulus, emperor.

Unfortunately, army pay was now in arrears and the troops, mainly composed of Germanic recruits and mercenaries, petitioned Orestes concerning their upkeep. When this was ignored, they declared their leader Odovacar as the new magister utrimque militae. Orestes was killed and, in lieu of pay, land was distributed to the troops. Odovacar then sent a message to the Emperor Zeno, asking that he be rente patricius and pointing out that the west no longer needed an emperor, since Zeno could easily fulfil that task. Zeno’s response was so worded that it could cause no offence to Nepos in Dalmatia, still legally emperor, whilst granting Odovacar the powers he requested. Consequently, in 476 Odovacar deposed the last recognised western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus. However, in a strange scene of clemency, Romulus was not killed but granted an annual income of 6,000 solidi and he retired to live at Castellum Lucullanum, near Naples in Campania.

Odovacar now attempted to stabilise his position. He regained full control of Sicily by paying tribute to the Vandals, and on the death of Nepos in 480 he annexed Dalmatia. Despite these gains, he was forced to cede Provence to King Euric of the Visigoths, who was now far more powerful than the western emperor.

The final stages in the disintegration of the western empire had now almost been reached. Spain was in the hands of the Visigoths, the Sueves and the native Basques. In Gaul, the expansion of the Franks under Clovis caused the destruction of the Kingdom of Soissons (the creation of a revolted Roman genera...