DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Belisarius of Illyria, the last great general of Rome

2022-07-31 20:36:09Histori SHKRUAR NGA JOSHUA J. MARK

 

Belisarius of Illyria, the last great general of Rome
Belisarius nga Jacques-Louis David

 

Rome's last great general. Belisarius, often called 'the last Roman' as he dreamed of reuniting the two separate empires of Rome and Byzantium, was born into an Illyrian family and began his military career at an early age, serving as the personal bodyguard of the Illyrian emperor. - Roman Justin I.

From a poor Illyrian family he becomes the most powerful general of the Byzantine Empire. Why is he considered in the rank of Caesar and Alexander?

Flavius ​​Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire who lived during the 6th century AD. He is known as one of the greatest generals of the Byzantine Empire. He is also one of the candidates for the title "The Last of the Romans" which means the last person who embodied the best values ​​of the Roman Empire.

If the name of Belisarius turns out to be less well-known than famous military men, such as Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, etc., this probably happened due to the lack of attention to the appropriate extent by historians of that difficult time in him which he lived.

Belisarius's military genius becomes more apparent if we consider the fact that he managed to reap extraordinary victories, despite the fact that in his military campaigns he had little or often no support from the emperor Justinian I, who envied his spectacular victories. and occasional, which somehow overshadowed his imperial figure.

Historians point out that no general since the time of Caesar has won so many battles with so few resources limited to funds and men as Belisarius.

Few have surpassed him for strategy and tactics, for popularity with his men and mercy to his enemies.

The story of Belisarius is divided into three parts – his humble beginnings, his rise to power, and his fall.

 

Belisarius of Illyria, the last great general of Rome
Belisarius, mosaic in Ravenna

 

His beginnings

Belisarius was born in 500 in the city of Miria in Illyria to poor parents and died in 565 in Constantinople.

Historian Eduard Gibbon, in his work "History of the Fall of the Roman Empire" writes that Belisarius was born and probably educated among the Thracian peasants.

Because of his later success in recapturing the African provinces for the Byzantine Empire, Gibbon referred to Belisarius as "the Africanus of the new Rome", a reference to the great generals of the Roman Republic, Scipio Africanus and his adopted nephew same name, both involved in campaigns against the Carthaginians in North Africa.

Unlike these Romans, however, Gibbon emphasizes Belisarius' humble beginnings, writing that he lacked the advantages that Scipio and his nephew had: noble birth, liberal studies, and the rivalry of a free state.

As a young man, Belisarius became a soldier and served as a bodyguard for the Byzantine Emperor Justin I. Although he had served the emperor valiantly, he was still not a prominent figure. With the death of Justin I in 527, Belisarius entered the service of the new emperor, Justinian I. It was from this moment that Belisarius' fortunes changed, and his power began to grow

The rise to power

Belisarius' first opportunity to prove his worth came when he was appointed by Justinian to command the army in the east to deal with incursions from the Byzantine Empire's arch-rival, the Sassanids (present-day Syria). Belisarius managed to defeat the larger Sassanian army in 530 at the Battle of Dara. Although the Battle of Callinicum in 531 ended with a Pyrrhic victory for the Sasanians against Belisarius, it allowed the signing of the "Perpetual Peace" agreement between the two powers the following year. As a result, for a period of time that lasted until 540, peace was established between the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires.

With peace established, Belisarius was relieved of his duties as commander of the army on the eastern frontier, and resettled in the capital, Constantinople. Although the defeat at Callinicum tarnished his reputation a bit, Belisarius' chance to show himself came in 532. It was during this year that the Nicene riots broke out, which almost brought down Justinian.

For three consecutive days, Justinian I was locked in his palace. He promised to reduce taxes and threatened that the leaders of this uprising would have consequences, but these did not help, because the insurgents demanded his removal from the imperial throne, meanwhile proclaiming as emperor Flavius ​​Hypatius, the son of the sister of the emperor Anastasius I. In on the fifth day the insurgents reached the railings of the imperial palace, which caused such panic that Emperor Justinian I began to hurry to leave Constantinople. Very secretly he loaded a ship with the entire imperial treasure and prepared to board it, to escape once and for all.

 

Belisarius of Illyria, the last great general of Rome
Belisarius and Justinian

 

It was his wife Teodora who prevented him from doing such a thing. She encouraged the emperor and managed to convince him not to leave. Justinian pulled himself together and immediately ordered the uprising to be put down in blood. The general who had the task of protecting the imperial palace was Narseti, but Justinian assigned the task of suppressing the uprising to Belisarius, who at that time was reduced to a simple officer. Belisarius restored order by force and defended the throne of Justinian I with weapons. It is said that 35 thousand people were killed in this event.

As a reward in 533, Belisarius was sent to retake the African provinces, which he accomplished within a year. When he returned to Constantinople, he was awarded the Roman Triumph. This is thought to have been the last Roman Triumph ever awarded.

Conquest of Sicily and rebellion in Africa (535–536)

Justinian decided to retake the Western Roman Empire as quickly as possible, so in 535 he ordered Belisarius to attack the Ostrogoths. On assuming the office of consul, Belisarius landed in Italy at the head of 7,200 cavalry and 300 infantry, and in a very short time he conquered Sicily. In the spring he was forced to interrupt this campaign, which aimed at conquering the entire Italian Peninsula, because he was forced to go to Africa to suppress an insurrection. He arrived in Carthage with only 1000 soldiers and quickly suppressed the uprising. Even before this battle was well over, he was again sent to Sicily to suppress another insurrection that had broken out there in his absence. At this time, the first king of the Goths, Theodatus, fearing a clash with Belisarius, agreed to finally give up Sicily. And not only that, he was ready to surrender all of Italy to the Byzantine army in exchange for a pension of 1200 gold pounds. As he was about to do so, news arrived that the Byzantine army in Dalmatia had been defeated, which caused Theodatus to change his mind. Thus the war for the Italian Peninsula continued.

Capture of Naples and Rome (536–537)

After finally subduing Sicily, Belisarius set out to conquer all of Italy. The Byzantine army reached Naples and besieged the city. A deputation of representatives of the people of Naples advised Belisarius not to waste time in besieging the city, but to seek out the Goth king, defeat him, and then return to take Naples. The answer that Belisarius gave them was: “When I enter into negotiations with my enemies, I am more inclined to give advice than to receive. I hold in one hand the inevitable destruction of Naples, while in the other I hold peace and liberty, which you too may enjoy as Sicily is enjoying in the meantime.”

The city was conquered and looted.

By this time, because of his passive attitude and suspicion of treason, the Gothic king Theodatus had been killed by his own men. The king who replaced him was Vitixhi.

After fortifying Cuma and Naples, Belisarius set out for Rome. When he reached its walls, he was received as a liberator and the city gates were opened, despite the presence of the Ostrogothic garrisons that were there. The Ostrogoth commander of Rome's garrison was sent to Byzantium to deliver the keys to the Eternal City to Emperor Justinian I. The liberation of Rome from the Byzantines was celebrated with Saturnalia. After Rome, several other cities fell, such as Narni, Perugia and Spoleto.

Belisarius of Illyria, the last great general of Rome
Belisarius refusing the offer of the Goths

Siege of Rome (537-538)

The Gothic king Vitixi had no intention of surrendering, so he decided to reconquer Rome. About two miles from the walls of Rome a fierce battle took place between the Byzantines and the Goths. Victory eventually went to the Byzantines, who massacred more than 1,000 Goths while the rest fled. In this battle, word spread that Belisarius was killed, but in reality the general was only wounded, which encouraged the Byzantine army.

Although they lost this battle, the Goths did not give up their desire to reconquer Rome, so they surrounded the city again. The siege lasted a full year, but failed again. The Goths retreated with heavy losses. More than a third of their army lost their lives.

The fall of Ravenna

In 540 Belisarius attacked Ravenna, the capital of the Ostrogoths. While he was organizing the siege of Ravenna, he received news that Justinian I had signed a peace treaty with the Goths, which stipulated that the Byzantines would hold southern Italy up to the Po River, while northern Italy from the Po River and above would remain to them. the Ostrogoths. Since he was determined to bring King Vittius in handcuffs to Constantinople, Belisarius refused to accept this treaty and continued the war. Under these conditions, the Goths proposed to Belisarius that he become their king instead of Vitij. Belisarius pretended to accept this proposal, but his real intention was simply to open the gates of Ravenna. The gates were thrown open and Byzantine troops poured in.

Allegations of treason

It was the empress Theodora (who was not just the wife of Justinian I, but also an active participant in the governance of the empire) who caused Belisarius to fall into disaster. Once it happened that the emperor Justinian fell ill, and some commanders opened the word that, if another Justinian was chosen as emperor in Byzantium, the soldiers would oppose him. When the emperor recovered, the commanders said that these words had come from the mouths of Belisarius and Buce, a Byzantine general originally from Thrace. The Empress Theodora, who thought that these words indirectly related to her, summoned both Belisarius and Buce. As a result, Buce handcuffed him and locked him in an underground prison, where he suffered in inhumane conditions for two years and four months and emerged completely physically destroyed. No evidence was found against Belisarius, yet Empress Theodora did not give up her intentions against him. She managed to persuade Justinian I to dismiss him from the post of commander of the Eastern armies, remove his bodyguards and servants, deprive his friends of the right to go to see him, as well as confiscated all property.

In his work "Secret History" Prokopi writes: "One day a courtier came to Belisarius, who brought him a letter from Empress Theodora. The letter said: You know very well how you have treated me, my dear, but I have many obligations to your wife. Thus I have decided to annihilate the accusations against you and spare your life. From now on, you can rest assured about saving your life and property. Now let's see how you will deal with him from here on out.”

The fall of Belisarius

In 562, Belisarius was accused of corruption and sent to prison. However, he was later pardoned by Justinian, his honors were restored, and he was once again granted the right to remain in the Byzantine imperial court.

According to a legend, which today is considered little credible, Belisarius was blinded and forced to wander the streets begging for alms. However, according to the documents of the time, it appears that a few months later, on August 19, 563, Justinian I freed Belisarius from the charges and restored all the honors due to him within the imperial court.

Although most historians have refuted the legend of the blindness, after the publication of the story entitled "Bélisaire" (1767) by Jean-François Marmontel, the story of blindness became a very popular subject for painters of the 18th century, between to which we mention Jacques-Louis David with his painting that has the inscription "Belisarius asks for alms" (1781) and François Gérard with a painting that has the inscription "Belisarius" (1795). Other authors, such as Van Dyck and Salvator Rosa, created paintings that had Belisarius begging as a subject. In the context of the blinding, the name of Belisarius came to be widely mentioned as a symbol indicting and condemning the ingratitude that kings and emperors show towards the people who serve them devotedly.

The great Illyrian general of Byzantium passed away in Constantinople on March 13, 565, going down in history as one of the greatest military strategists of all time.

Galeria fotografike (
)


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×