Siege of Rome ( 537 – 538 ) The First Siege of Rome during the Gothic War lasted for a year and nine days , from 2 March 537 to 12 March 538 . It was laid by Ostrogothic army under king Vitiges ; the defending East Romans ( " Byzantines " ) were commanded by general Belisarius . The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents , and played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the war . Background . With northern Africa back in Roman hands after the successful Vandalic War , Emperor Justinian I turned his sights on the Empire ' s cradle , Italy , with the old capital , the city of Rome . In the late 5th century , the peninsula had come under the control of the Ostrogoths , who , although they continued to acknowledge the Empire ' s suzerainty , had established a practically independent kingdom . However , after the death of its founder , the able Theodoric the Great , in 526 , Italy descended into turmoil . Justinian took advantage of this to intervene in the affairs of the Ostrogoth state . In 535 , Mundus invaded Dalmatia , and Belisarius , with an army of 7 , 500 men , captured Sicily with ease . From there , in June next year , he crossed over to Italy at Rhegium . After a twenty - day siege , the Romans sacked Naples in early November . 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 . Theodahad , who fled from Rome to Ravenna , was murdered by an agent of Vitiges on the way . In the meantime , Vitiges held a council at Rome , where it was decided not to seek immediate confrontation with Belisarius , but to wait until the main army , stationed in the north , was assembled . Vitiges then departed Rome for Ravenna , leaving a 4 , 000 strong garrison to secure the city . Nevertheless , the citizens of Rome decisively supported Belisarius , and , in the light of the brutal sack of Naples , were unwilling to support the risks of a siege . So , a delegation on behalf of Pope Silverius and eminent citizens was sent to Belisarius . The Ostrogoth garrison quickly realized that , with the population hostile , their position was untenable . 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 . After 60 years , Rome was once again in Roman hands . The siege . Initial phases . Belisarius , with his small force , was unable to continue his march northwards towards Ravenna , since the Ostrogoth forces vastly outnumbered his own . Instead , he settled in Rome , preparing for the inevitable counterstrike . He set up his headquarters on the Pincian Hill , in the north of the city , and started repairing the walls of the city . A ditch was dug out on the outer side , the fort of the Mausoleum of Hadrian strengthened , a chain was drawn across the Tiber , a number of citizens conscripted and stores of supplies set up . The populace of the city , aware that the siege they were trying to escape was becoming inevitable , started showing signs of discontent . The Ostrogoth army marched on Rome , and gained the passage over river Anio at the Salarian Bridge , when the defending Romans abandoned their fortifications and fled . The next day , the Romans were barely saved from disaster when Belisarius , unaware of his forces ' flight , proceeded towards the bridge with a detachment of his " bucellarii " . 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 . Water mills . Rome was too large for the Goths to completely encircle . So they set up seven camps , overlooking the main gates and access routes to the city , in order to starve it out . Six of them were east of the river , and one on the western side , on the " Campus Neronis " , near the Vatican . This left the southern side of the city open . The Goths then proceeded to block the aqueduct s that were supplying the city with its water , necessary both for drinking and for operating the gristmill s . The mills were those situated on the Janiculum , and provided most of the bread for the city . Although Belisarius was able to counter the latter problem by building floating mills on the stream of the Tiber , the hardships for the citizenry grew daily . Perceiving this discontent , Vitiges tried to achieve the surrender of the city , by promising the Roman army free passage , but the offer was refused . First great assault . Soon after the rejection of his proposals , Vitiges unleashed a massive assault on the city . His engineers had constructed four great siege tower s , which now began to be moved towards the city ' s northern walls , near the Salarian Gate , by teams of oxen . Procopius describes what happened next : The reason for Belisarius ' outburst was at first unclear , but as the Goths approached the moat , he drew forth his bow and shot , one after another , three Ostrogoth riders . The soldiers on the walls took this as an omen of victory and started to shout in celebration . Then Belisarius revealed his thought , as he ordered his archers to concentrate their fire on the exposed oxen , which the Goths had so thoughtlessly brought within bowshot distance from the walls . The oxen were dispatched quickly , and the four towers were left there , useless , before the walls . Vitiges then left a large force to keep the defenders occupied , and attacked the walls to the southeast , in the area of the Praenestine Gate , known as the " Vivarium " , where the fortifications were lower . A simultaneous attack was carried out in the western side , at the Mausoleum of Hadrian and the Cornelian Gate . There the fighting was particularly fierce . Eventually , after a hard fight , the Goths were driven off , but the situation at the " Vivarium " was grave . The defenders , under Bessas and Peranius , were being hard pressed , and sent to Belisarius for help . Belisarius came , accompanied by a few of his " bucellarii " . 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 . Taking the Goths by surprise , his men pushed them back and burned their siege engines . 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 . The first attempt of the Goths to storm the city had failed , and their army withdrew to their camps . Roman successes . Despite this success , Belisarius was well aware that his situation was still dangerous . He therefore wrote a letter to Justinian , asking for aid . Indeed , Justinian had already dispatched reinforcements under the tribunes Martinus and Valerian , but they had been delayed in Greece due to bad weather . In his letter , Belisarius also added cautionary words concerning the loyalty of the populace : " And although at the present time the Romans are well disposed toward us , yet when their troubles are prolonged , they will probably not hesitate to choose the course which is better for their own interests . [ . . . ] Furthermore , the Romans will be compelled by hunger to do many things they would prefer not to do . " For fear of treason , extreme measures were taken by Belisarius : Pope Silverius was deposed on suspicions of negotiating with the Goths and replaced by Vigilius , the locks and keys of the gates were changed " twice each month " , the guards on gate duty regularly rotated , and patrols set up . Vitiges , in the meantime , enraged by his failure , sent orders to Ravenna to kill the senators that he had held hostage there , and furthermore resolved to complete the isolation of the besieged city by cutting it off from the sea . The Goths seized the " Portus Claudii " at Ostia , which had been left unguarded by the Romans . As a result , although the Romans retained control of Ostia itself , their supply situation worsened , as supplies had to be unloaded at Antium ( modern Anzio ) and thence transported laboriously to Rome . Fortunately for the besieged , twenty days later , the promised reinforcements , 1600 cavalry , arrived and were able to enter the city . Belisarius now had at his disposal a well - trained , disciplined and mobile force , and started employing his cavalry in sallies against the Goths . Invariably , the Roman horsemen , mostly of Hunnic or Slavonic 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 . There , ballistas and catapults lay in waiting , and drove the Goths back with great loss . Thus the superior mobility and firepower of the Roman cavalry was utilized to great effect , causing serious losses to the Goths for minimal Roman casualties . The Goths achieve victory in open battle . These successes greatly encouraged the army and the people , who now put pressure on Belisarius to march forth into an open battle . At first Belisarius refused because of the still great numerical disparity , but was at length persuaded , and made his preparations accordingly . The main force , under his command , would sally forth from the Pincian and the Salarian Gates in the north , while a smaller cavalry detachment under Valentinus , along with the bulk of the armed civilians , would confront the large Gothic force encamped west of the Tiber and prevent them from participating in the battle , without however engaging it in direct combat . Initially , and since in those times Roman infantry was a far cry from the legions of earlier times , Belisarius wished the battle to be restricted to a cavalry fight , but was persuaded by the pleas of two of his bodyguards , Principius and Tarmutus , and positioned a large body of his infantry under them as a reserve and rally point for the cavalry . Vitiges , for his part , deployed his army in the typical fashion , with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on the flanks . When battle was joined , the Roman cavalry once again utilized its familiar tactics , showering the dense mass of Gothic troops with arrows and withdrawing without contact . 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 . But on the Fields of Nero , on the other side of the Tiber , the Romans attempted a sudden attack on the Goths , and , due to shock and large numbers , the Goths were routed and fled to the hills for safety . But the majority of the Roman army there , as mentioned , consisted of ill - disciplined civilians , who soon lost any semblance of order , despite Valentinus ' and his officers ' efforts , and went about plundering the abandoned Gothic camp . This confusion gave the Goths the time to regroup , and charging once again , they drove the Romans back with great loss . In the meantime , on the eastern side of the Tiber , the Romans had reached the Gothic camps . There resistance was fierce , and the already small Roman force suffered casualties in close combat . Thus , when the Gothic cavalry in the right wing perceived their opponents ' weakness , they moved against them and routed them . Soon the Romans were in full flight , and the infantry , which was supposed to act in exactly such a case as a defensive screen , disintegrated despite the valor of Principius and Tarmutus and joined the flight for the safety of the walls . Stalemate and arrival of Roman reinforcements . After this battle , both sides settled down for a prolonged siege . Belisarius returned to his previous tactics of small cavalry sallies , and tried to conserve his forces , awaiting reinforcements . Even in June , when famine had almost brought the city to despair , Belisarius resisted pleas for another open battle . Instead , he sent his secretary Procopius to Naples , in order to find out about the promised reinforcements , gather whatever forces could be spared from the local garrisons and arrange for supplies . Procopius was followed soon after by Belisarius ' own wife , Antonina . Together they arranged for supplies and about 500 soldiers . The long - awaited reinforcements arrived later , namely 3 , 000 Isaurians and 1 , 800 cavalry . The latter joined Procopius ' 500 men and marched towards Rome , together with the supply convoy . In order to facilitate their approach , Belisarius arranged a successful sortie . With the arrival of supplies and reinforcements , Rome was secure . Roman ascendancy and end of the siege . The Goths , also suffering , like the besieged , from disease and famine , now resorted to diplomacy . An embassy of three was sent to Belisarius , and offered to surrender Sicily and southern Italy ( which were already in Roman hands ) in exchange for a Roman withdrawal . 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 . Nevertheless , a three - month armistice was arranged in order for Gothic envoys to travel to Constantinople for negotiations . 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 . During the armistice , the Goths ' situation deteriorated for want of supplies , and they were forced to abandon the " Portus " , which was promptly occupied by an Isaurian garrison , as well as the city of Centumcellae ( modern Civitavecchia ) and Albano . Thus , by the end of December , the Goths were virtually surrounded by Roman detachments , and their supply routes effectively cut . The Goths protested these actions , but to no avail . Belisarius even sent one of his best generals , John , with 2 , 000 men towards Picenum , with orders to avoid conflict but , when ordered to move , to capture or plunder any stronghold he met , and not to leave any enemy strongholds in his rear . Shortly thereafter the truce was irretrievably broken by the Goths , when they attempted to enter the city in secret . First they tried to do so by using the " Aqua Virgo " aqueduct . Unfortunately for them , the torches they used to explore it were detected by a guard on the nearby Pincian Gate . The aqueduct was put under close guard , and the Goths , perceiving this , made no attempt to use it again . A little later , a sudden attack against the same gate was repulsed by the guards under the command of Ildiger , Antonina ' s son - in - law . Later , with the aid of two paid Roman agents , they tried to drug the guards at a section of the walls near St Peter ' s and enter the city unopposed , but one of the agents revealed the plan to Belisarius , and this attempt too was thwarted . In retaliation , Belisarius ordered John to move on Picenum . John , after defeating a Gothic force under Ulithus , an uncle of Vitiges , was free to roam the province at will . However , he disobeyed Belisarius instructions , and did not attempt to take the fortified towns of Auxinum ( modern Osimo ) and Urbinum ( modern Urbino ) , judging that they were too strong . Instead , he bypassed them and headed for Ariminum ( Rimini ) , invited there by the local Roman population . Ariminum ' s capture meant that the Romans had effectively cut Italy in two , but in addition , the city was barely a day ' s march away from the Gothic capital of Ravenna . Thus , at the news of Ariminum ' s fall , Vitiges decided to withdraw in all haste towards his capital . 374 days after the siege had begun , the Goths burned their camps and abandoned Rome , marching northeast along the " Via Flaminia " . But Belisarius led out his forces , and waited until half the Gothic army had crossed the Milvian Bridge before attacking the remainder . After initially fierce resistance , the Goths finally broke , and many were slain or drowned in the river . Aftermath . After their victory over a numerically much superior enemy , the Romans gained the upper hand . 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 . Eventually , Ravenna itself was taken by deceit in May 540 , and the war seemed to be effectively over . However , very soon , the Goths , under the capable leadership of their new king Totila , managed to reverse the situation , until the Empire ' s position in Italy almost collapsed . In 546 , Rome was again besieged by Totila , and this time Belisarius was unable to prevent its fall . The city was reoccupied by the Imperials soon after , and Totila had to besiege it again in 549 . Despite the city ' s fall , Totila ' s triumph was to be brief . 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 . In 553 the last Ostrogothic king , Teia , was defeated . Although several cities in the north continued resistance up to the early 560s , the Gothic power was broken for good .