Belisarius Reconquered Africa and Italy for Rome. Why Did Rome Destroy Him for It?
About this episode
The episode discusses the life of Belisarius, a general who reconquered territories for Rome, and explores why he was ultimately destroyed by Justinian despite his successes.
In 533, a twenty-eight-year-old general named Belisarius sailed from Constantinople with 15,000 men to reconquer North Africa from the Vandals, a kingdom that had held it for nearly a century since the sack of Rome. The last time the Eastern Empire had attempted the crossing, the entire fleet had been destroyed. Belisarius landed, defeated the Vandal king in two battles, entered Carthage without a fight, sat on the enemy's throne, and was awarded the first proper Roman triumph in five hundred years. Then Justinian sent him to retake Italy with 7,000 troops. He took Sicily, took Naples, took Rome, and held it against a Gothic army that outnumbered him roughly twenty-to-one for over a year, personally leading cavalry charges from the crumbling Aurelian Walls. When the Goths offered him the crown of the Western Roman Empire, he pretended to accept, walked into Ravenna, arrested the Gothic leadership, and shipped them to Constantinople. Italy was Roman again. And Justinian, terrified of the man who had made it possible, recalled him, stripped his command, and never gave him the resources to finish anything again. Today's guests are Matteo and Matthew Storm, the father-and-son hosts…
People in this episode
Host: History Unplugged
Guests: Matteo Storm, Matthew Storm
Topics covered
- Belisarius
- Roman Empire
- Justinian
- military history
- historical memory
- Vandals
- Goths
Keywords
- Belisarius
- Justinian
- Roman triumph
- North Africa
- Italy
- military campaigns
- historical erasure
- Gothic wars
- Vandal kingdom
- Eastern Empire
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Lost Roman Heroes
Places: North Africa, Carthage, Sicily, Naples, Rome, Ravenna
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