Vitiges

Early life

Little information is known about the early life of Vitiges. He came from an undistinguished family, presumably born c. 480.^[1] He was a career soldier, similar to his uncle and nephew. He gained prominence during the reign of Theodoric the Great in the siege of Sirmium of 504–505, but did not receive any titles. He became part of the king's bodyguards (spatharius, swordbearer) and adviser to the King Athalaric, and he fought again at Sirmium in the late 520s. Later, he served under King Theodahad, who appointed him to armiger position, commander of the king's bodyguard and leader of the Gothic forces in Rome.^[2][3]

Gothic War and the rise to power

The Gothic War started in 535, when the Byzantine general Belisarius had secured Sicily, and in the following year, rapidly advanced through the south of Italy and captured Naples in 536. King Theodahad's failure to reinforce Naples angered the Gothic nobility. In late 536, the Gothic nobles and military officers gathered near Regata in the Pontine Marshes and proclaimed Vitiges as their new king. Theodahad attempted to flee toward the Gothic capital, Ravenna, but Vitiges dispatched an agent to intercept him and overtook the former king and killed him. Once in Rome, Vitiges imprisoned Theodahad's son.^[4][5]

Vitiges had two immediate challenges. First, he did not wish to face the Byzantines in Rome as the war preparations were incomplete and most of the Gothic forces were divided, facing the Franks in the west, Byzantines under General Constantinianus in the east (Dalmatia region), and Belisarius in the south. Before departing for Ravenna, Vitiges left a garrison of 4,000 men in Rome and took several senators of Rome hostage to ensure the city's loyalty.^[4] Second, a crisis of legitimacy due to the lack of royal blood forced Vitiges to strengthen his claim. He traveled to Ravenna and, after divorcing his wife, forced a marriage to Matasuintha, the only surviving child of Queen Amalasuintha and the granddaughter of Theodoric.^[6] This union was celebrated with a panegyric delivered by the Roman senator Cassiodorus. This speech aimed to frame Vitiges not as a usurper, but as the protector of Theodoric's legacy.^[7][8]

Vitiges then proceeded to negotiate with the Franks, who were in alliance with the Byzantines. Previously, Theodahad proposed handing over the Gothic territory in Gaul, along with 2,000 pounds of gold, in return for their agreement to assist him in the war. Theodahad died before the transaction was concluded. Witigis sought to complete this arrangement. The Frankish kings agreed, but they were unwilling to openly break their alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Instead, they secretly promised to send warriors drawn from their tributary peoples to maintain plausible deniability.^[9]

Siege of Rome

The citizens of Rome, fearing a siege and encouraged by Pope Silverius, expelled the Goths and opened the gates to Belisarius on 9 December 536. Determined to retake Rome, Vitiges returned in early 537 with a large army to besiege Rome; contemporary historian Procopius reports of a 150,000-strong army.^[b] Soon after the siege started, Vitiges gave orders for the senatorial hostages held in Ravenna to be executed.^[16] Vitiges ordered repeated assaults on Rome's walls, but he was countered by Belisarius's defensive preparations, use of artillery and sorties of Byzantine mounted archers employing hit-and-run tactics, which caused significant Gothic casualties.^[17]

The siege lasted for a whole year, with both sides suffering from shortages and disease. However, the Byzantine control of sea supply routes gradually weakened the besieging Goths, who faced greater logistical challenges in supplying their large army by land. In March 538, Belisarius sent John the Sanguinary to raid the Picenum region. John acted beyond his orders and captured Ariminum, which was close to the Gothic capital. Vitiges lifted the siege of Rome on 12 March 538, and his army marched to recapture Ariminum.^[18]

In his march north, Vitiges reinforced nearby towns under his rule with the intention of protecting his rear. He sent 2,000 troops under Moras to defend the fortified town of Urbinus and 1,000 men under Albilas to Urviventus. In Tuscany, he sent Gibimer to Clusium with 1,000 men. The stronghold of Auximus was reinforced with 4,000 men under Visandus. Other cities included, Tudera with 400 men, Petra with 400 men, Caesana and Monteferetra were garrisoned with 500 men each.^[19]

Siege of Ariminum

Upon arrival, presumably in late spring 538, Vitiges besieged Ariminum and he deployed a man-powered siege tower. The Byzantine garrison, led by John, covertly dug a trench overnight to block its advance. When Vitiges ordered the trench filled with faggots to push the machine through, the tower's weight caused it to sink and become immobilized. Vitiges executed the night guards of the tower for this oversight. Then, he decided to starve the defenders. Needing fewer troops, he sent a detachment to capture Ancon. In late summer 538, Belisarius with reinforcements (still outnumbered by the Gothic army) devised a plan to break the siege of Ariminum by using psychological warfare and deceptive tactics to inflate the Byzantine army size. The Goths thought that a large army was approaching and they panicked. Vitiges abandoned the siege and retreated to Ravenna.^[20]

Seeking allies and fall of Mediolanum and Auximus

In April 538, the Byzantines with a small army captured Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) and the nearby towns of Bergamum, Comum, and Novaria, which were necessary to secure the Liguria region. The loss of Liguria caused concerns among the Goths, who had deposited significant parts of their wealth there. Acting on the news, Vitiges sent Uraias, his nephew, with an army to recover Mediolanum, assisted by Burgundians sent by the Franks.^[21][22] During the siege, the city endured severe famine as relief efforts by the Byzantines were delayed due to disputes among their leadership. Eventually, Mediolanum capitulated in March 539. The Goths killed the male inhabitants^[c][24] as punishment for the city's earlier revolt, and the women were sold to the Burgundians for their assistance in the siege. After the city was razed, the Goths recovered much of the Liguria region.^[25]

In early 539, Vitiges was considering asking for help. Initially, he asked Wacho, the king of Langobardians. Wacho refused him because he was allied with Justinian and did not want to spoil his reputation by breaking the alliance. Then the Goths considered asking Khosrow I, the Persian leader (shah), on the grounds that the Byzantines would not be able to continue campaigning in Italy while maintaining an open front in the east. They paid two Ligurian priests to deliver a letter to Khosrow by passing through the Byzantine territories without detection.^[26] Khosrow received the letter with interest, since he viewed Belisarius's conquests in Italy with concern.^[27] Justinian learned about the communication between the Goths and Persians and recognized the perils of fighting on two fronts. The Byzantines tried to make peace with the Goths. For Justinian, the Persians posed a more dire threat than the Goths, and peace in Italy would free Belisarius to take command on the eastern front.^[28][29]

Vitiges remained in Ravenna, unable to send an expeditionary army to assist Gothic garrisons besieged by the Byzantines due to a lack of supplies. During the siege of Auximus, the Gothic garrison twice requested assistance from their king, and each time Vitiges promised to send a relief force but remained inactive. He ordered Uraias to assist Auximus, but was unable to do so because Byzantine troops blocked the way, and later a large Frankish army invaded, attacking both the Goths and the Byzantines. The Frankish army retreated due to disease and poor supplies. Both Auximus and Fiesole, key strongholds for the defense of Ravenna, capitulated due to famine in late 539.^[30]

Siege of Ravenna

By 540, the Byzantines encircled Ravenna, trapping Vitiges within the capital. Justinian was under threat of a Persian invasion, which required bringing Belisarius from Italy to the eastern front.^[31] Justinian offered a modified plan, which Vitiges had proposed in late 537.^[32] Justinian's plan called for a partition of Italy, in which the Goths would keep the territories north of the river Po. Additionally, the royal treasury in Ravenna would be equally divided. The plan was generous, and the Goths fully embraced it.^[33] However, Belisarius, as one of the generals in the field that had to ratify the peace treaty, refused to do so.^[33] Around the same time, the Gothic nobility, fearful that they might be transferred to the east and never allowed to return, secretly offered to Belisarius the western imperial throne. The Goths knew that Vitiges's days as king were few, yet they admired the Byzantine general both as a man and as a soldier.^[34] When Vitiges found out, he provided his support and even sent a message urging him to accept the offer.^[35] Belisarius feigned agreement to gain entry. In May 540, the Goths opened the gates and the Byzantine army entered the city. Once inside the gates, he seized the royal treasury and took Vitiges and Matasuintha captive, ending Vitiges's reign. The king was transported to Constantinople to be presented to Justinian in mid-summer 540.^[35]

Later life and death

In Constantinople, Vitiges was treated honorably, with Justinian granting him the title of Patrikios and remaining the ruler of trans-Padane Italy, bound to Byzantium by treaty. Vitiges lived for two years before dying in 542 without any heirs.^[36]