The Battle of Faventia (modern-day Faenza) took place in the spring of 542, where the newly crowned king Totila of the Ostrogoths (Goths) defeated a larger Byzantine force under the generals Constantian and Alexander. The victory reinforced the Gothic resistance in the second phase of the Gothic War (535–554).
Following the failed Siege of Verona by the Byzantines, Totila, with about 5,000 men, pursued the retreating Byzantine force of roughly 12,000 troops. Totila, having the initiative, sent 300 men from a different route and attacked the rear of the Byzantine army. While the Byzantine leadership debated a course of action, Totila's army crossed the river Po and advanced to engage the Byzantine forces. To delay the battle until the Gothic detachment was in place, a Gothic champion named Valaris challenged the Byzantines to single combat. Valaris was slain by the Byzantine commander Artabazes the Armenian, who himself was mortally wounded. The battle soon commenced, and in the heat of the engagement, the Goths attacked the Byzantines' rear. The surprise attack caused panic to spread among the Byzantine troops, who broke formation and fled the field. The victory marked the beginning of a resurgence of Gothic resistance against the Byzantine reconquest of the Italian peninsula.
Prelude
Following the murder of the Gothic King Eraric by the Gothic nobility for his willingness to surrender to the Byzantines Totila was elected king. At this point, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian realized that the Goths were paralyzed by internal dissensions, and his Byzantine commanders stationed in Italy had not done anything to take advantage of the situation. He sent a letter reprimanding them for their inactivity and demanded action. The Byzantine commanders John the Sanguinary, Bessas and Cyprian gathered in Ravenna to debate their course of action.[2] They decided to send a 12,000-strong army to take Verona, one of the last outposts of Gothic power.[3] The army had eleven commanders with two at the top of the command, Constantian and Alexander. While Constantian was the de facto commander-in-chief, he lacked the skill and authority to compel the other commanders to follow his commands.[4]
The failed Siege of Verona signaled to the newly crowned king of the Goths, Totila, to take initiative while the Byzantines remained under poor leadership. Totila with a 5,000-strong army pursued the Byzantines, who had retreated across the river Po on the stream Lamone, near Faventia.[5][6]
Battle
Before crossing the river, Totila dispatched 300 men by a roundabout route along the river for 20 stades[a] and cross the river to strike the Byzantines from behind their camp, while he and the main army crossed the river to engage the Byzantines head-on.[4][6] The Byzantines convened a council upon hearing of Totila's advance. Contemporary Procopius reports that Artabazes the Armenian sensibly suggested to allow half of the Gothic army to cross the river before launching an attack. However, disagreements among the commanders caused the Byzantines to miss this opportunity.[4] The Goths crossed the river unopposed and marched to the Byzantine camp.[7]
The Goths sought to delay the fighting as the two armies drew near by issuing a challenge to single combat. The Gothic champion was Valaris and rode to the middle of the battlefield. Artabazes accepted the challenge on the other side. Artabazes slew Valaris with a thrust of his long spear, but in doing so, he was wounded when his horse carried him against the upright spear.[6] Physicians attempted to treat his injuries, but he died three days later. The loss of a capable commander was a blow to the Byzantines.[8]
The battle commenced soon after the duel. Once the fighting reached its height, the 300 Goths attacked the rear of the Byzantine lines. Panic spread among the Byzantines, who broke ranks and fled,[8] leaving the Byzantine standards to fall into the hands of the Goths.[5]
Following his success against the Byzantines, Totila sent part of his troops to attack Florence. Justin, the Byzantine commander of Florence, had neglected to adequately provision the city against a siege since he was not expecting an attack, and hurriedly sent for aid to the other Byzantine commanders in the area: John, Bessas, and Cyprian. They gathered their forces and came to the relief of Florence, but they were defeated in the Battle of Mucellium.[5][8][6] The Goths took captives, who were treated well and even induced to join the Gothic army.[b][10] Totila went on to seize Caesena and Petra Pertusa in the region of Umbria. However, Tuscany remained under Byzantine control. Subsequently, Totila did not attempt to conquer central Italy, where the Byzantines controlled large, well-fortified cities. Instead, he advanced rapidly through southern Italy with great success, including the capture of the fortress of Cumae.[11]
The Byzantine generals and the remaining troops fled to isolated strongholds (Bessas to Spoleto, Justin back to Florence, Cyprian to Perugia, and John to Rome),[11] where they made preparations against a potential siege as they did not want to meet the Goths in the open.[12] From that point onward, they failed to coordinate their efforts against the Goths, leading to the prolongation of the war.[c] In response to the setbacks in Italy, Justinian sent the civilian Maximin to be Praetorian Prefect of Italy, but Maximin's indecision left him unable to formulate an effective strategy against the Goths. As a result, Totila captured Naples and razed its walls to the ground. Then he advanced to besiege Rome in spring 544. Upon receiving this news, Justinian recalled general Belisarius from the eastern front, where he commanded a Byzantine force against Persia, and dispatched him to Italy.[14]
↑According to Procopius, Totila "showed great kindness to his prisoners, and thereby succeeded in winning their allegiance, and henceforth most of them voluntarily served under him against the Romans."[9]
↑Historian Ian Hughes argued that a contributing factor to the fractured Byzantine leadership was the 542 plague on Italian peninsula, while the commanders remained in place to avoid catching the plague.[13]
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