Battle of Mons Lactarius

Battle of Mons Lactarius
Part of the Gothic War
Battle on the slopes of the Mount Vesuvius. Depiction by Alexander Zick, 1890.
Date October 552 or early 553 Location Monti Lattari, Campania, Italy Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Ostrogothic Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Narses	Teia   †
Strength
(max) 20,000 Byzantines [a] 5,500 Lombard allies 3,000 Heruls 400 Gepids	Unknown (Smaller force)

Ostrogoth territories between 508 and 534 AD, before the Byzantines launched a campaign to reclaim the Italian peninsula

Mosaic presumably depicting Narses

The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 552 or 553 AD during the Gothic War between Byzantine forces and the Ostrogoths near Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

Byzantine forces led by General Narses confronted the army of the Gothic King Teias in the rugged terrain near Mount Vesuvius. After two months of stalemate, the two sides finally engaged in open battle. Teias was killed in the fighting, marking the collapse of Gothic leadership. The remaining Ostrogothic troops resisted for a short time but ultimately surrendered under negotiated terms. This victory ended Ostrogothic power on the Italian peninsula, allowing the Byzantines to reestablish their authority there.

Prelude

After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth King Totila was killed, Narses proceeded towards Rome, seizing in the process Narni and Spoleto. The city of Rome was recaptured without difficulty and continued to besiege Cumae. ^[2]

Teias, the new Ostrogothic king and former second-in-command, gathered the remnants of the Ostrogothic army and sent envoys to the Franks in hopes of forming an alliance against the Byzantines. The Franks refused, preferring to let the Goths and Romans wear each other down, which would ease their own eventual conquest of Italy. ^{[3] [4]} Upon learning that Narses had laid siege to Cumae, Teias marched to break the siege, because Totila's hoard was stored in Cumae. ^[5] In response, Narses moved his army to block Teias near Vesuvius. ^[6]

Battle

Upon arrival, Teias positions himself at the foot of the Mount Vesuvius, near the site of Pompeii, on the left bank of the Sarno. ^[7] The Byzantines and Ostrogoths stood across a small stream for two months, with only minor skirmishes between them and single man combat at the single bridge of the stream. ^[7] The Ostrogoths had camped near the bridge of the stream and erected towers with ballistas. However, the Byzantines were able to cut off the supplies of the Ostrogoths, forcing Teias to take action as his army would face starvation. ^[8]

Ostrogoths withdrew from their initial position towards the Mount Lactarius, where they lured the Byzantine army in rough terrain. ^[9] At this location, they launched a surprise attack that took place on 1 or 30 October, with the Byzantines holding their ground. Both armies dismounted, due to the terrain, and adopted a deep phalanx formation. Teias led his forces to attack the Byzantine lines but Ostrogoths could not break through them. The Byzantine troops attempted several times to kill Teias by (some thrown) spears, only for Teias's comrades to resupply him with new shields. After several attempts, Teias died in the fight. His head was peaked by the enemy and it was fixed on a stake to discourage the Ostrogoths from fighting. ^[10] The Ostrogothic troops continued to fight for another two days. In the end, they send an envoy to negotiate their surrender. The Byzantines, wary of the Ostrogoths' fierce resistance, sought to avoid a prolonged battle and agreed to terms under strict conditions. ^[8]

Aftermath

The Ostrogothic prisoners were released under the oath to leave Italy carrying only the money that had with them. ^[8] The battle marked the end of Ostrogoths in the Italian penisula. Only a thousand Ostrogoths managed to escape under the leadership of Indulf and to resist until 555. However, without a new king being appointed, demonstrated the weakness of what remained of the Ostrogoths. ^[11] Narses was able to complete the conquest of the rest of Italy in 553, seizing the cities of Florence and Volterra. The Gothic Wars ended in October 554, when Narses defeated an invasion of the Franks and Alemanni in the Battle of Volturno.

See also

• Byzantine Empireportal

Footnotes

Notes

1. These numbers are based on Narses's army before invading Ostrogoth's territories in Italian peninsula, ^[1] so at the battle these numbers should be lower.

References

1. Hughes 2014, p. 233.
2. Syvänne 2021, pp. 344–345.
3. Syvänne 2021, p. 344.
4. Lin 2021, p. 407.
5. Hodgkin 1896, pp. 651–652.
6. Syvänne 2021, p. 345.
7. Hodgkin 1896, p. 653.
8. Syvänne 2021, p. 346.
9. Hodgkin 1896, p. 654.
10. Hodgkin 1896, p. 656.
11. Burns 1991, p. 215.

Sources

Primary

• Prokopios (1928) [c. 545–553]. The Wars of Justinian. Vol. VII & VIII. Translated by Dewing, H. B. London: William Heinmann Ltd.

Secondary

• Burns, Thomas (1991). A History of the Ostrogoths. Bloomington; Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. ISBN   978-0-25320-600-8.
• Hodgkin, Thomas (1896). Italy and Her Invaders: The imperial restoration, 535–553. Clarendon Press.
• Hughes, Ian (2014). Belisarius: the last Roman general. Barnsley. ISBN   978-1-4738-2297-9. OCLC   903161296.
• Lin, S. (2021). "Justinian's Frankish War, 552–c. 560" (PDF). Studies in Late Antiquity. 5 (3): 403–431. doi:10.1525/sla.2021.5.3.403.
• Syvänne, Ilkka (2021). Military History of Late Rome 518–565. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN   978-1-4738-9530-0.

Further reading

• Bury, John B. (2013) [1958]. History of the later Roman Empire from the death of Theodosius II. to the death of Justinian. New York. ISBN   9780486143392.