Byzantine forces advance against the Goths, who had recently lifted the siege of Florence and camped in Mugello. Although the Byzantines outnumbered the Goths, Totila's forces routed them the Byzantine detachment on a hillside, triggering panic that spread to the rest of the army leading to a complete collapse. The Goths captured prisoners, while the surviving Byzantine commanders fled to isolated strongholds. The lack of coordination by the remaining Byzantine forces allowed Totila to launch a successful campaign in southern Italy and eventually advance against Rome in 544.
Prelude
Following the murder of Gothic King Eraric, Justinian realized that the Goths were paralyzed by internal dissensions and his Byzantine commanders stationed in Italy had not done anything. He sent a letter reprimanding them for their inactivity and demanded action. The Byzantine commanders John, Bessas and Cyprian gathered in Ravenna to debate their course of action.[2] The Byzantine commanders decided to send Constantian and Alexander with 12,000 men to take Verona. However, 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. This led to the Battle of Faventia in spring 542, where Totila, commanding an army of about 5,000 men, pursued and defeated the Byzantine army.[3]
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.[1][4][3]
Battle
A photo of the modern day countryside near Galliano di Mugello capturing the topography of the regionTotila by Francesco Salviati, c. 1549
At the approach of the Byzantine army, the Goths raised the siege and retreated north, to the region of Mucellium. The Byzantine leadership decided to chose an elite force, comprising by the best men under each commander, to pursue the Goths, while the rest of the army follow at normal pace. The strategy called for a smaller force to launch a surprise attack to occupy the Goths, after which the main army would advance and decisively conclude the battle.[3] They cast a lot to chose who would lead the surprise attack and the lot fall on John. However, the other commanders were not willing to carry out the agreement by providing their best men for this attack, leaving John to rely on his own troops.[5][6] The Goths moved from the plain upon nearby hill upon the news that the Byzantines pursued them.[7][4]
John approached the Goths located on the hill, but the Goths vigorously defended their position against John's men by rushing down the hill with great shouts. The John's men initially held as John encouraged his men with great shout and eager gestures.[8] However, a javelin killed one of John's bodyguards and soon a rumor spread among the soldiers that John had fallen.[4][9] John's men broke and fled towards the oncoming main Byzantine force, which was deployed on the plain as a phalanx. The view of deserting troops spread the panic to the main army as well, resulting in the entire Byzantine army retreating in disorder.[1][10] Bessas was wounded by the pursuing Goths.[4]
Aftermath
The Goths took captives, who were treated well and even induced to join the Gothic army.[11] Totila went on to seize Caesena and Petra Pertusa in the region of Umbria, however, Tuscany remained under Byzantine control. Subsequently, he avoided the conquest of central Italy, where the Byzantines controlled large well-fortified cities, and instead advanced rapidly through southern of Italy with great success, including the capture of the fortress of Cumae.[12]
The Byzantine generals and the remaining troop fled to isolated strongholds (Bessas to Spoleto, Justin back to Florence, Cyprian to Perugia, and John to Rome),[12] where they made preparations against a potential siege as they did not wished to meet the Goths in the open.[13] From that point onward, they failed to coordinate their efforts against the Goths leading to the prolongation of the war.[b] In response to the setbacks in Italy, Justinian send civilian Maximin to be Praetorian Prefect of Italy, but Maximin's indecision left him unable to formulate an effective strategy. As a result, Totila captured and razed to the ground Naples, then advanced to besiege Rome in spring 544. Upon receiving this news, Justinian recalled general Belisarius from the eastern front against Persia and dispatched him to Italy.[14]
↑This was army size in the prior the Battle of Faventia, it is expected to be similar.[1]
↑Historian Ian Hughes argued that a contributing factor to the fractured Byzantine leadership was the 542 plague on Italian peninsula, which prompted the commanders to remain in place to avoid catching it.[10]
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