Narses (comes)

Last updated

Narses was an Armenian military commander in service of the Sasanian Empire and later the Byzantine Empire.

Contents

Family

Narses was a native of Persarmenia, a part of Armenia under Sasanian Persian control. He was the brother of Aratius and Isaacius and possibly a member of the Kamsarakan family (a noble Armenian family of Parthian origin). [1]

Career

He is first recorded in 527 in service of the Sasanian military in the Iberian War, where he and his brother Aratius defeated Sittas and Belisarius in Persarmenia. [1]

Both Narses and Aratius, accompanied by their mother, deserted to the Byzantine Empire in summer of 530 and were welcomed with a large sum of money by the imperial sacellarius Narses, also a Persarmenian. [1] Their favorable reception also encouraged Isaacius to defect. [2]

In c. 535, he was the commander of the troops in Philae, Egypt, where he destroyed the pagan shrines of the Nobades and Blemmyes, as ordered by the emperor Justinian I. His office was probably dux Thebaidis at this point. As comes rei militaris he was active in Italy and the East. He was among the commanders sent by the sea against the Ostrogoths to raise the Siege of Ariminum (538). He is mentioned several times commanding troops in Italy, including in Siege of Auximum in 539. In 540, Narses was sent away from Ravenna by Belisarius. [1]

Narses was not given any military command until 543, when he was assigned a force of Armenians and Herules to fight the Sasanians. During the hasty invasion of 543 against Dvin, it was wrongly heard that the Sasanian army had left Anglon. Narses rebuked the other commanders for their slowness. In the Battle of Anglon that followed, there are sources that cite Narses and his forces were the first to engage. [3] In this account, which drew from the records of Procopius, the Sasanian army (or part of it) was driven back or feigned retreat back into the village, but Narses was caught in an ambush by the Sasanians who were hiding in the houses. [1] [3] He was hit in the temple in close combat and his and other Byzantine forces were routed. His brother Isaacius carried him away from the battlefield, but he died of his wound soon afterward. [1]

Related Research Articles

The 540s decade ran from January 1, 540, to December 31, 549.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narses</span> 6th-century Byzantine general

Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the Roman reconquest that took place during Justinian's reign. Narses was a Romanized Armenian. He spent most of his life as an important eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople.

The Battle of Callinicum took place on Easter Saturday, 19 April 531 AD, between an army of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius and a Sasanian cavalry force commanded by Azarethes. After being defeated at the Battle of Dara, the Sasanians moved to invade Roman Syria in an attempt to turn the tide of the war. Belisarius' rapid response foiled the plan, and his troops pushed the Persians to the Syrian border through maneuvering before forcing a battle in which the Sasanians won a Pyrrhic victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic War (535–554)</span> A war between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy

The Gothic War between the Eastern Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Justinian I and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy took place from 535 to 554 in the Italian Peninsula, Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica. It was one of the last of the many Gothic Wars against the Roman Empire. The war had its roots in the ambition of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justinian I to recover the provinces of the former Western Roman Empire, which the Romans had lost to invading barbarian tribes in the previous century, during the Migration Period.

Sittas was a Byzantine military commander during the reign of Emperor Justinian I. During the Iberian War against the Sassanid Empire, Sittas was given command of forces in Armenia, similar to the status of Belisarius in Mesopotamia. He won a victory over the Sassanids at the battle of Satala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belisarius</span> 6th-century Byzantine general

Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty</span> Period of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) history from 518 to 602

The Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty underwent a golden age, beginning in 518 AD with the accession of Justin I. Under the Justinian dynasty, particularly the reign of Justinian I, the empire reached its greatest territorial extent since the fall of its Western counterpart, reincorporating North Africa, southern Illyria, southern Spain, and Italy into the empire. The Justinian dynasty ended in 602 with the deposition of Maurice and the ascension of his successor, Phocas.

Adolius was a Byzantine silentiarius and military officer, active in the reign of Justinian I. He was a son of Acacius, proconsul of Armenia Prima. He is better known for his activities in the early stages of the Lazic War. The main source about him is Procopius.

Artabazes, whose name is often Latinized as Ardabastus, was a Sasanian cavalryman and later a Byzantine military officer, recorded taking part in the Roman-Persian Wars and Gothic War. He was killed just prior to the Battle of Faventia. The main source about him is Procopius.

Aratius was an Armenian military commander of the 6th century whose brother was Narses. He served at first the Sasanian Empire, then defected to the Byzantine Empire. He is primarily known for his activities in the Iberian War and the Gothic War. He was eventually killed in an ambush. Primary sources about him include Choricius of Gaza and Procopius of Caesarea.

Solomon was an East Roman (Byzantine) general from northern Mesopotamia, who distinguished himself as a commander in the Vandalic War and the reconquest of North Africa in 533–534. He spent most of the next decade in Africa as its governor general, combining the military post of magister militum with the civil position of praetorian prefect. Solomon successfully confronted the large-scale rebellion of the native Berbers, but was forced to flee following an army mutiny in spring of 536. His second tenure in Africa began in 539 and it was marked by victories over the Berbers, which led to the consolidation of the Byzantine position. A few years of prosperity followed, but were cut short by the rekindled Berber revolt and Solomon's defeat and death at the Battle of Cillium in 544.

John, the nephew of the rebel Vitalian, was an Eastern Roman general under Justinian I, who was active in the Gothic War in Italy and against the Gepids in the western Balkans. He was married to Justina, the daughter of Justinian's cousin Germanus.

Bessas was an Eastern Roman general of Gothic origin from Thrace, primarily known for his career in the wars of Justinian I. He distinguished himself against the Sassanid Persians in the Iberian War and under the command of Belisarius in the Gothic War, but after Belisarius' departure from Italy he failed to confront the resurgent Goths and was largely responsible for the loss of Rome in 546. Returning east in disgrace, despite his advanced age he was appointed as commander in the Lazic War. There he redeemed himself with the recapture of Petra, but his subsequent idleness led Justinian to dismiss him and exile him to Abasgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Thannuris</span> Battle fought in 528, near Dara in Mesopotamia

The Battle of Thannuris (Tannuris) (or Battle of Mindouos) was fought between the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire under Belisarius and the Persian Sasanian Empire under Xerxes in summer 528, near Dara in northern Mesopotamia.

The Battle of Anglon took place in 543 AD, during the Byzantine invasion of Sasanian-ruled Armenia ("Persarmenia").

Naved, Nabed, Nahbed, Nabedes, or Nobades was a Sasanian military commander during the reign of Khosrow I.

The siege of Auximus was a siege during Justinian’s Gothic War which took place in the year 539. It ended with Belisarius’ Byzantine force victorious. The Gothic garrison surrendered the town and joined the Byzantines after negotiations. The siege lasted 7 months.

The siege of Urbinus also called Siege of Urbino or Siege of Urbinum took place in the year 538 during Justinian's Gothic War. Earlier, when John took Ariminum, he had bypassed Auximus and Urbinus which would have to be taken now to secure the road to Ravenna. The Gothic king, Witigis, had sent a man called Moras with 2.000 troops to defend the city. In the year 538, the Byzantine commander, Belisarius went to besiege the town while another strong Byzantine contingents besieged Urviventus. The forces of Narses and John, other Byzantine commanders, who were undermining Belisarius' authority, joined him in this venture. Thinking the defenders would be terrified on seeing the Byzantine army, Belisarius sent envoys offering the garrison a chance to surrender. Narses and John set up camp separately form Belisarius, on the other side of the town, and, after negotiations with the garrison failed, totally abandoned the siege. They declared taking the town impossible and moved to capture Aemilia but while Belisarius was preparing to assault the town surrendered due to the failure of its spring. Astonished by such success, Narses sent John to capture Caesena but this assault failed. John then moved to and managed to capture Forocornelius. After this siege Belisarius moved to support in the siege of Urviventus, also capturing that city shortly after.

The siege of Ravenna of 539-540 took place during Justinian’s Gothic War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martindale, John R., ed. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527–641. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 928–930. ISBN   0-521-20160-8.
  2. ↑ An Universal History: From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time. London: C. Bathurst. 1780. p. 455.
  3. 1 2 Whately, Conor (2016). Battles and Generals: Combat, Culture, and Didacticism in Procopius’ Wars. Leiden: BRILL. p. 92. ISBN   978-90-04-31038-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.