Siege of Milan (538–539)

For similar terms, see Siege of Milan (disambiguation).

Siege of Milan
Part of the Gothic War (535–554)
First five years of Belisarius's campaigns in Italy
Date April 538 – March 539 Location Milan, Italy Result Ostrogoth victory Territorial changes Ostrogoths captured Milan
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Ostrogothic kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Mundilas	Uraias
Strength
Unknown local garrison 300 Isaurians and Thracians [1]  (POW)	Unknown Gothic forces 10,000 Burgundians [1]
Casualties and losses
Male citizens  Women (POW)	Unknown

The siege of Milan (also called siege of Mediolanum ) took place in April 538 – March 539 where the Ostrogoths (Goths) seized control of Milan from Byzantine, as part of the Gothic War (535–554).

After the Goths lifted their siege of Rome, Byzantine general Belisarius sent Mundilas to occupy Milan in April 538. The non-Goth citizens of Milan welcomed the Byzantine forces. Upon the news, the Gothic King Witiges sent an army under the leadership of his nephew Uraias, along with Burgundian allies, to recover Milan. During the siege, the city endured severe famine as relief efforts by Byzantines were delayed due to disputes among their leadership, Belisarius and Narses. Eventually, Milan capitulated in March 539, and the Goths killed the male inhabitants 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. The fall of Milan was a major setback for the Byzantine campaign in Italy and exposed flaws in their command structure. In response to the fall of Milan, Emperor Justinian called Narses back to Constantinople, leaving Belisarius as the sole commander-in-chief of the Byzantine forces in Italy.

Gothic War

Belisarius in the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

A coin depicting Theudebert I, the Frankish king who contributed to the fall of Milan

In 535, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian launched a campaign to liberate the Italian cities that were under the control of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. The commanders Belisarius, Mundus and Constantinianus had made swift gains, conquering Sicily and then southern Italian Peninsula, as well as regions of Dalmatia and Illyria. ^[2]

The Goths moved against the Byzantines in Rome with superior numbers. The siege failed because Belisarius sent John along with a cavalry detachment to raid Picenum. John ignored the fortified towns of Auximus and Urbinus, and instead captured the city of Ariminum. The loss of Ariminum led the king of the Goths, Witigis, to lift the siege of Rome and to recover Ariminum, due to its strategic location, i.e., a day's march from Ravenna, the capital of the Gothic kingdom. Belisarius sought to replace John's cavalry with infantry, but John refused to obey. Soon after this, the Goths besieged Ariminum and trapped John inside the town. Belisarius joined forces with general Narses, who had arrived with reinforcements from Constantinople. John's insubordination divided the Byzantine leadership into two factions: Belisarius and his supporters on one side, and Narses, who supported John, on the other. Belisarius was convinced by Narses to rescue John despite his insubordination. ^[3] Even with the reinforcements, Belisarius wanted to avoid a battle with the numerically superior Gothic forces. In July 538, he was able to break the siege of Ariminum without a fight with the use of psychological warfare tactics. ^{[4] [5]} Although John was rescued by Belisarius, John refused to show gratitude, claiming Narses deserved the credit for persuading Belisarius to save him. ^[6]

Prelude

Byzantine capture of Milan

After the Goths withdrew from Rome, Belisarius sent 1,000 Isaurians and Thracians, ^[7] as he had promised to Dantius, the arch-bishop of Milan. The Byzantine forces reached Genoa from Porto via the sea. Along with them came Fidelius, who was a native of Milan and praetorian prefect of Belisarius, to act as a representative of the Byzantines' good intentions. ^[8] In April 538, after crossing the river Po, they fought a pitched battle with the garrison of Milan, which had left the city, and won. At that time, Fidelius went to pray in a nearby church, and when he fell from his horse, Goths from the city came out of the city and killed him. ^{[8] [9]} Despite the setback, the Byzantine forces moved on and captured Milan and several towns Bergamum, Comum, and Novaria. These strongholds were necessary to secure Liguria, where Goths had deposited significant parts of their wealth. The Goth citizens of Milan felt betrayed when the rest of the Milanese citizens welcomed the Byzantine troops into the city. ^[10] Acting on the news, Witigis sent Uraias, his nephew, with an army to recover Milan. ^[7]

Frankish reinforcements

Theodebert I, who became king of Austrasia in 533, ruled territories on both sides of the Rhine as well as parts of Aquitaine and Burgundy. Although he had promised Justinian military support and was even called "father" in one of his letters, Theodebert pursued an opportunistic and expansionist policy. Ignoring his pledge, he instead chose to aid the Goths, sending 10,000 Burgundians across the Alps to support Uraias. ^[11] He claimed back to Justinian that the Burgundian army, having no Franks within, was not under his command and instead acting independently from his authority. ^[1]

Military actions during the siege

Siege

Remains of the Roman walls of Milan located inside the Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan

Gothic forces under Uraias surrounded Milan, isolating the city and cutting off supplies. As time progressed, starvation became severe inside the walls. Mundilas had 300 soldiers under his command, while the remaining 700 soldiers were distributed to other outposts in the area. He also relied on civilian support for the defense of the city. ^[1]

Byzantine division and relief delays

Belisarius recognized the growing tensions with Narses, fueled by his aides, and convened a meeting with the army officers. ^[12] At the meeting, he cautioned the officers against overconfidence, noting that the Goths still held numerical superiority and had only been defeated through the united Byzantine leadership. Belisarius outlined the surrounding Gothic forces and proposed dividing the army to relieve Milan while besieging Auximus, a strategic stronghold for the capture of Ravenna. ^[13] Narses opposed this plan, arguing instead for securing Via Aemilia and pressuring Ravenna. ^[a] Upon hearing Narses's argument, Belisarius revealed to him the emperor's letter stating that he had supreme authority. ^{[4] [14]}

We have not sent our steward Narses to Italy to command the army; for we wish Belisarius alone to command the whole army in whatever manner seems to him to be best, and it is the duty of all of you to follow him in the interest of our state. ^[15]

Narses responded that Belisarius's proposals were not "in the interests of the state" and thus he could not follow them. ^[16]

Belisarius continued to act as if the leadership was still united. He conducted the siege of Urbinus in which Narses and John participated. When negotiations with the Gothic garrison failed, John proclaimed that the city could not be captured, and Narses agreed. Despite Belisarius's pleas to stay, they withdrew their troops. Despite the setback, Belisarius employed conventional siege tactics with the construction of siege engines, but just before Byzantine forces stormed the walls, the defenders surrendered because the only stream supplying the town with fresh water dried up. ^[16] Astonished by such success, Narses sent John to capture Caesena, but this assault failed. John then moved to and captured Forocornelius. After the siege of Urbinus, Belisarius moved to support the siege of Urviventus upon rumors that the garrison was low on supplies, also capturing that city shortly after. ^[17]

Despite sporadic successes, the divided Byzantine forces soon became ineffective. Belisarius returned to Rome for the winter, but in late December, he sent an army under Martinus and Uliaris to relieve the siege of Milan. However, they hesitated to cross the Po River. ^[b] Mundilas managed to send word that the city was near collapse, prompting Martinus to request reinforcements. Belisarius ordered John and Justinus, who were closest (Aemilia region), to assist; however, they refused, citing Narses as their commander. Belisarius appealed to Narses, who approved the order, but when John set out to gather ships to cross the river Po, he fell ill, further delaying relief. ^{[17] [18]}

Negotiations and surrender

As the inhabitants of Milan were reduced to extreme starvation, Mundilas received envoys offering to spare the garrison's lives if they surrendered (placed in honorable captivity). Mundilas was willing to accept only if the civilians were also protected, but the Goths countered with protecting only the Goths living in the city, who felt betrayed by the Ligurians (Milanese inhabitants siding with the Byzantines) and sought revenge. Although Mundilas initially rejected the terms, his exhausted troops refused to attempt a sally and compelled him to accept the surrender conditions. ^[19]

Aftermath

Procopius recorded that the Goths executed 300,000 ^{[c] [20]} men, its women sold to Burgundians as payment for their services, and the city was razed to the ground. ^{[19] [21]} Milan, according to Procopius, was a populous and prosperous city on equal footing with Rome, and so the vengeful act by the Goths caused irrevocable damage. ^[d] Other notable people in the city did not have a better fate; they executed Reparatus, brother of Pope Vigilius and Praetorian prefecture of Italy by cutting him into pieces and throwing him to the dogs. ^[19] A brother of Reparatus, Cerventinus, escaped to Constantinople, where he told the events of the city's fall to Justinian. ^[22] The fall of Milan also led to the surrender of the recently captured towns of Bergomum, Comum, and Novaria. ^[17]

As a result of this setback, Narses was called back to Constantinople, while Belisarius, being the sole commander-in-chief of the Byzantine forces in Italy, prepared a campaign to capture Ravenna. ^{[23] [24]}

See also

• Byzantine Empireportal

Footnotes

Notes

1. Historian Ilkka Syvänne argues that Narses's strategy overlooked Gothic logistical weaknesses and effectively abandoned Milan, noting that eventually Belisarius proved correct. ^[4]
2. Historian Ian Hughes considers that the river may have overflowed due to seasonal rains. ^[17]
3. Historian John Bury argued this number may be exaggerated. Furthermore, Bury noted that, according to this figure, Milan had a population of approximately 600,000, similar to its population in 1958. ^[19]
4. Historian John Bury remarked that even in Attila's campaigns, there was no act of comparable savagery. ^[19]

References

1. Bury 1958, p. 203.
2. Hughes 2009, pp. 122–125.
3. Parnell 2015, pp. 119–120.
4. Syvänne 2021, p. 166.
5. Hughes 2009, p. 165.
6. Procopius 1924, Book VI part xviii.
7. Bury 1958, p. 202.
8. Hughes 2009, p. 159.
9. Amory 2003, pp. 174–175.
10. Amory 2003, p. 174.
11. Bury 1958, pp. 202–203.
12. Hughes 2009, p. 166.
13. Hughes 2009, pp. 166–167.
14. Heather 2018, p. 175.
15. Procopius 1924, Book VI part xviii [25–xix].
16. Syvänne 2021, p. 167.
17. Hughes 2009, p. 168.
18. Bury 1958, pp. 203–204.
19. Bury 1958, p. 204.
20. Procopius 1924, Book VI part xxi.
21. Parnell 2015, pp. 120–122.
22. Bury 1958, p. 205.
23. Parnell 2015, p. 122.
24. Procopius 1924, Book VI.xxiii.

Sources

Primary

• Procopius (1924) [545–553 AD]. Procopius: History of the Wars, Books VI and VII. Translated by Bronson Dewing, Henry. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Secondary

• Amory, Patrick (2003), People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, Cambridge University Press, ISBN   9780521526357
• Bury, John Bagnell (1958). History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. Vol. 2. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
• Heather, Peter J. (2018). Rome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199362745.
• Hughes, Ian (2009). Belisarius: The Last Roman General . Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing. ISBN   9781594160851. OCLC   294885267.
• Parnell, David A. (2015). "The social networks of Justinian's generals" (PDF). Journal of Late Antiquity. 8 (1): 114–135.
• Syvänne, Ilkka (2021). Military History of Late Rome 518–565. Yorkshire, PA: Pen and Sword Military. ISBN   978-1-4738-9530-0.

Further reading

• Brogna, Anthony (2015). The generalship of Belisarius. Hauraki Publishing. ISBN   9781786256058.
• Hodgkin, Thomas (1896). Italy and Her Invaders: The imperial restoration, 535–553. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Oman, Charles W. C. (1908). The Dark Ages, 476–918. London: Rivingtons.