Siege of Rome

Significance

The Siege of Rome, begun in March 537, was a central engagement of the Gothic War of 535–554, in which Byzantine forces under Belisarius held the city against a substantially larger Ostrogothic army commanded by Vitiges. With a garrison recorded at approximately 5,000, the Byzantine defense of Rome represented the principal test of Belisarius's capacity to hold the Italian peninsula's most symbolically consequential city against the Ostrogothic counteroffensive. The ability or failure of the Byzantines to retain Rome bore directly on the broader imperial campaign to restore Roman authority over Italy under Justinian I.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)