Count Belisarius (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Carey, Brian Todd; Allfree, Joshua B.; Cairns, John (2012). Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare, 527–1071. Casemate Publishers. p.210. ISBN 978-1-84884-916-7. One critical difference between ancient Rome and Justinian’s Constantinople, however, was in regard to discipline. The mercenaries and foreign auxiliaries were as highly trained as the Roman infantry of old but were more prone to disobedience. Since the most important part of the army was the cavalry, however, which naturally operated more loosely than infantry and depended more upon individual initiative, that vice was not as significant as it would have been to infantry fighting in close formation.

It is not a masterpiece of characterisation, except as to Belisarius' wife Antonina, but the book holds up as still very readable, with notweworthy asides such as letters about elephants and other such diversions:The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 363–628 by Geoffrey Greatrex, Samuel N. C. Lieu, pp. 108–110 [ ISBNmissing] Procopius of Caesarea; Dewing, Henry Bronson (1914), History of the wars. vol. 1, Books I-II, Cambridge University Press In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.

One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called " Last of the Romans". He conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the Gothic War. He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of Ad Decimum and played an important role at Tricamarum, compelling the Vandal king, Gelimer, to surrender. During the Gothic War, despite being significantly outnumbered, he and his troops recaptured the city of Rome and then held out against great odds during the siege of Rome. Legend as a blind beggar [ edit ] Bélisaire, by François-André Vincent (1776). Belisarius, blinded, a beggar, is recognized by one of his former soldiers.

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feels a bit off even for someone writing contemporaneous with the time period - the Gospels are hardly simple. That being said, the breakdown of internal politics and religion serve as useful lodestars.

In 544, Belisarius was reappointed to hold command in Italy. [15] Before going to Italy, Belisarius had to recruit troops. When he finished his force numbered roughly 4,000 men. Justinian wasn't able to allocate significant resources, as most troops were still needed in the east and the plague had devastated the empire. On December 9, 536 AD, Byzantine Count Belisarius entered Rome through the Asinarian Gate at the head of 5,000 troops. At the same time, 4,000 Ostrogoths left the city through the Flaminian Gate and headed north to Ravenna, the capital of their Italian kingdom. For the first time since 476, when the Germanic king, Odoacer, had deposed the last Western Roman emperor and crowned himself ‘King of the Romans,’ the city of Rome was once more part of the Roman empire–albeit an empire whose capital had shifted east to Constantinople.Belisarius is generally held in extremely high regard among historians. [15] This is mostly because of the victories at Dara, Ad Decimum and Tricamarum. Little attention has been paid to his defeats in the east and at the Battle of Rome. Brogna puts him among the best commanders in history, [12] Hughes says of him that he remains behind Alexander the Great and Caesar, but not by much. A dazzling historical novel set in the sixth century AD, from I, Claudius author Robert Graves, and with a new introduction by novelist Lydia Kiesling.

Belisarius and Justinian, whose partnership had increased the size of the empire by 45 percent, died within a few months of each other in 565. [45] Belisarius owned the estate of Rufinianae on the Asiatic side of the Constantinople suburbs. He may have died there and been buried near one of the two churches in the area, perhaps Saints Peter and Paul.Belisarius appears as the playable main protagonist in the Last Roman campaign DLC for Total War: Attila as well as the Historical Battle of Dara, The player receives missions of historical context. Starting at the beginning of the Vandal Wars, he leads the Roman Expedition to reconquer the West (North Africa, Italy, Gaul, Spain), officially for Justinian, but there's always the option to Declare Independence and turn Belisarius himself the Emperor of the West and what he conquers.