Introduction
In the annals of Roman history, few figures loom as large as Flavius Belisarius, the great general of the 6th century AD who has been hailed as the "Last of the Romans". Born in the twilight of the Western Roman Empire, Belisarius led the armies of the Eastern Empire in a series of dazzling campaigns that briefly rekindled the glory of Rome‘s golden age. But who was this enigmatic commander, and why has he been granted such an illustrious epithet? To answer these questions, we must delve into the tumultuous world of the late Roman Empire and trace the remarkable career of its most brilliant soldier.
The Roman World in the 6th Century
To understand the significance of Belisarius, we must first set the stage. By the dawn of the 6th century, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former self. The Western half of the empire had collapsed under the onslaught of Germanic invasions, with the last Western Emperor deposed in 476 AD. The Eastern half, based in Constantinople, survived and even prospered, but it faced a host of challenges. The old Latin-speaking aristocracy was giving way to a new Greek-speaking elite, the imperial army was increasingly reliant on foreign mercenaries, and the empire was beset by powerful enemies on all fronts, from the Sassanid Persians in the East to the Germanic kingdoms of the West.
It was into this world that Belisarius was born, around the year 500 AD, in the province of Illyria. This region, encompassing much of the modern Balkans, straddled the Latin West and the Greek East, and it produced many of the empire‘s finest soldiers. Growing up in this martial culture, Belisarius was steeped in the military traditions of Rome, and he would carry these with him throughout his illustrious career.
The Rise of Belisarius
Belisarius‘ early life is shrouded in obscurity, but we know that he entered imperial service as a young man and rose rapidly through the ranks. His exceptional talents were recognized by the Emperor Justinian I, who appointed him to a series of high commands. In 530 AD, Belisarius won a stunning victory over the Sassanid Persians at the Battle of Dara, cementing his reputation as a brilliant tactician and leader of men.
Battle of Dara (530 AD)
Roman Forces: ~25,000
Persian Forces: ~40,000
Result: Decisive Roman VictoryThis victory was a turning point for both Belisarius and the empire. Justinian, who dreamed of reconquering the lost provinces of the West, now knew he had a general capable of realizing his grand ambitions. And Belisarius, still in his early 30s, had proven himself as one of the foremost commanders of his age.
The Vandal War
Justinian‘s first target was North Africa, which had been lost to the Vandals in the 5th century. In 533 AD, Belisarius was dispatched with a small but elite force of just 15,000 men to bring the Vandal Kingdom to heel. Landing near the ancient city of Carthage, Belisarius moved with lightning speed and audacity. In two pitched battles, Ad Decimum and Tricamarum, he routed the larger Vandal armies and sent their king, Gelimer, fleeing into the mountains.
Belisarius‘ Army in the Vandal War
Infantry: 10,000
Cavalry: 5,000 (including 1,500 elite bucellarii)Within a matter of months, the entire Vandal Kingdom had fallen, and North Africa was once again a Roman province. Belisarius‘ conquest was so swift and complete that it sent shockwaves throughout the Mediterranean world. The Eastern Empire, long dismissed as a decadent rump state, had suddenly emerged as a power to be reckoned with.
The Gothic War
Buoyed by his success in Africa, Justinian next set his sights on Italy, the heartland of the old Western Empire. Here, the Ostrogothic Kingdom held sway, ruled by the formidable King Theodoric. In 535 AD, Belisarius was once again called upon to lead the imperial forces, this time in an even more ambitious campaign to reclaim the lost cradle of Roman civilization.
Crossing the Strait of Messina, Belisarius swiftly overran Sicily and then pushed north into the Italian mainland. His progress was initially swift, as he captured Naples and then, in a daring move, the city of Rome itself. But the Ostrogoths, under their new king Vitiges, proved to be a more formidable adversary than the Vandals. They laid siege to Rome, and though Belisarius held out heroically, he was eventually forced to retreat.
Siege of Rome (537-538 AD)
Ostrogothic Forces: ~50,000
Roman Defenders: ~5,000
Duration: 1 year, 9 months
Result: Roman victoryThe Gothic War would drag on for nearly two decades, marked by a series of hard-fought campaigns and reversals of fortune. Belisarius, hampered by limited resources and the intrigues of the imperial court, struggled to maintain his gains in the face of determined Ostrogothic resistance. At one point, the Goths even offered to make Belisarius himself the Western Emperor, but he refused out of loyalty to Justinian.
Despite his ultimate failure to reconquer Italy, Belisarius‘ campaigns in the West marked the high-water mark of Justinian‘s imperial ambitions. They also showcased the general‘s remarkable military skills, his mastery of siegecraft, logistical planning, and combined arms warfare. In an age of declining Roman military prowess, Belisarius stood out as a beacon of the old martial virtues.
The Last of the Romans
So why is Belisarius remembered as the "Last of the Romans"? To answer this, we must consider his unique place in the arc of Roman history. Born in the Latin-speaking west and steeped in the military traditions of the old empire, Belisarius represented a final link to the glory days of Rome‘s imperial past. His campaigns in Africa and Italy, though ultimately ephemeral, briefly rekindled the dream of a united Roman world stretching from the Atlantic to the Euphrates.
But Belisarius was also a man out of time. The world he fought to restore was already passing away, giving way to a new order shaped by the rise of Germanic kingdoms in the West and the ascendancy of Greek culture in the East. The very army he led, though still bearing the eagles and standards of old Rome, was a polyglot force of Huns, Heruls, Gepids, and other barbarian auxiliaries.
In this sense, Belisarius stood at the cusp of a great historical transition. He was the last of the great Roman generals in the mold of Caesar, Scipio, and Trajan, leading Roman legions in the name of an Emperor in Italy. But he was also the first of the Byzantine commanders, fighting to preserve a new empire centered in Constantinople and increasingly divorced from its Latin roots.
This duality is captured in the words of Procopius, Belisarius‘ chronicler and sometime critic, who wrote in his History of the Wars:
"For in the beginning, when the Roman Empire was divided, the emperors who succeeded to the throne in the West were styled "Emperor of the Romans" … but the emperors in the East were called "Emperor of the Romans" in the same way, yet each was designated simply as "Emperor of the Romans", without distinguishing the Eastern or Western empire. But in later times the emperor in the West came to be called "Emperor of the Romans", and the one in the East was designated simply as "Emperor" (Procopius, History of the Wars, III.1.1-2)
In this passage, Procopius highlights the shifting political and cultural landscape of the 6th century, as the idea of a single, indivisible Roman Empire gave way to a new reality of competing Eastern and Western spheres. Belisarius, the Latin-speaking general fighting for a Greek-speaking emperor, embodied this moment of transition.
Belisarius‘ Legacy
Though his reconquests were short-lived, and his victories often pyrrhic, Belisarius left an indelible mark on the history of the late Roman world. His campaigns in Africa and Italy, though ultimately unsuccessful, bought the Eastern Empire valuable time and strategic depth, allowing it to consolidate its hold on the Balkans and Middle East. Without Belisarius‘ efforts, it is doubtful whether the Eastern Empire, soon to be known as Byzantium, would have survived the tumultuous centuries to come.
Moreover, Belisarius‘ legend would long outlive him. His name became a byword for military genius and romantic heroism, celebrated in art, literature, and folk tradition. In the 12th century, the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene would write admiringly of Belisarius in her Alexiad, comparing him favorably to her own father, the Emperor Alexios I. And in the West, Belisarius would be remembered as a paragon of chivalry, his exploits celebrated in Renaissance epics and operas.
But perhaps the most enduring legacy of Belisarius is the idea he embodied – the dream of a united Roman world, stretching from the British Isles to the Persian Gulf. This vision, though never fully realized, would inspire generations of conquerors and statesmen, from Charlemagne to Napoleon. And though the Western Roman Empire would never be restored, its memory would live on, a ghostly presence haunting the medieval and modern imagination.
Conclusion
In the end, Belisarius remains a figure of enduring fascination – a man who straddled two worlds, the ancient and the medieval, the Latin and the Greek, the pagan and the Christian. His career, marked by brilliant victories and tragic reversals, encapsulates the tumultuous history of the 6th century, a time of great upheaval and transformation. And his legacy, as the last of the great Roman generals, reminds us of the enduring power and majesty of the civilization he fought to defend.
Though the world he knew would pass away, replaced by the feudal kingdoms of the Middle Ages and the Islamic caliphates of the East, Belisarius‘ memory endures as a symbol of a lost golden age. In his courage, his loyalty, and his indomitable spirit, we can still catch a glimpse of the glory that was Rome.
