In 546, Rome was besieged for a year by the Gothic king Totila during the Gothic War between the Ostrogoths (Goths) and the Byzantine Empire. The siege caused devastating famine inside the city, worsened by corruption among Byzantine commanders, who hoarded grain and sold it at inflated prices to Rome's citizens. Some citizens died of suicide, while others died trying to flee the city. Attempts by General Belisarius to relieve the city failed due to poor coordination and setbacks. Belisarius fell ill and withdrew his forces. On 17 December 546, a group of Isaurian guards betrayed the city and assisted a small group of Goths in breaching the walls. The Goths opened one of the gates at night for the rest of the Gothic forces to enter Rome. Most of the inhabitants fled, leaving only a small number of civilians who sought refuge in churches. The city was then plundered. Totila planned to destroy the monuments and principal buildings of Rome, but he reconsidered after receiving a letter from Belisarius urging him to spare the city. The Goths partially dismantled Rome's walls before withdrawing, aiming to weaken its strategic value for the Byzantines to recapture it. Despite the city's desolate state, Belisarius repaired the fortifications and successfully defended the city. The siege was the first check against Totila's streak of successes during the Gothic resurgence.
Background Following the fall of Ravenna in May 540 AD, Belisarius restored Sicily and most of the Italian Peninsula to Byzantine rule. His stratagem of inducing the Goths to surrender by offering him the Western imperial crown alarmed Emperor Justinian, who recalled him to Constantinople with Ravenna's treasury and the captive king Vitiges but denied him a triumph and reassigned him to the eastern front in advance of the Lazic War (541–562). Belisarius was replaced by three coequal commanders, whose rivalry and corruption led to indiscipline and plundering of the Italian countryside. Justinian's harsh tax audit to recover alleged Gothic-era arrears, combined with reduced rewards for wounded and distinguished soldiers, further alienated troops and civilians, collapsing morale and eroding Italian loyalty. Byzantine misrule strengthened the Goths under Ildibad, who defeated a Byzantine force at the Battle of Treviso and recovered much of the Po Valley. His reign was short-lived because he was assassinated before consolidating his power. The reign of Eraric followed, but it ended with his murder in late 541, because he secretly offered to abdicate and offer the kingdom to the Byzantines in exchange for the rank of patrician and a large payment. Through the turmoil among the Gothic aristocracy, Ildibad's nephew Totila became king. Reprimanded by Justinian for inaction to exploit Gothic disunity, the Byzantine commanders assembled to decide on a course of action. They decided to besiege Verona; however, they failed to capture Verona due to divided leadership. Totila took the initiative and pursued them and defeated a larger Byzantine army at the Battle of Faventia in spring 542. Advancing on Florence, Totila again routed Byzantine relief forces at the Battle of Mucellium. The Byzantines withdrew into fortified cities, while Totila bypassed central Italy and advanced rapidly to capture territories in southern Italy with the fall of Naples in March 543.
Totila steadily expanded his control over Italy by combining military success with conciliatory policies toward the Italian population, presenting himself as a liberator from Byzantine exactions. In the meantime, a plague (541–549) killed one-third of the Byzantine Empire's population, weakening Byzantium's ability to field armies.
Prelude In 544, Justinian sent Belisarius to reclaim what was lost to Totila, but with little support. At Salona, Belisarius, along with Vitalius, managed to assemble 4,000 men, who had little combat experience. Justinian presumably expected that the Italian population would provide the bulk of new recruits. Belisarius reached Ravenna, where he offered pardons to deserters and wrongdoers to encourage defections and recruit new soldiers, but failed to gain sufficient support, thereby exaggerating the lack of resources. He secured nearby fortresses and took Bononia, however, he then stalled as his troops refused to fight and then deserted, driven by news of a Hunnic attack on Illyricum where the soldiers had families, unpaid wages, and shortages in Italy. Belisarius then replaced Rome's commander, John the Sanguinary, with Bessas, and sent John to Constantinople to request reinforcements, money, and supplies from Emperor Justinian. Totila had overall the upper hand, being able to recover and maintain control of most of the countryside in the Italian Peninsula, whose farmers continued to live their lives by paying taxes to the Goths. This level of control provided him the ability to field his army over an extended period of time. When Totila learned that Belisarius was at Pola en route to Ravenna, he used a ruse to gather intelligence. He sent a forged letter to Belisarius, posing as the commander of the Byzantine garrison at Genoa. The letter was delivered by five men who had been instructed to assess the strength of Belisarius's forces. Belisarius believed the message, allowing the agents to report back that his forces were small. In the meantime, Totila captured Tibur after local inhabitants admitted the Goths during a dispute with the Isaurian guards. The Isaurians fought but were defeated, and many escaped. However, the city's civilians were massacred by the Goths. The fall of Tibur also cut off a key supply route from Tuscany to Rome. Totila continued in capturing the cities of Firmum and Asculum as he was becoming convinced that Belisarius was unable to stop him. In late 545, proceeded to encircle Rome.
Siege
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