After delivering this exhortation Totila commanded three hundred of his troops to cross the river at a distance of about twenty stades from where he stood and get behind the enemy’s camp, and when the battle should come to close quarters, to fall upon their rear, harassing them with their missiles and assailing them with all their strength, in order that the Romans might be thrown into confusion and abandon all thought of resistance. He himself, meanwhile, with the rest of the army straightway crossed the river and advanced directly upon his opponents; and the Romans immediately came out to meet him. And when, as both armies advanced, they came nearer to each other, a Goth, Valaris by name, tall of stature and of most terrifying mien, an active man withal and a good fighter, rode his horse out before the rest of the army and took his stand in the open space between the armies, clad in a corselet and wearing a helmet on his head; and he challenged all the Romans, if anyone was willing to do battle with him. Whereupon all remained quiet, being stricken with terror, save Artabazes alone, who advanced to fight the man. So they rode their horses toward each other, and when they came close, both thrust their spears, but Artabazes, anticipating his opponent, delivered the first blow and pierced the right side of Valaris. And the barbarian, mortally wounded, was about to fall backward to the earth, but his spear, resting on the ground behind him and being braced against a rock, did not permit him to fall. As for Artabazes, he continued to press forward still more vigorously, driving the spear into the man’s vitals; for as yet he did not suppose that he had already suffered a mortal wound. Thus it came about that Valaris’ spear stood practically upright and its iron point encountered the corselet of Artabazes, and first, entering little by little, it went clear through the corselet, and then, slipping further, grazed the skin of Artabazes’ neck. And by some chance the iron, as it pushed forward, cut an artery which lies in that region, and there was immediately a great flow of blood. However, the man experienced no feeling of pain, and he rode back to the Roman army, while Valaris fell dead on the spot. But the flow of blood from Artabazes’ wound did not abate and on the third day afterwards he departed from among men; and this mishap shattered all the hopes of the Romans, since he was rendered unfit for fighting in the engagement which followed, and himself injured their cause in no small degree. For while he went out of range of missiles and was caring for his wound, the two armies engaged with each other.
But when the engagement was hottest, the three hundred barbarians suddenly appeared advancing behind the Roman army; and when the Romans saw these men, supposing as they did that their assailants were a great multitude, they fell into a panic and straightway rushed off in flight, each man as best he could. And the barbarians kept up a slaughter of Romans as they fled in complete disorder, and many of them they captured and held under guard, and they captured all the standards besides, a thing which had never before happened to the Romans. As for the commanders, each one of them as he could fled with only a few men, and finding safety in whatever cities they happened to reach they continued to guard them.
V
NOT long after this Totila sent an army against Justinus and Florentia, putting in command of the force the most warlike of the Goths, Vledas, Roderic, and Uliaris. And when they came to Florentia, they established themselves in camp about the wall and entered upon a siege. Thereupon Justinus, in great agitation because, as it happened, he had brought no provisions at all into the city, sent to Ravenna to the commanders of the Roman army, begging them to come to his assistance with all speed. And the messenger slipped unobserved through the enemy’s lines by night, and upon reaching Ravenna reported the situation which confronted the garrison. As a result of this intelligence a considerable Roman army immediately started on the way to Florentia, under command of Bessas, Cyprian and John the nephew of Vitalian. When the Goths learned of this army through their scouts, they broke up the siege and withdrew to a place called Mucellis, one day’s journey distant from Florentia. And when the Roman army had joined forces with Justinus, the commanders left there a few of his men to guard the city, but took the rest along with them and proceeded against the enemy.
And as they proceeded on their way it was decided that the most advantageous plan was for one of the commanders to choose out the most famous fighters in the whole army and with them go in advance of the others, and make a sudden and unexpected attack upon the enemy, while the rest of the army should proceed without quickening its pace and come upon the scene later. So they cast lots with this plan in view and awaited the decision of fortune in the matter. Now the lot fell out for John, but the commanders were no longer willing to carry out the agreement. Thus it was that John was compelled with his own troops alone to go in advance of the others and make an attack upon the enemy. But the barbarians, learning that their opponents were advancing upon them and being greatly terrified, decided to abandon the plain where they had established their camp, and in confusion ran to the top of a high hill which rises near by. And when the force of John arrived there, they too ran up against the enemy and opened the attack. But since the barbarians defended themselves vigorously, a violent struggle took place and many men on both sides, while making a remarkable display of heroism, were beginning to fall. Now though John had led a charge with loud shouting and tumult against the enemy opposite him, it so happened that one of his bodyguards was hit by a javelin thrown by one of the enemy and fell, as a result of this the Romans, now repulsed, began to retire to the rear.
By this time the remainder of the Roman army also had reached the plain, where they formed a phalanx and stood waiting. And if they had stood fast to give support to John’s troops, which were now in full flight, they could have advanced all together upon the enemy, and not only would they have defeated them in the battle, but they would have been able also to capture practically the whole force. But by some chance it so fell out that an untrue report was circulated through the Roman army to the effect that John had perished at the hand of one of his own bodyguards during the action then in progress. And when the report came to the commanders, they were no longer willing to hold their position, but they one and all began to retire in a disgraceful sort of retreat. For neither did they keep their troops in order, nor did they move off in any kind of groups, but each man for himself, just as he could, rushed off in headlong flight. And many indeed perished in this flight, and as for the rest, all such as were saved continued their flight for many days although they were not pursued at all. And some time afterwards they entered such strongholds as each one happened upon, and the report they carried to those they chanced to meet was only this, that John was dead. And consequently they were no longer in contact with each other, nor had they any purpose of uniting thereafter against the enemy, but each remained inside the circuit-wall of his own fort and began to prepare for a siege, fearing that the barbarians would come against him. Totila, meanwhile, was shewing great kindness to his prisoners, and thereby succeeded in winning their allegiance, and henceforth the most of them voluntarily served under him against the Romans. And the winter drew to its close, and the seventh year ended in this war, the history of which Procopius has written. [542 A.D.]
VI
AFTER this Totila took the fortresses of Caesena and Petra. And a little later he entered Tuscany and made trial of the places there; but since no one was willing to yield to him, he crossed the Tiber, and, carefully refraining from entering the territory of Rome at all, he advanced immediately into Campania and Samnium and with no trouble won the strong city of Beneventum, the walls of which he razed to the ground, in order that any army coming from Byzantium might not be able, by using this strong base, to cause trouble for the Goths. After this he decided to besiege Naples, because the inhabitants, in spite of his many winning words, were quite unwilling to receive him into the city. For Conon was keeping guard there with a force of a thousand Romans and Isaurians. And Totila himself with the greater part of the army made camp not far from the fortifications and remained quiet, but he sent off a part of the army a
nd captured the fortress of Cumae and certain other strongholds, from which he succeeded in gathering in great sums of money. And finding the wives of the senators there, he not only refrained from offering them any insult, but actually shewed such kindness as to let them go free, and by this act he won a great name for wisdom and humanity among all Romans.
And since no hostile force was operating against him, he was constantly sending small detachments of the army round about and accomplishing results of great importance. In this way he brought the Brutii and Lucani under his sway, and gained Apulia as well as Calabria. And he himself collected the public taxes and also received the revenues from the land instead of those who owned the estates, and in all other matters he conducted himself as having become master of Italy. In consequence of this the Roman soldiers naturally did not receive their customary payments at the times appointed, and the emperor owed them great sums of money. Because of this situation the Italians, on the one hand, having been evicted from their property and finding themselves for the second time in very grave peril, were beginning to feel greatly dejected, while the soldiers, on the other hand, were shewing themselves increasingly insubordinate to their commanders, and were glad to remain inside the cities. So Constantianus was holding Ravenna, John Rome, Bessas Spolitium, Justinus Florentia, and Cyprian Perusia; and each one of the others was holding whatever town had originally provided him shelter and safety in his flight.
Upon hearing of these things, the emperor, in sore distress, made all haste to appoint Maximinus pretorian prefect of Italy, commissioning him to exercise authority over the commanders for the purpose of carrying on the war, and to furnish the soldiers with provisions according to their needs. And he sent a fleet of ships with him, manning them with Thracian and Armenian soldiers. The leader of the Thracians was Herodian, and of the Armenians Phazas the Iberian, nephew of Peranius; and a few Huns also sailed with them. So Maximinus sailed forth from Byzantium with the whole fleet and reached Epirus in Greece, where for no good reason he proceeded to settle down and waste precious time. For he was utterly inexperienced in warlike deeds, and was consequently both timid and exceedingly prone to delay.
Later on the emperor sent Demetrius also as general, a man who had previously served under Belisarius as commander of a detachment of infantry. So Demetrius sailed to Sicily, and, upon learning that Conon and the inhabitants of Naples were exceedingly hard pressed by the siege, being altogether out of provisions, he wished indeed to go to their assistance with all speed, but was unable to do so because the force which followed him was so small as to be of little consequence, and so devised the following plan. Gathering as many ships as possible from all Sicily and filling them with grain and other provisions, he set sail, making it appear to his opponents that some enormous army was aboard the ships. And he judged the mind of the enemy correctly; for they thought that a great army was coming upon them, reaching this conclusion just because they had learned that a huge fleet was sailing from Sicily. And if Demetrius had been willing at the very first to steer straight for Naples, I believe that he would have both struck terror into the enemy and saved the city, without a man opposing him. But as it was, he felt that the danger involved was too great, and so did not put in to Naples at all, but sailing to the harbour of Rome began hastily to gather soldiers from there. But the soldiers at Rome, having been defeated by the barbarians and still regarding them with great awe, were by no means willing to follow Demetrius against Totila and the Goths. Thus it came about that he was compelled to go to Naples with only the troops who had come with him from Byzantium.
Now there was another Demetrius, a Cephalenian by birth, who had previously been a sailor and was thoroughly skilled in all matters pertaining to the sea and its dangers, and having sailed with Belisarius to Libya and to Italy, he had become noted for this skill of his; and for this reason the emperor had appointed him governor of Naples. And when the barbarians began to besiege the town, he was so carried away by a spirit of utter wantonness that he commenced to heap insults upon Totila, and continued often to do so, and the man was observed to have an exceedingly reckless tongue during this time of stress.
As the situation became worse and the loss of life among the besieged was becoming serious, this man, acting on the advice of Conon, had the daring to embark secretly on a skiff and go alone to the general Demetrius. And having, to everybody’s surprise, made the voyage in safety and coming before Demetrius, he endeavoured with all his power to stir him to boldness, and urged him on to undertake the task before him. But Totila had heard the whole truth about this fleet and was holding many ships of the swiftest sort in readiness; and when the enemy put in at that part of the coast, not far from Naples, he came upon them unexpectedly, and filling them with consternation turned the whole force to flight. And although he killed many of them, he captured a very large number, and there escaped only as many as succeeded at the first in leaping into the small boats of the ships, among whom was Demetrius the general. For the barbarians captured all the ships with their cargoes, crews and all, among whom they found Demetrius, the governor of Naples. And cutting off his tongue and both his hands, they did not indeed kill him, but released him thus mutilated to go where he would. This then was the penalty which Demetrius paid to Totila for an unbridled tongue.
VII
LATER on Maximinus also put in at Sicily with all his ships, and upon reaching Syracuse he remained quiet, being terrified at the perils of war. Now when the commanders of the Roman army learned of his coming, they all sent to him with great eagerness, begging him to come to the rescue with all speed; and Conon sent a particularly urgent message from Naples, where he was most vigorously besieged by the barbarians; for by this time all their provisions had been exhausted. But Maximinus, after delaying through the whole critical period in such a state of terror, was finally moved by his fear of the emperor’s threats and gave way before the abuse of the other commanders; so, while he himself still remained just where he was, he sent the whole army to Naples with Herodian, Demetrius and Phazas, the winter season being already very close upon them.
But when the Roman fleet had reached a point close to Naples, a violent wind came down upon them, raising an extraordinarily severe tempest. And the darkness covered everything, while the surging waters prevented the sailors from pulling their oars or handling the ships in any other way. And because of the roar of foaming waves they were no longer able to hear one another, but complete confusion prevailed and they were at the mercy of the wind’s violence, which carried them, little as they wished it, to the very shore where the enemy were encamped. The barbarians, therefore, boarding the craft of their opponents at their leisure, began to kill the men and sink the ships without meeting any opposition. And they also captured along with many others the general Demetrius. But Herodian and Phazas with some few men succeeded in making their escape, because their ships did not come very close to the enemy’s camp. Such was the fate of the Roman fleet.
And Totila fastened a cord about Demetrius’ neck and so dragged him up to the wall of Naples, where he ordered him to advise the besieged no longer to ruin themselves by trusting in hopes of no avail, but to hand the city over as quickly as possible to the Goths and thus rid themselves of bitter hardships; for the emperor, he said, was unable thereafter to send them further aid, but in this fleet both their strength and their hope had utterly perished. So Demetrius spoke the words which Totila commanded. And the besieged, being now exceedingly hard pressed by famine and utter destitution, upon seeing the fate of Demetrius and hearing all his words, began to despair of every hope, and gave way to sorrowing and helplessness, and the city was filled with loud tumult and lamentation.
Afterwards Totila himself called them up to the battlement, and addressed them as follows: “Men of Naples, it is not because we have any charge or reproach to bring against you, that we have undertaken this present siege, but in order that we may be able, by freeing you from most hated masters, to repay you for the service you
have rendered us during this war — a service which has induced the enemy to treat you with the utmost severity. For it has come about that you alone among all the Italians have manifested the greatest loyalty to the Gothic nation and have fallen most unwillingly under the power of our opponents. So that, in the present circumstances, when we have been compelled to besiege you along with them, we naturally have a feeling of reluctance on account of your loyalty to us, although we are not carrying on the siege in order to harm the Neapolitans. Do not, therefore, in vexation at the miseries arising from the siege, think that you ought to regard the Goths with anger. For those who are striving to benefit their friends merit from them no blame, even though they be compelled to use unpleasant means in accomplishing the service they afford them. And as for the enemy, let not the least fear of them enter your hearts, and be not led by past events to think that they will gain the victory over us. For the unreasonable events of life, which are due to chance and contrary to expectation, are apt as time goes on to come to naught again. And such is the good-will which we feel toward you that we make the concession that both Conon and all his soldiers may go free from harm wherever they may wish, on the one condition that they yield the city to us and depart hence, taking with them all their own possessions; and nothing shall prevent our taking an oath to secure these promises and to guarantee the safety of the Neapolitans.”
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 66