At one point in the Gothic War during the reign of Justinian, the Romans (or as we would now call them, “Byzantines”) under Belisarius were besieging a Gothic garrison at the town of Osimo in Italy. The blockade of the town was very effective, and the inhabitants had been reduced to eating almost anything to stay alive. But they were hoping to get some relief from the siege; their plan was to beg the Gothic commander Vittigis at the city of Ravenna to come to their aid.
Any fortress can be stormed, and any city can be taken. It is a matter of using the correct tactics, combined with daring and imaginative leadership. Some citadels fall to guile, and others to brute force; still others yield to a combination of the two. We will consider the fall of Naples, an event that took place during the Gothic War (A.D. 535-554). This was one of the emperor Justinian’s wars to reassert imperial control over Italy from the occupying Goths.
Gelimer lived from about 480 to 550 A.D. and was the ruler of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa for four years from 530 to 534. The emperor Justinian aspired to restore Roman control over the region, and to this end sent his general Belisarius to expel the barbarian trespassers. This he did. Gelimer was also captured for good measure, and transported back to Byzantium as a prize of war.
The Emperor Justinian (A.D. 485-565) and his wife, the Empress Theodora, are well-known sovereigns of the eastern Roman Empire. The absolute power which centered around the throne at this period in history encouraged palace intrigues of all sorts, and their reign was no exception. One of the more interesting stories of betrayal and revenge during their rule is that of John the Cappadocian, the Praetorian Prefect of the East. He was a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and was of obscure background. He came to the attention of the emperor somehow during the scope of his duties as a magister militum (master of soldiers). By his own schemes he rose up through the ranks to become Praetorian Prefect around A.D. 531.
Quintus Curtius 
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