Belisarius: The Emperor's Sword (1/6)

532 AD. Constantinople, the greatest city in the world, is in flames. But this is no barbarian attack. Citizens of the Eastern Roman Empire are rioting, murdering state officials and setting buildings on fire. Trapped inside his own palace, Emperor Justinian fears his reign is over. He's already given in to the mob's demands, and sacked his most hated officials. But now the crowds acclaim a new emperor, Hypatius. It's his wife, Empress Theodora, who'll give him the courage to act. And his most trusted general, Belisarius, to whom he'll turn to crush his enemies and save the regime. After centuries of imperial crisis, Justinian's reign will witness a Roman fightback that few had dreamed possible. Great victories over the barbarians, the reconquest of Rome itself, the reunification of the Empire. Belisarius is the commander who will lead this onslaught. He will be remembered as Rome's last great general. 527 AD. It's more than 50 years since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Rome itself, the Eternal City, is now part of an Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. But though Rome may have fallen, the Empire endures. The Eastern Roman Empire remains a force to be reckoned with. An estimated 30 million people live under the rule of the Emperor in Constantinople. His authority stretches from the ravaged Balkans, to the imperial breadbasket, Egypt, the Arabian Desert, to the mountains of Armenia. This Christian Empire remains unrivalled in administrative sophistication, economic power, and military might. But the new Emperor, Justinian, faces formidable challenges. In 527, he succeeds Justin, his uncle and adopted father, becoming the first son to succeed his father as Emperor in more than a century. Justinian is from a tough, peasant background in Thrace, what's now Serbia. He's highly educated, restless and driven, and sets himself two ambitious goals. First, to restore harmony in the Christian Church by ending the schism between Chalcedonian, or Orthodox, Christians and Meaphysites, who argue over Christ's human and divine nature. Second, to reform and rationalise Roman law, the divinely sanctioned institution that distinguishes the Roman world from the barbarian. The Imperial Majesty should not only be adorned with arms, but also be armed with laws, so that there may be good government in times both of war and peace, he later declares. But as for any Roman Emperor, the ultimate test of his legitimacy will come in war. For now, Justinian has good relations with the Vandals in North Africa, and the Ostrogoths in Italy. The Balkan frontier requires constant vigilance. The successors to Attila's Hun Empire are never quiet for long. But it's in the east that Justinian faces his most immediate challenge. The Persian Sassanid Empire, a rival superpower of the Middle East. This frontier has been a battleground for centuries, and witnessed its share of Roman defeats, including one emperor captured, another killed. For most of the last century, the shared menace of the Huns led to a wary coexistence. But it could not last. In 525, the Christian King of Iberia in the Caucasus appealed to the Romans for aid, when the Persian King Khavad tried to impose Zoroastrian rituals on his country. The Romans send military aid, and the conflict escalates, with both sides launching cross-border raids. When the Romans begin building a new fort at Minduos, the Persians attack, rout the Roman troops, and destroy the building works. One of the Roman generals to escape this debacle is Flavius Belisarius. Clearly he is not blamed, because the next year Justinian makes him commander of all Roman troops in the east, though he's barely 30 years old. Belisarius and the Emperor are old comrades, and come from the same humble background in Thrace. He had served in Justinian's own regiment when he was still heir to the throne. His wife Antonina is the best friend of Empress Theodora, and like her, from a dubious background in the acting profession. With both Roman and Persian empires mobilising for war, the next year, 530, will see Belisarius' first major test as a commander. The troops that Belisarius commands are far removed from the famous legions with which Rome conquered its empire centuries ago. Hard lessons learned from fighting Huns and Persians have helped to forge a new Roman army. For centuries, cavalry was the neglected arm of the Roman military, a role usually outsourced to foreign auxiliaries. Now, heavy armoured cavalry known as clipenari and cataphracti, armed with lance and sword, form the army's elite shock units. Some armoured cavalry, as well as cursores, light cavalry, also carry bows. The Romans, in imitation of the Huns and Persians, are now horse archers themselves. The best units are the bucellari, the biscuit-eaters, named after the army ration. These hand-picked soldiers form a general's personal regiment. Long service, good pay and equipment, plus a personal oath of loyalty, make them his most reliable troops. Roman archers are now armed with the more powerful composite reflex bows of the Huns. And while infantry is still made up around two-thirds of a Roman army, its role is more defensive, forming a secure base from which the cavalry could launch its attacks. The standard infantry unit is also smaller, called a numerus in Latin, parithmos in Greek, about regimental size, from 1,000 to 1,500 men. They're more mixed, with armoured veterans to form a fulcrum, or shield wall, and more missile troops behind them to unleash a barrage of arrows, javelins and darts. Finally, Rome boosts its military strength by recruiting the very barbarians it had once despised, including Huns, Goths and Heruli. Those outside the Empire are recruited as mercenaries. Those within serve as foederati, federates, and are usually commanded by their own officers. The military organisation of the Empire has also been overhauled. Two central field armies, stationed on either side of the Bosphorus, are commanded by a magister militum presentalis, and form a strategic reserve. Field armies based in Thrace, Illyria, Armenia and the East are each commanded by a magister militum, and form regional rapid-reaction forces. The frontiers are held by the limitani. These are the lowest-paid and least well-equipped troops, only expected to hold their fortified outposts until reinforcements arrive. Limitani are organised into local groups, each commanded by a dux, origin of our word, duke. Yet the thought has many times occurred to me, how many and how great are the benefits which accrue to states through history, which transmits to future generations the memory of those who have gone before, and resists the steady effort of time to bury events in oblivion? The historian Procopius is our key witness for the events of this period. He was born around 500 in the city of Caesarea in Palestine, and received a first-class education. In 527 he was appointed assessor, or legal advisor, to Belisarius. He effectively became the general's secretary, and on occasion aide-de-camp. Working from notes and writing in Greek, he would publish his great work, History of the Wars, in 551. Procopius' account is highly favourable to Belisarius, but there will be a sting in the tale, a scandalous secret history, which will emerge later in the tale. 530 AD. King Kavad sends an army to capture the Roman frontier fortress at Dara. Today the ruins of Dara lie on the Turkish-Syrian border, their scale hinting at the size of the Roman fortress that once stood here. Belisarius is warned that 40,000 Persian troops are advancing on Dara. He can only assemble 25,000 troops to meet them. For reasons that are unclear, Belisarius decides to make his stand outside the city walls to the south. His men dig ditches to strengthen their position, with both flanks thrown forward. The infantry is placed in the centre, with cavalry on both flanks. Two groups of 600 Hun mercenaries are positioned between them in support. At the rear, he places his reserve, his own buccalari. When the huge Persian army arrives before Dara, Belisarius is ready and waiting. The first day begins with a standoff. The two generals exchange letters. Belisarius urges Firuz to withdraw, to allow time for further negotiations. Firuz tells the Roman to prepare his bath – he intends to be in Dara by nightfall. The Persians launch one probing attack against the Roman left wing, perhaps testing their defences. The Persians are driven off, with seven killed. When a young Persian warrior rides between the lines, and challenges any Roman to face him in single combat, his offer is accepted by Andreas. Andreas has no military training, but he's a wrestling instructor of huge strength. Before the Persian knows what's happening, Andreas has knocked him off his horse with his lance, then dismounts to finish him off. Like a sacrificial animal, in the words of Procopius. Andreas later kills a second Persian challenger, to Roman cheers and the dismay of the Persians. The next morning, Firuz receives 10,000 reinforcements, bringing his total strength to 50,000. With odds of 2 to 1 in his favour, he decides to attack. Firuz forms up his army, with infantry and foot archers in the centre, and his Persian heavy cavalry, the Feerd Savaran, on both wings. He also divides his army into two parts, a front line and a reserve line, so that fresh troops can be rotated into the fighting. He keeps a unit of Immortals, the elite Persian heavy cavalry, as his personal reserve. But first, he waits. He knows the Romans usually eat in the morning, and are growing hungry, while his own troops are accustomed to eating later in the day. Finally, at noon, he gives the order. The Persian army advances to within bowshot, and both armies unleash a storm of arrows. Persia is famed for the skill of its archers, but today, the wind favours the Romans. When the archers run out of arrows, the Persian cavalry begins its advance. This is the moment Belisarius has prepared for. The Savaran crash into his left wing, driving the Roman horsemen back. But the Persians haven't spotted 300 Heruli horsemen, hidden behind a slope on the Roman left, waiting for this moment. They rush out from cover, and attack the Persian cavalry from behind. Then 600 Huns fall on their flank. Under this onslaught, the Persian cavalry turns and flees, with heavy losses. Firuz switches to the other flank, attacking with his heavy cavalry, supported by the elite Immortals. The Roman cavalry breaks under the pressure, streaming back to the walls of Daraa. But Belisarius has seen the threat. He recalls the Huns that are pursuing the Persian right wing, and launches both Hun groups, as well as his own bukelari, against the flank and rear of the Persian attack. It's the decisive moment of the battle. The Persian left wing suddenly finds itself under attack from three sides. Those that can't escape are cut down. Sunniqas, one of the Hun captains, kills a Persian standard-bearer, then-General Barsham himself, who commands the Persian left wing. With the elite units of the Persian army in flight, the infantry offers little resistance. Most are peasant conscripts, no match for Roman cavalry. Soon the entire Persian army is en route. Belisarius, content with his victory, and unwilling to risk any last-minute reverse, halts the pursuit. Procopius tells us 8,000 Persians lay dead on the battlefield, a number that could be accurate. For on that day, the Persians had been defeated in battle by the Romans, a thing which had not happened for a long time. Belisarius has won a brilliant victory for the Empire. Later that year, Sittas, magister militum of Armenia, wins another victory over the Persians at Satala. The war is swinging in Rome's favour. But the following year, encouraged by a Samaritan revolt in Palestine, King Kavad orders a large-scale raid along the Euphrates River. Belisarius assembles an army to meet them. But having ravaged Roman territory, the Persians are content to withdraw with their loot. Belisarius shadows them. His subordinates urge him to destroy the enemy before they escape. So against his better judgement, he attacks the Persians on Easter Sunday at Callinicum. The battle is a disaster. Rome's Arab allies, the Hassanids, hold the right flank. But Procopius accuses them of fleeing at the first sign of danger. Persian cavalry rolls up the entire Roman line. In desperation, the Roman infantry form a shield wall, with their backs to the river. They hold off the enemy cavalry, buying time for the remains of the army to escape across the river. Callinicum is a humiliation for Rome and for Belisarius. His own role in the battle is unclear. According to Procopius, he remained with the infantry, organising the retreat. Another source claims he was among the first to flee. It had clearly been a serious blunder to give in to pressure from his subordinates to fight an unnecessary battle. Belisarius is removed from command, and recalled to Constantinople. Justinian is forced to pay a subsidy, and make a compromise peace with Persia. Not with King Kavad, who dies that year, but with his 20-year-old son, Khosrow. Khosrow will prove to be the greatest of all Sassanian kings, hailed as Anushirivan, the Immortal Soul, and will prove a dangerous rival to the Romans. When major rioting breaks out in Constantinople the next year, Belisarius is in the capital, eager to restore his tarnished reputation. The riots have been instigated by the factions of the Hippodrome, the Greens and Blues. These are more than chariot-racing fans – the factions run all areas of the city. At first they seek only the release of jailed comrades. But then there are calls for a new emperor, Hypatius, nephew of Emperor Anastasius. It's likely that Justinian's rivals in the Senate are now pulling the strings. Justinian hesitates. He wonders if they should flee the capital. Then Theodora speaks up. Life as a fugitive, she declares, would be unendurable. Better the old saying, royal purple makes a noble shroud. In other words, better to go down fighting. The Emperor is emboldened by Theodora's words, and orders Belisarius and another general, Mundus, to crush the revolt. Belisarius' hardened troops launch a sudden attack on the rioters. There is no mercy. The streets run with blood. The final death toll is estimated at 30,000. A staggering 1 in 20 of the city's population. The next day, Justinian orders the execution of Hypatius and his brother, probably innocent pawns in somebody else's plot. Their bodies are tossed into the sea. Thanks to Theodora and Belisarius, Justinian's throne is safe – for now. A Roman Emperor relied on one quality more than any other from his generals – loyalty. Belisarius has proved his beyond doubt. Now Justinian needs to shore up support for his regime, assert his legitimacy, and God's favour, with a military victory. He has his costly peace with the Sassanid Empire, so he will turn west. A war to reclaim Rome's lost provinces from the barbarians will be a service to God and Justinian. Such a mission can be entrusted to only one man – Belisarius. Massive thanks to Legendarian for providing our Total War gameplay footage. We highly recommend his documentary YouTube channel, and in particular his video on the military reforms of King Khosrow, a character we'll meet again. Big thanks also to the 555 Mod Crew for their modding support. Check out their comprehensive Age of Justinian mod for Total War Attila in the usual places. And thank you of course to all the Epic History TV Patreon supporters, who make this channel possible. Thanks for watching!