Belisarius: War with the Sassanids (5/6)

540 AD. Khosrow, Sassanid king of Persia, is invading the Eastern Roman Empire. His huge army marches along the banks of the Euphrates River. Sura falls before them. Hierapolis is ransomed for 2,000 pounds of silver. Beria burns. Then, to the horror of all Romans, Khosrow takes Antioch, second city of the Empire, the Roman capital of the Near East. The city burns. Soldiers flee. Civilians are massacred. The historian Procopius writes, I become dizzy as I write about such a great calamity, and transmit it to future times to remember. I cannot understand why it should be God's will to exalt the fortunes of a man or place, and then to obliterate them for no cause that is apparent to us. After years of victories, Justinian's empire is rocked by this devastating onslaught. The Emperor can send only his cousin Germanus and 300 soldiers, with a promise of a great army to follow. But there is no great army. Roman forces are tied down fighting Justinian's wars in the west. Instead, he will dispatch his greatest general, Belisarius, and pray for a miracle, little knowing that the Empire is about to be plunged into an even greater catastrophe. Unlike anything the world has ever seen before, trouble had been brewing on Justinian's eastern frontier for years. The Eastern Roman and Sassanid Empires, the two great powers of the Middle East, had signed a treaty of eternal peace just eight years before. But Khosrow had looked on with growing alarm, as Roman forces, led by Belisarius, had reconquered first North Africa, then Italy. Half in jest, Khosrow asks Justinian for his share of the tribute, since these victories are only possible because he's granted the Romans peace. But the joke is wearing thin. Khosrow receives envoys from the Goths in Italy, and the Armenians, who beg him for aid. Justinian, they tell him, has conceived the desire of seizing the entire earth. He will march against the Persians with those he has already enslaved, respecting neither the name of friendship, nor any of his sworn promises. In 540, Khosrow accuses the Eastern Emperor of paying huns to raid Persian land, and trying to bribe his Arab allies to switch sides. Then he attacks. Justinian has stripped the frontier of its best troops to reinforce his army in Italy. There is no Roman force that can stand up to Khosrow's invasion. Antioch is sacked. Survivors are enslaved and sent to Persia. Khosrow then marches to the coast, and symbolically bathes in the waters of the Mediterranean. He moves on to Apamea, where he demands a thousand pounds of silver, but lets the priests keep their piece of the true cross. He then fixes the local chariot race, so that Justinian's favourite team, the Blues, lose. Justinian agrees to pay Khosrow 5,000 pounds of gold, with 500 more to be paid annually in exchange for a truce. Satisfied, Khosrow sets off for home. However, he does not let the truce prevent him from extorting several more payments en route. It is the Eastern Roman Empire's greatest military humiliation in three centuries. Everyone was talking about Belisarius. He was credited with two victories such as never before fallen to the lot of one man. He had brought two kings captive to Constantinople, and beyond all expectation, had made Roman spoils of the nations and wealth of Geseric and Theoderic. In the Eastern Roman capital, Belisarius has been welcomed back from Italy as a hero. He and his entourage draw admiring crowds wherever they go. But he does not have long to enjoy his success. In early 541, Justinian sends Belisarius east, to take command of Roman forces in Syria, and ensure there is no repeat of the previous year's disaster. Belisarius' wife Antonina has accompanied him on previous campaigns to North Africa and Italy, and proved herself a valuable advisor and deputy. But this time, she remains in Constantinople to advise her friend and patron, Empress Theodora. Belisarius gathers all available forces at Dara, site of his great victory 11 years before. He has his own household troops, the elite Buccalari, Ostrogoths who've joined him in Italy, Rome's Hassanid Arab allies, led by Al-Harith, and several thousand Limitani, the Empire's frontier troops. Procopius does not tell us the size of these forces, so we can only make educated guesses based on circumstantial evidence. Local Roman forces are shaken by the events of the previous year. Belisarius spends several weeks reorganising these men, re-equipping them, and rebuilding their shattered morale. When Belisarius learns that Khosrow and the main Persian army are far away in the north, campaigning in Lazica, he decides to go on the offensive, and targets the Persian city of Nisibis. This fortified frontier city is too strong to assault directly, but Belisarius hopes the garrison can be lured out and defeated in battle, allowing his troops to rush into the city, mingled with the retreating enemy. Belisarius camps 5 miles from Nisibis, close enough to tempt the Persians to attack, but far enough that they can't easily retreat back to the city. But one Roman commander, Peter, camps far too close. Worse, he ignores Belisarius' warning to be on high alert at noon, when the Persians are most likely to strike. The Persian commander, Nabides, spots this isolated Roman force, and attacks. Peter immediately sends a rider to Belisarius, calling for aid. But Belisarius and the rest of the army have already seen what's happening, and are on their way. Before they can reach Peter, his force is hit by the Persian cavalry. After a brief fight, his troops scatter. 50 men are killed, a Roman standard is lost. When Belisarius arrives with reinforcements, he drives off the Persians, who retreat into the city, leaving behind more than a hundred dead. But the loss of a Roman standard in such a pointless skirmish is a bitter blow. Belisarius marches on to the Persian fort at Cisauronon. His first attack is repelled. He digs in for a siege, while ordering Al-Harith's Arabs and 1,200 Bukhari to cross the Tigris River and raid deep into Assyria. It has been many years since the Romans have raided this far into Persian territory. There is little resistance, and much plunder. Cisauronon runs out of food, and surrenders to Belisarius. But the Roman general has run out of time. His troops are exhausted by the extreme summer heat, and a third are sick. His limitani wish to return to their homes, now threatened by the start of the Arab raiding season. While Al-Harith and his men have gone AWOL, it later emerges they've ridden straight home, to avoid sharing their loot with the Romans. Belisarius, having achieved as much as he can with his limited force, withdraws back into Roman territory. At the opening of spring, Khosrow, son of Khavad, for the third time began an invasion into the land of the Romans with a large army, keeping the Euphrates River on the right. The Emperor Justinian, upon learning of the inroad of the Persians, sent Belisarius against them once more. 542 AD. Belisarius spends the winter in Constantinople, but in early spring, news arrives that Khosrow is preparing to invade again. Belisarius races back to the Eastern Front, using horses of the famous Cursus Publicus, the Roman postal service, with fresh remounts at every stage. A journey that normally takes a month can be completed in around 8 days. Local commanders warn that Khosrow is approaching with the biggest army yet. They want to hole up in Hierapolis, and hide behind its strong walls. Belisarius has a different plan. If Khosrow were attacking any other people but Romans, this plan of yours would be safe and sensible. But as immediately after leaving here, this barbarian plans to fall upon some other territory of the Emperor, be assured that to die bravely would be better in every way than to be saved without a fight. For this would justly be called, not salvation, but treason. So come as quickly as possible to Europos, where, after collecting the whole army, I hope to deal with the enemy as God permits. Khosrow is counting on another lucrative plundering expedition. This time he plans to raid Palestine, and pillage Jerusalem. But when he hears Belisarius himself has arrived, and is gathering a Roman army at Europos, he hesitates. He sends an envoy, Abundanes, to meet Belisarius, on the pretext of reopening negotiations, but really to gauge his strength. For almost the first time in 10 years, Procopius is not at Belisarius' side. He has remained in Constantinople. In fact, his days of campaigning with the great Roman general are over. Nonetheless, he provides a detailed description of what follows. Belisarius meets Khosrow's envoy far from the Roman camp, surrounded by an imposing number of his most fearsome warriors, including Thracians, Illyrians, Goths and Vandals. They have been handpicked to make an impression. All are tall, strongly built men, armed to the teeth, and seem completely unconcerned by the arrival of a Persian envoy. Belisarius himself speaks in a carefree manner. This course that Khosrow has chosen is not how men usually behave. If other men have a dispute with their neighbour, they first try to negotiate with him, and only go to war if they do not receive satisfaction. But he first comes into the midst of the Romans, and then makes suggestions about peace. With that, Belisarius dismisses the envoy. The envoy returns to Khosrow, and urges the king to avoid battle at all costs. The enemy are not like any men he's seen before. They are formidable and disciplined. Their commander is wise and imposing. The king should withdraw as soon as possible. Khosrow takes his advice. The Persian army crosses the Euphrates, and marches home. Belisarius appears to have bluffed a stronger enemy into retreat, and saved huge swathes of the empire from plunder and pillage. According to Procopius, the Romans praised Belisarius. He seemed to have achieved greater glory in their eyes by this feat, than when he brought Gelimer or Vitegas captive to Constantinople. In truth, it was an achievement of great importance, and deserving great praise, at a time when all the Romans were hiding in terror behind their defences. Belisarius and his buccalari, putting on a show that is so intimidating and deceptive, that the Persian king abandons his campaign. It's a famous and memorable scene. But did it ever happen? Many historians believe that something even more terrifying caused Khosrow's rapid withdrawal. He'd discovered the empire was riddled with plague. During these times, there was a pestilence, which came close to wiping out the whole of mankind. Now in the case of all other scourges sent from heaven, some explanation or cause might be given by daring men. But for this calamity, it is quite impossible either to express in words, or to conceive in thought any explanation, except indeed, to refer it to God. The 6th century world is full of strange and mysterious phenomena. Sometimes even a highly educated man like Procopius can only record his observations and trust in God. Of the year 536, he wrote, It came about during this year, that a most dread portent took place. The whole year the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon. And it seemed much like an eclipse, for its beams were not clear, nor like those it usually makes. From the time when this thing happened, men were free neither from war, nor pestilence, nor any other thing that brings death. Experts now believe Procopius was observing the atmospheric aftermath of a massive volcanic eruption. In fact, a cluster of volcanic activity around this date would help to trigger what's become known as the Late Antique Little Ice Age. Its impact is impossible to measure, but it may have contributed to food shortages, and worsened the famine that Procopius witnessed in Italy. Such shortages made the population weaker, and more vulnerable, to what came next. It originated among the Egyptians who live in Pelusium. From there it branched out in two directions, the first moving to Alexandria, and then the rest of Egypt, the second coming to the Palestinians, who live by the border of Egypt. Plague is first recorded in the Nile Delta, in 541. It spreads across Egypt, and into coastal Palestine. In spring 542, it reaches the imperial capital, Constantinople. It spreads rapidly across the Empire. In 543, plague reaches Persian-ruled Armenia, and the Kingdom of the Franks. Recently, plague victims have even been identified in Anglo-Saxon England. Procopius is in Constantinople when the plague strikes, with full terrifying force. They fell ill in the following way. Suddenly they became feverish, some of them when they rose from sleep, others while they walked about, or doing any small thing. The body did not change colour, or become warm like a regular fever, nor did it burn up. Rather, at first the fever was so mild that it gave no cause for alarm, either to victims, or the doctors who treated them. But then on the same day, or the next, a bubonic swelling appeared. This happened around the groin, also inside the armpit, sometimes by the ears, or the thigh. Some victims, Procopius writes, fall into a coma-like state, unable to feed or care for themselves. Others are seized by madness, shouting wildly, and running into the streets. Some died immediately, others after many days. In some cases the body blossomed with dark pustules, about the size of a lentil. These people did not survive a single day. They all died immediately. Many others suddenly began to vomit blood, and perished immediately. I must also state that the most eminent doctors predicted that many would die, who shortly afterwards were unexpectedly free of all sickness. They also claimed that many would survive, who were destined to perish almost immediately. Thus there was no cause behind this disease that any human reason could grasp. For in all cases, the outcome made little sense. DNA analysis of human remains from this and later pandemics has identified the cause of this terrifying disease – a deadly bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Procopius is at the centre of the world's first bubonic plague pandemic. The second, eight centuries later, is known as the Black Death. The peak of the pandemic lasts three months. On the very worst days, the death toll in Constantinople alone may be as high as 10,000. Between a third and half the city's population perish. Entire households are wiped out, the city's graveyards overflow, and corpses are crammed into city watchtowers. It was not easy in those times to see anyone out and about, for all were holed up in their homes. If you happened to chance upon someone going out, he was carrying one of the dead. All work came to a standstill. The plague hits the Empire's great cities hardest, but the pestilence also reaches deep into the countryside. Then Emperor Justinian himself falls sick. News soon reaches the army in Syria. There are even rumours that the Emperor is already dead. Belisarius and his generals discuss the situation, but we have no reliable information on what is said, or by whom. Justinian has no children. The succession will be an uncertain and dangerous time. Their own role may be decisive. They may even discuss who among them is best placed to succeed the Emperor. Unexpectedly, Justinian makes a full recovery. But Empress Theodora has learned of the general's meeting in Syria. Her informers tell her that Belisarius, and another general, Bouzis, had said they would not support any new Emperor proclaimed in Constantinople. Theodora regards these words as treason – a clear sign they will turn against her if her husband should die. Belisarius and Bouzis are summoned to Constantinople for questioning. Theodora cannot prove their treason. But both men experience a sudden, dramatic fall from favour. Procopius claims that Bouzis spends more than two years in a secret prison. Belisarius, the Emperor's most successful general, escapes imprisonment, but his disgrace is total. He is dismissed from command, and loses much of his fortune. His famed buccalari are split up and distributed amongst other commanders. Belisarius lives in Constantinople as a private citizen for more than a year, while abroad, Justinian's empire slides towards crisis. The plague has killed a multitude of Roman citizens and soldiers, and severely disrupted government, trade and taxation. In Armenia, a Roman offensive ends in humiliating defeat. In North Africa, Berber rebels defeat the Romans, and kill Solomon the governor. While in Italy, the Ostrogoths have rallied under a new king, Tortilla, retaken most of Belisarius' gains, and again threaten Rome itself. Justinian is desperate for a general who can take command in Italy, and turn the tide of war. 544 AD. Belisarius is recalled from disgrace, and given back his old command in Italy. But the Emperor has no troops to spare, and Belisarius' buccalari are still in the east. This time he will have only 4,000 recruits that he must hire and equip himself, to reinforce the demoralised army in Italy. And in Tortilla, he faces a far more dangerous adversary than before. He is poorly resourced, and has been ungratefully treated by his Emperor. But Belisarius loyally marches to war again, in what will prove his final campaign. Big thanks to Legendarian for providing our Total War Attila gameplay footage. Check out his own YouTube channel for more videos on the military history of Late Antiquity. Thank you also to Professor David Parnell of Indiana University Northwest, our series consultant. You can follow David on Twitter at ByzantineProf, or via the link in our video description. And thank you, of course, to all the Epic History TV Patreon supporters, who make this channel possible.