Siege of Naples (542-543)
| date | Spring 542 to April 543 |
|---|---|
| place | Naples |
| output | Ostrogothic victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Conon, Demetrius |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 1,000 | unknown |
Iberian War
Dara - Satala - Callinicum
Vandal
War Ad Decimum - Tricamarum
Gothic War
1. Naples - 1. Rome - Verona - Faventia - Mucellium - 2. Naples - 2. Rome - 3. Rome - Sena Gallica - Busta Gallorum - Mons Lactarius - Casilinus
Moors wars
Mammes and Bourgaon - Babosis and Zerboule - Cillium - Marta - Fields of Cato
The siege of Naples was a battle of the Gothic Wars and ended in April 543 with the conquest of the city by the Ostrogothic general Totila .
course
After the battles at Faventia and Mucellium , which were successful for the Goths , Totila marched towards Naples and began the siege of the fortified city in the spring of 542. The garrison of about one thousand men under the Eastern Roman commander Conon did not surrender to the Ostrogoths despite generous surrender conditions and was waiting for reinforcements from Byzantium. Justinian had sent a fleet to Italy under the command of the Magister militum Demetrius to stop the advance of the Goths. After Demetrius landed in Sicily , he learned of the famine of the trapped population in Naples and began to assemble a large fleet of food for the relief of the city. Eventually he sailed to Rome to take soldiers on board.
Totila initially dared not attack because of the sheer size of the Eastern Roman fleet; finally he managed to find out that the fleet consisted largely of transport ships with food. So he attacked Demetrius immediately after his return from Rome in the waters of Naples with boarding crews, fast boats, was able to capture most of the enemy ships and force the Eastern Roman general to flee.
Despite this defeat Demetrius dared another attack from Sicily on the besiegers of the city with further reinforcements from Byzantium. But this venture also failed. In a night sea battle, the Byzantine fleet was almost completely wiped out, Demetrios was captured and presented as a hostage to the besieged Neapolitans. They now had to recognize that Justinian's attempt at relief had failed and surrendered to Totila. The Ostrogothic king treated the city's inhabitants very courteously, provided them with food after the long siege and guaranteed safe conduct, but finally also razed the city walls.
literature
- Prokopios von Caesarea: Works - 2: Gotenkriege (Greek-German), translated and edited by Otto Veh, Bücherei Tusculum, 2nd volume, Heimeran, Munich 1966, ISBN 9783776520668 , pp. 473-491.