The Siege of Rome where a general laughed at incoming siege towers
In short: In 537, the Goths launched a massive assault on Rome using towering wooden machines. Instead of panicking, the Byzantine commander Belisarius reportedly laughed. He realized a simple tactical trick could turn these terrifying engines into stationary targets, turning a potential massacre into a desperate struggle of attrition.
The Siege of Rome (537–538) was the first major clash of the Gothic War between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogoths. Following the death of the pro-Byzantine Queen Amalasuintha in 534, Emperor Justinian I used her successor's deposition as a casus belli to reclaim Italy. By December 536, Belisarius entered Rome with roughly 5,000 troops, finding a populace that preferred Byzantine protection over Gothic rule. He fortified the city with torsion ballistae, stone throwers (onagri), and grain from Sicily, while digging ditches and chaining across the Tiber River.
The Goths, led by King Vitiges, established seven camps to blockade the city and cut off its water supply. This forced the Byzantines to build floating mills on the Tiber to produce bread. On March 10, 538, Vitiges launched a multi-front assault using four battering rams and numerous siege towers. At the Salarian Gate, Belisarius executed a clever maneuver: he ordered his troops to hold fire until the oxen pulling the towers brought them within bowshot distance. The machines became immobilized too close to the walls, allowing the defenders to burn them.
The conflict shifted into a brutal war of attrition as disease and food shortages plagued both sides. At the Vivarium, where fortifications were lower, Goths used massed archery to suppress defenders with large shields. In a desperate move, the Romans broke apart statues on the battlements and hurled the fragments at the attackers to break their momentum. The siege eventually ended in March 538 when Byzantine forces captured Ariminum, forcing Vitiges to abandon Rome and withdraw north.
This conflict highlights the transition of power in the Italian Peninsula. While the Goths had ruled since the late 5th century, Justinian’s intervention framed the war as a restoration of imperial authority. The siege proved decisive, demonstrating that Byzantine defensive engineering and hit-and-run cavalry tactics could withstand numerically superior Gothic forces.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Siege of Rome (537–538)
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