The Sack of Rome in 546 was carried out by the Gothic king

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

during the Gothic War of 535–554 between the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

and the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

. Totila was based at Tivoli and, in pursuit of his quest to reconquer the region of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

, he moved against Rome. The city endured a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

lasting almost a year before falling to the Goths.

Siege

The siege began in the winter of 545-546.

Bessas Bessas is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of France. The communes cooperate in t ...

, the commander of the imperial garrison, had a stock of grain but would only sell it to the civilian population at highly inflated prices. He also refused requests to let civilians leave the city. The contemporary historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...

describes the famine during the siege, in which the ordinary Romans, who were not rich enough to buy grain from the military, were reduced to eating

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, ...

nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" includ ...

s, dogs, mice and finally "each other's dung". Some committed suicide. Finally, the imperial commanders "released such of the Romans as desired to depart from the city". He states that many perished on the journey, since they were already enfeebled by famine and many were killed on the road by the enemy.

Pope Vigilius Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) was the bishop of Rome from 29 March 537 to his death. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius'' in Constantino ...

, who had fled to the safety of Syracuse, sent a flotilla of grain ships to feed Rome, but Totila's navy intercepted them near the mouth of the Tiber and captured the fleet. The imperial forces, led by

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

, were encamped at Portus awaiting reinforcements. An attempt by them to relieve Rome very nearly succeeded, but failed through the unreliability of subordinate commanders. Belisarius was then taken ill and took no further action.Barker, John W (1966
''Justinian and the Later Roman Empire''
University of Wisconsin Press (p. 160).

Fall of Rome

Totila finally entered Rome on 17 December 546, after his men scaled the walls at night and opened the Asinarian Gate. Procopius states that Totila was aided by some Isaurian troops from the imperial garrison who had arranged a secret pact with the Goths. As the Goths cautiously advanced into the city, many of the defenders escaped through another gate; according to Procopius, only 500 were left who sought refuge in various churches; 26 soldiers and 60 civilians were killed. Rome was plundered but Totila – who had apparently intended to turn the city into a sheep

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

– relented. However, he tore down about one third of the defensive walls before leaving in pursuit of Roman forces in Apulia. Porta Asinaria 2948

Aftermath

After defeating a force left behind by Totila, Belisarius decided to re-occupy Rome in the spring of 547 and hastily rebuilt the demolished sections of wall by piling up the loose stones "one on top of the other, regardless of order" according to Procopius. Totila quickly returned, but was beaten back by the defenders. However, Belisarius did not follow up his advantage. Several cities, including

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, were taken by the Goths, while Belisarius remained inactive and then was recalled from Italy. In 549, Totila advanced for a third time against Rome, which he took after another long siege.

References

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Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Gothic War (535–554) Rome 546 Rome 546

Night battles 540s in the Byzantine Empire Military history of Rome 546