Conon was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

military leader during the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. During the Siege of Rome he was sent to reinforce for

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

. Landing in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

he and Paulus, another Byzantine military commander, led 3,000 Isaurians to Belisarius’ aid. First, they waited for other contingents' reinforcements to gather in Naples before moving on to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Later he was the leader of the garrison at

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

. When an army under Vacimus arrived at Ancona he deployed to face them in open battle but quickly retreated after seeing the full size of the enemy force. The gates were already closed but the garrison could climb into the city using ropes. The attackers had siege equipment ready and could immediately attempt to storm the city. The attackers gained a foothold on the walls but Ultimuth, from Belisarius’ guards, and Gouboulgoudou, from Valerian's guard, drove the attackers out both suffering severe wounds. Later Conon led the 1,000 strong garrison of Naples during the Siege of Naples.

References

{{reflist 6th-century Byzantine generals Generals of Justinian I