History of Florence and Italy | Page 9

kingdom descending to Atalaric, son of Amalasontha, his daughter, and
the malice of fortune not being yet exhausted, the old evils soon
returned; for Atalaric died soon after his grandfather, and the kingdom
coming into the possession of his mother, she was betrayed by
Theodatus, whom she had called to assist her in the government. He put
her to death and made himself king; and having thus become odious to
the Ostrogoths, the emperor Justinian entertained the hope of driving
him out of Italy. Justinian appointed Belisarius to the command of this
expedition, as he had already conquered Africa, expelled the Vandals,
and reduced the country to the imperial rule.
Belisarius took possession of Sicily, and from thence passing into Italy,
occupied Naples and Rome. The Goths, seeing this, slew Theodatus
their king, whom they considered the cause of their misfortune, and
elected Vitiges in his stead, who, after some skirmishes, was besieged
and taken by Belisarius at Ravenna; but before he had time to secure
the advantages of his victory, Belisarius was recalled by Justinian, and
Joannes and Vitalis were appointed in his place. Their principles and
practices were so different from those of Belisarius, that the Goths took
courage and created Ildovadus, governor of Verona, their king. After
Ildovadus, who was slain, came Totila, who routed the imperial forces,
took Tuscany and Naples, and recovered nearly the whole of what
Belisarius had taken from them. On this account Justinian determined
to send him into Italy again; but, coming with only a small force, he
lost the reputation which his former victories had won for him, in less
time than he had taken to acquire it. Totila being at Ostia with his

forces, took Rome before his eyes; but being unable to hold or to leave
the city, he destroyed the greater part of it, drove out the citizens, and
took the senators away from him. Thinking little of Belisarius, he led
his people into Calabria, to attack the forces which had been sent from
Greece.
Belisarius, seeing the city abandoned, turned his mind to the
performance of an honourable work. Viewing the ruins of Rome, he
determined to rebuild her walls and recall her inhabitants with as little
delay as possible. But fortune was opposed to this laudable enterprise;
for Justinian, being at this time assailed by the Parthians, recalled him;
and his duty to his sovereign compelled him to abandon Italy to Totila,
who again took Rome, but did not treat her with such severity as upon
the former occasion; for at the entreaty of St. Benedict, who in those
days had great reputation for sanctity, he endeavored to restore her. In
the meantime, Justinian having arranged matters with the Parthians,
again thought of sending a force to the relief of Italy; but the Sclavi,
another northern people, having crossed the Danube and attacked
Illyria and Thrace, prevented him, so that Totila held almost the whole
country. Having conquered the Slavonians, Justinian sent Narses, a
eunuch, a man of great military talent, who, having arrived in Italy,
routed and slew Totila. The Goths who escaped sought refuge in Pavia,
where they created Teias their king. On the other hand, Narses after the
victory took Rome, and coming to an engagement with Teias near
Nocera, slew him and routed his army. By this victory, the power of the
Goths in Italy was quite annihilated, after having existed for seventy
years, from the coming of Theodoric to the death of Teias.
No sooner was Italy delivered from the Goths than Justinian died, and
was succeeded by Justin, his son, who, at the instigation of Sophia, his
wife, recalled Narses, and sent Longinus in his stead. Like those who
preceded him, he made his abode at Ravenna, and besides this, gave a
new form to the government of Italy; for he did not appoint governors
of provinces, as the Goths had done, but in every city and town of
importance placed a ruler whom he called a duke. Neither in this
arrangement did he respect Rome more than the other cities; for having
set aside the consuls and senate, names which up to this time had been

preserved, he placed her under a duke, who was sent every year from
Ravenna, and called her the duchy of Rome; while to him who
remained in Ravenna, and governed the whole of Italy for the emperor,
was given the name of Exarch. This division of the country greatly
facilitated the ruin of Italy, and gave the Lombards an early occasion of
occupying it. Narses was greatly enraged with the emperor, for having
recalled him from the government of the province, which he had won
with his own valor and blood; while Sophia, not content with the injury
done by withdrawing him, treated him in