Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.

Siege of Rome (537–538)

First siege of Rome by the Ostrogoths

The first siege of Rome during the Gothic War lasted for a year and nine days, from 2 March 537 to 12 March 538. The city was besieged by the Ostrogothic army under their king Vitiges; the defending East Romans were commanded by Belisarius, one of the most famous and successful…

Vitiges

6th-century king of the Italian Ostrogoths

Vitiges was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the…

Aurelian Walls

Defensive fortifications built around Rome in the 3rd century AD

The Aurelian Walls are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC.

Porta Maggiore

Gate of the Aurelian walls, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Porta Maggiore, or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome. Through the gate ran two ancient roads: the Via Praenestina and the Via Labicana. The Via Prenestina was the eastern road to the ancient…

Vivarium (Rome)

A vivarium was an enclosure where the ancient Romans kept wild animals used for hunts or other types of entertainments, for example in amphitheatres.

Byzantine Empire

Continuation of the Roman Empire (330–1453)

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 Empire in the 5th century AD, it…

Bessas (magister militum)

Byzantine army officer

Bessas was an Eastern Roman general of Gothic origin from Thrace, primarily known for his career in the wars of Justinian I. He distinguished himself against the Sassanid Persians in the Iberian War and under the command of Belisarius in the Gothic War, but after Belisarius'…

Peranius the Iberian

Peranius was a Georgian prince from Iberia and a military commander in Roman (Byzantine) service. According to Procopius, he was the eldest son of the Iberian king Gurgenes. Gurgenes can be identified with Vakhtang I of Iberia of the Georgian sources; and Peranius might have…