GOTHS. 
Iiiilorian * of the time, one-third at leaf! of their enor¬ 
mous holi was deflroyed, in frequent and bloody com¬ 
bats under the walls of the city ; and the evils of fa¬ 
mine and pefiilence were aggravated by their own licen- 
tioufnefs, and the unfriendly difpolition of the country. 
While Vitiges (fruggled with his fortune j while he he(i- 
tated between ftiame and ruin ; his retreat was haficned 
by domellic alarms. 'J'lie king of the Goths was in¬ 
formed by tremblingmelfengers, that the devaflations of 
war were fpread from the Apennine to tlie Adriatic; 
that the rich fpoils and captives of Pitenum were feized 
by the Roman general John, furnamed the Sangiiinaiy, 
who had infulted his capital, and feduced the fidelity of 
b.iswife, the daughter of Amalafontha. Yet, before he 
retired, \'itiges made a lalt effort, either to fiorm or to 
fiuprile the city. A fecret paffage was diftovered in 
one of the aquediidts ; two citizens of the Vatican were 
tempted by bribes to intoxicate the guards of the Aure- 
lian gate ; an attack was meditat'ed on the walls beyond 
the Tyber; and tlie barbarians advtinced, with torches 
and fcaling-ladders, to the aff'ault of the Pincian gate. 
But every attempt was defeated by the intrepid vigi¬ 
lance of Belifarius; and the Goths, alike deffitute of 
hope and fub/iffence, plamorouffy urged their departure. 
One year and nine days after tlie commencement of the 
liege, an army, fo lately llrong and triumphant, burnt 
their tents, and tumultuouffy repalTed the Miivian 
bridge, A. D. 538. 
The retreating army of Vitiges was neverthelefs fo nu¬ 
merous, that he deftined ten thoufand men for tlie de¬ 
fence of the cities wh.icli lie was moff: Iblicitous to pre- 
ferve, and detached his nephew Uraias, with an ade¬ 
quate force, to fecLire Milan. At the head of liis prin¬ 
cipal army, he befieged Rimini, only thirty-three miles 
dillant from the Gothic capital. A feeble rampart, and 
a fliallow" ditch, were maintained by the Ikili and valour 
of John the Sanguinary, who lhared the danger and fa¬ 
tigue of tlie nieaneft Ibldier, and emulated tlie military 
(kill even of Belifarius. The battering engines of the 
barbarians w ere rendered ufelefs ; their attacks were re- 
pniled ; and the tedious blockade, which reduced the 
garrifon to the laft extremity of hunger, afforded time 
for the march of the Roman forces. A fleet which had 
furpriled Ancona, failed along tlie coafl. of the Adiiatic 
to the relief of the befieged city. Tlie euriiicii Narfes 
landed in Picenum with two thoufand Heruli and five 
thoufand of the bravelt troops of the empire; while ten 
thoufand veterans, under the ccnimand of Belil'arius 
liimfclf, marclied froni Rome to their fupport. Over- 
wiielmed with defpair, the Gotlis abandoned tliefiege of 
Rimini, their tents, their ftandards, and tlieir leaders ; 
and Vitiges never halted till he found Ihelter witliin 
the walls of Ravenna. 
To thefe walls, and to fome fortreffes deftitutc of any 
mutual lupport, the Gothic monarchy was now re¬ 
duced ; and the laft effort of Belifarius wastocrulli this 
monarchy, by marcliing to befiege the place. The mul¬ 
titudes vvliicli yet adhered to the ftandard of Vitiges, 
far furpaffed the number of the Roman troops ; but 
neither prayers, nor defiance, nor the extreme danger of 
his mod faithful fubjebts, could tempt the Gothic king 
to march out in defence of the fortifications of Ravenna. 
Thefe fortifications were, indeed, impregnable to the 
aflaiilts of art or violence ; and when Belifarius invelled 
the capital, he was foon convinced that famine only 
could tame the ftubborn fpirit of Vitiges, w'lio had con¬ 
trived to fet on foot a fecret treaty with Juftinian. The 
fea, the land, and the channels of the Po, were guarded 
by the vigilance of the Roman general ; and he ^ven 
* defeended to the prabtice of poifoiiing the waters, and 
fecrctly firing the granaries of the befieged city. While 
he prelfed the blockade, he was furprifed by the arrival 
of tv/o ambalTadors from Conftantinople, with a treaty 
of peace, which Juftinian had ftgned, without deigning 
to confult the author of his vibtorjea. By this precari- 
VoL. Vin. No. 540. 
733 
ous agreement, Italy and tlie Gotliic treafure were di¬ 
vided, and the provinces beyond tlie Po were left with 
the regal title to the fncceffbrs of Theodoric. The am- 
baffadors were eager to accompliffi their commilTion; 
the captive Vitiges accepted with traiifjmrt the unex- 
pebted offer of a crown ; honour w''as Icfs prevalent 
among the Goth.s, than the want and appetite of food ; 
and the Roman chiefs, who murmured at tlie continu¬ 
ance 01 tlie war, profeff'ed a joyful fubmifiion to the 
commands ot the emperor. But Belifarius liimfelf re¬ 
jected the treaty of partition, and declared his refolu- 
tion of leading Vitiges in chains to the feet of Juftinian. 
The Goths, aftonilhed and difmayed, now offered to fur- 
render the city, tlieir riches, and all tlieir fpoils to Be- 
lilarius, and elect hhn their king, provided they might 
retain their liberty as ins fubjebtsar.d vaffals. The po¬ 
licy of Belifarius perfuaded them tliat he was difpofed 
to comply with their willies, without engaging an oath 
or a promil'e for tlie performance of a treaty which he 
lecretly abhorred. The day of the furrender was ftipu- 
lated ; a fleet, laden with provifions, failed as a wel¬ 
come giieft into the harbour; tlie gates were opened to- 
the fanced king of Italy; and Belifarius triumphantly 
marched through the ft reets of the impregnable Raven¬ 
na, A.D. 539. The Romans were aftonilhed by their 
fiiccefs ; the multitude of tall and robult barbarians 
were confounded by their own cowardice and pufillani- 
mity; and the mafeuline females, fpitting in tiie faces 
of their fons and liufbands, bitterly reproached them 
for betraying their dominion and freedom to thefe pyg¬ 
mies ofthefouth, contemptible in their numbers, dimi¬ 
nutive in their ftature. Before the Goths could recover 
from the firft lurprife, and claim tlie accomplifiiinent of 
their hopes, the viblor eftablifhed his power in Ravenna, 
beyond the danger of repentance and revolt. Vitiges 
was placed under a guard in his palace ; the flower of 
the Gothic youth was felebled for the army of the em¬ 
peror ; tjie remainder of the people was difmifled to 
their habitations in the fouthern provinces; and a colo¬ 
ny of Italians was ordered to repleiiilh the depopulated 
city. But the reward of Belifarius was fuch as too of¬ 
ten. falls to tlie lot of the virtuous and the brave : he 
was received at Conftantinople with cold ingratitude ; 
the deleterious fang of envy had poifoned the mind of 
Juftinian; and he was difgraced, dilhonoured, and fii- 
perfeded in his command. 
The degradation and recal of Belifarius revived the 
fainting courage of the Goths, whorefpebted his genius, 
and admired his virtue. They had loft their king, tlieir 
capital, their treafures, the provinces from Sicily to the 
Alps, and the military force of two hundred thoufand 
barbarians, magnificently equipped with horfes and 
arms. Yet all was not loft, as long as Pavia was de¬ 
fended by one thoufand Gotlis, infjiired by the love of 
freedom, and the memory of their pad greatnefs. The 
fupreme command was unanimoully offered to the brave 
Uraias; and it was in his eyes alone that the difgrace of 
his uncle Vitiges could appear as a reafon of cxcluffon. 
tiis voice turned the eleClioii in favour of Hildibald, 
whole perlona! merit.was iccommendcd by tlie iiope 
that Ills kinfman, the king of the Vifigoths in Spain, 
would fupport the common intereft of the Gothic na¬ 
tion. The fuccefs of his arms in Liguria and Verietia 
feemed to jiiftify their choice ; but he foon declared to 
the world, that lie was incapable of forgiving or coui- 
nianding his benefaftor. The confort of Hildibald was 
deeply mortified by the beauty of the wife of Uraias ; 
and the death of that virtuous patriot excited the in¬ 
dignation of the people. A bold affaflin execit^ed their 
fentence, Jay ftriking oft' the head of Hildibald in the 
midft of a banquet. The Rugians, a foreign tribe, af- 
fumed the privilege of election; and Totila, nhe ne¬ 
phew of the late king, was tempted, by revenge, to de¬ 
liver himfelf and the garrifon of Trevigo into the hands 
of the Romans. But the gallant and accomplifticd 
youth 
