Procopius, Belisarius and the Goths

Lillington-Martin, Christopher 2010. Procopius, Belisarius and the Goths. Presented at: 1st JOUHS International Colloquium - Odd Alliances in History, Oxford, UK, 14 March 2009. Journal of the Oxford University History Society. , vol.7 (1)

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Abstract

In 540, after several years of warfare between the Emperor Justinian’s invading eastern Roman forces and those of the Ostrogoths defending Italy, the re-conquering commander, Belisarius, was offered the opportunity of an odd alliance during his siege of the Ostrogothic capital, Ravenna. The proposal was for the Ostrogothic king, Witigis, to surrender Ravenna and abdicate and for the enemy general, Belisarius, to accept the crown of the Ostrogoths. This paper will explore the origins of this proposed odd alliance between two enemy leaders of armies at war. It will discuss the reasons that lay behind the proposed alliance, the consequences of it and the extent of its significance. The methodological approach to explore this odd alliance will consist of a contrast of primary and secondary textual sources with in-depth analysis of material as appropriate.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item - published (UNSPECIFIED)
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	03 Feb 2026 16:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/184383

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