Belisarius - the famous commander of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Born at the beginning of the VI century from unknown parents. In history, Belisarius is for the first time among the bodyguards of Justinian, when he was still heir to the throne. At this time (about A.D. 525) the Byzantine Empire was at war with Persia, and Belisarius commanded a detachment sent to Persian Armenia. Upon his return from this campaign, he was appointed commandant in Dara (an important fortified city in the northern part of Mesopotamia, near the borders of Armenia), where he received as secretary the famous historian Procopius, whose writings serve as the most important source of his biography for us. In 527, Justinian succeeded to the throne, and Belisarius was soon appointed commander-in-chief in the East to wage war on the Persians. In 530 he defeated the enemy in a decisive battle at Dara, and in the next, with a series of skillful maneuvers, he repelled a significant Persian army, which, invading Syria, began to threaten Antioch. Being, however, forced by his troops against his will to enter the battle of Kallinikos (a city lying at the confluence of the Euphrates and Bilekhi rivers), he was defeated, but still prevented the Persians from taking advantage of the victory.

Belisarius (presumably)

Shortly thereafter, peace was concluded, and Belisarius returned to Constantinople. During his stay here, he managed to suppress the terrible revolt of Nike, which threatened Justinian with overthrow from the throne. In July 533, he sailed as the head of the expedition (see), assigned to Africa to return those areas that once belonged to the Roman Empire, and were now dominated by the Vandal Germans. In September, Belisarius went ashore at Cape Vada (about 225 miles from Carthage), defeated the enemy near Decimus, and immediately entered Carthage. The Vandal king Gelimer fled to the deserts of Numidia, where he began to gather fresh troops. Soon the Vandals again approached Carthage, but were again utterly defeated at Trikamar. Gelimer sought salvation in the impregnable mountains of Papua, near Hippo (Hippo Regius), was surrounded by the Greeks here, and after a while was forced to surrender. On his return to Constantinople, Belisarius was honored with a triumph, an honor which, since the reign of Tiberius, was reserved only for emperors.

The Vandal War of Justinian I, 533-534. Map

In the same year he was sent with a very insufficient force to take Italy from the Ostrogoths. Having made a landing at Catania, in Sicily, and quickly conquering this island, he crossed over to Italy. There his path was somewhat slowed down by the resistance of Naples, which he took after a twelve-day siege. At the end of 536 he entered Rome, abandoned by the Goths. But already at the beginning of 537, the king of the Ostrogoths Vitiges, speaking from Ravenna with a 150,000th army, besieged Belisarius in Rome. This remarkable siege, waged actively for more than a year, ended in the complete defeat of the Goths. . Vitiges returned to Ravenna, where he himself was besieged by Belisarius the following year. But at a time when the Goths were already preparing to surrender, the embassy sent by Vitiges to Constantinople returned with a peace treaty, according to which the title of king and the land north of the Po was left to him. Belisarius refused to fulfill this agreement and managed to capture Ravenna, and after the surrender of this city, almost all of Italy, after which, at the beginning of 540, he returned to Constantinople.

In 541 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops sent against the Persians; but at the end of the campaign, in which nothing noteworthy happened due to the machinations of the Empress Theodora and Belisarius' own wife, Antonina, he was recalled (542) to Constantinople, deprived of all his posts and property, and even threatened with execution.

In 544, Belisarius was again ordered to take command in Italy, where, due to the inability of his successors, the Ostrogoths again strengthened and became extremely dangerous. Having gathered a small number of troops in Thrace and Illyria, and having liberated the city of Otranto, besieged by the Goths, Belisarius went to Ravenna. But here, due to lack of funds, he could not do anything important and was finally forced to return to Epirus in order to await the reinforcements promised to him. After a long stay here, having received insignificant reinforcements, he went by sea to liberate Rome, which from the beginning of 546 was blockaded by the new Ostrogothic king. Totila. Belisarius attacked the line of Gothic fortifications, but the disobedience of one officer ruined the whole thing, and by the end of the year the Ostrogoths took Rome by treason. At the beginning of 547, Totila moved to Ravenna, and Belisarius, immediately after his departure, again occupied Rome; defended it with success against Totila, who, having learned about this, returned and again tried to take it away from the Greeks. Despite these successes, Belisarius, due to lack of funds, could not end the wars, and in 548 began to ask that the troops at his disposal be reinforced or that he himself be recalled from Italy. The Byzantine court preferred the latter.

After that, Belisarius lived in Constantinople, enjoying honors and wealth. In 559, on the occasion of the Huns' invasion of the Balkans, he was appointed head of the army sent against them. Belisarius managed to save Constantinople from the enemy, but, due to the envy of Justinian, he was again deprived of his superiors, and from that time on, he was never entrusted with the leadership of the army.

In 563, a conspiracy against the emperor was discovered, and Belisarius was accused of being an accomplice in it. Belisarius' life was spared, but his property was taken away from him and imprisoned. Soon his innocence was revealed. Both freedom and wealth were returned to him, but the hero did not use them for long: he died at the beginning of 565.

The VI century is the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-565), who decided to restore the Roman Empire in its former borders. The emperor was surrounded by talented people, among whom Flavius ​​Belisarius stood out for his talents.

Youth

Belisarius was born at the beginning of the 6th century in the north of the empire in the province of Moesia (modern Bulgaria). In his youth, the future commander showed himself excellently while serving in the palace guards, gained experience on the Danube and in 530 became the commander of the Byzantine troops during the war with the Sassanids. He won a resounding victory at the Battle of Dara against a twice outnumbered Persian force using active defense techniques, fortification art, and dismembered battle formation.

For the defense of 19 km of the walls of Rome, Belisarius had only 10 thousand people

In 532, Belisarius was urgently recalled to Constantinople, where the Nike uprising broke out. Thanks to the competent actions of the commander, Justinian managed to maintain power - during the coronation of the leader of the rebels, government troops suddenly burst into the hippodrome and massacred. After strengthening his power, Justinian came up with the idea of ​​sending an expedition to Africa under the command of Belisarius, where the Vandals created a whole pirate state that terrorized the Mediterranean with their raids. The formal reason for the war was the overthrow of Justinian's friend, the Vandal king Gilderic.

In 533, Belisarius landed in Africa with only 15,000 infantry and cavalry. The new king of the Vandals, Gelimer, decided to defeat the Romans (as the Byzantines called themselves) on their way to Carthage, the largest city of Vandal Africa. Dividing his troops into parts, he planned to simultaneously attack Belisarius from three sides, but due to inconsistency in actions, the vandals were defeated in turn. Belisarius occupied Carthage, but the further conquest of Africa dragged on for another 20 years and ended with the fall of the Vandal kingdom.

Italian wars

Two years later, Belisarius landed in Sicily to retake Italy from the Ostrogoths, who had established their kingdom there. Justinian sent a diverting army along the Adriatic coast, while Belisarius delivered the main attack from the south. After the capture of Sicily, the commander crossed over to Italy and captured Naples by cunning - a detachment of the Byzantines entered the city through an abandoned aqueduct, at night the troops of Belisarius attacked the city from two sides and captured it. While the Ostrogoth king Vitigis was at war with the Franks, Belisarius occupied Rome. The Ostrogoths gathered a large army and laid siege to the city. The forces of Belisarius numbered no more than 10 thousand, so the townspeople were attracted to the defense of the walls of Rome, 19 km long. For more than a year, Rome held out thanks to the courage of the defenders, the skillful tactics of deep raids (used by Belisarius in order to deprive the Ostrogoths of communication with their base - Ravenna) and the poor engineering skills of the besiegers themselves.

With the help of Belisarius, Justinian crushed Nike's rebellion and retained power

Witigis retreated, but the Ostrogoths maintained an overwhelming superiority in manpower and resources. Now, however, not only the attitude of the population and superiority in the organization of the army, but also the halo of invincibility played into the hands of Belisarius. Witigis made peace with the Franks, and at the cost of territorial concessions and tribute, he made an alliance with them against Belisarius. But the help of the Franks did not help either. Witigis capitulated, offering Belisarius to become king of the Ostrogoths and the new emperor of the West. Belisarius prudently refused, but rumors of this reached Justinian, who had long heard from envious people about Belisarius's unreliability. The commander was recalled to Constantinople, under the pretext of a threat from the east.

Eastern War of Belisarius

During the time that Belisarius was on the road, the threat turned from potential to real - the Sasanian Shahinshah Khosrow devastated the rich areas of the empire and, agreeing to a large tribute, returned to Iran. But as soon as Belisarius arrived in Constantinople, Justinian broke the peace and sent the commander to the east. Khosrow invaded Colchis, and Belisarius, instead of going towards the Persians, invaded Persia and the Shahinshah was forced to return.

To hide the size of the army, Belisarius played a whole spectacle

The next year, the Persians decided to invade Palestine and raised a large army. Belisarius resorted to cunning. When Khosrow sent an embassy to reconnoiter the Byzantine forces, the commander put on a real "spectacle": he selected the best soldiers and sent them forward along the route of the embassy, ​​imitating a guard detachment of a huge army. The warriors spread out and constantly moved after the ambassador. Belisarius himself was very self-confident. The ambassador, returning to the Shahinshah, reported what a large army Justinian had gathered against the Persians, and Khosrow decided to retreat.

Last trip and disgrace

The emperor was afraid of the growing fame of Belisarius, and sent him with a small army to Italy, where the new king of the Ostrogoths, Totila, captured one city after another. Belisarius managed to recapture Rome, but did not have sufficient forces to take over Italy again. In 548, he returned to Constantinople without reaching his goal. After returning to the capital, Belisarius remained out of work, then, during the Slavic invasion, he managed to repel the attack of the Bulgarians. Soon he fell into disgrace to the emperor and lost all his estates and titles. It is this period of the life of Belisarius that is dedicated to the painting by Jacques-Louis David "Belisarius asks for alms." In the end, the commander was acquitted by the emperor, although he died in obscurity.

Jacques Louis David. Belisarius begging (1781)

In old age, Belisarius fell into disgrace and was forced to beg

Flavius ​​Belisarius is one of the most prominent commanders in history, whose campaigns are still being analyzed by military theorists today. The loyalty of the commander, who went through not only fire and water, but also copper pipes, makes one respect the personality of Belisarius himself. His talents helped Justinian return Africa and Italy to the empire, although soon the empire's western possessions were reduced to a few cities, and the economy was upset by numerous wars.

The VI century is the reign of the Emperor Justinian (527 - 565), who decided to restore the Roman Empire in its former borders. The emperor was surrounded by talented people, among whom Flavius ​​Belisarius stood out for his talents.

Youth

Belisarius was born at the beginning of the 6th century in the north of the empire, in the province of Moesia (modern Bulgaria). In his youth, the future commander showed himself excellently while serving in the palace guards, gained experience on the Danube and in 530 became the commander of the Byzantine troops during the war with the Sassanids. He won a resounding victory at the Battle of Dara against a twice outnumbered Persian force using active defense techniques, fortification art, and dismembered battle formation.

In 532, Belisarius was urgently recalled to Constantinople, where the Nike uprising broke out. Thanks to the competent actions of the commander, Justinian managed to maintain power - during the coronation of the leader of the rebels, government troops suddenly burst into the hippodrome and massacred. After strengthening his power, Justinian came up with the idea of ​​sending an expedition to Africa under the command of Belisarius, where the Vandals created a whole pirate state that terrorized the Mediterranean with their raids. The formal reason for the war was the overthrow of Justinian's friend, the Vandal king Gilderic.

In 533, Belisarius landed in Africa with only 15,000 infantry and cavalry. The new king of the Vandals, Gelimer, decided to defeat the Romans (as the Byzantines called themselves) on the way to Carthage, the largest city of Vandal Africa. Dividing his troops into parts, he planned to simultaneously attack Belisarius from three sides, but due to inconsistency in actions, the vandals were defeated in turn. Belisarius occupied Carthage, but the further conquest of Africa dragged on for another 20 years and ended with the fall of the kingdom of the Vandals.

Italian wars

Two years later, Belisarius landed in Sicily to retake Italy from the Ostrogoths, who had established their kingdom there. Justinian sent a distracting army along the Adriatic coast, while Belisarius delivered the main attack from the south. After the capture of Sicily, the commander crossed to Italy and captured Naples by cunning - a detachment of the Byzantines entered the city through an abandoned aqueduct, at night Belisarius' troops attacked the city from two sides and captured it. While the Ostrogoth king Vitigis was at war with the Franks, Belisarius occupied Rome. The Ostrogoths gathered a large army and laid siege to the city. The forces of Belisarius numbered no more than 10 thousand, so the townspeople were attracted to the defense of the walls of Rome, 19 km long. For more than a year, Rome held out thanks to the courage of the defenders, the skillful tactics of deep raids (used by Belisarius in order to deprive the Ostrogoths of communication with their base - Ravenna) and the poor engineering skill of the besiegers themselves.

Witigis retreated, but the Ostrogoths maintained an overwhelming superiority in manpower and resources. However, now, not only the attitude of the population and superiority in the organization of the army, but also the halo of invincibility played into the hands of Belisarius. Witigis made peace with the Franks, and at the cost of territorial concessions and tribute, he made an alliance with them against Belisarius. But the help of the Franks did not help either. Witigis capitulated, offering Belisarius to become king of the Ostrogoths and the new emperor of the West. Belisarius prudently refused, but rumors about this reached Justinian, who had long heard from envious people about Belisarius's unreliability. The commander was recalled to Constantinople, under the pretext of a threat from the east.

Eastern War of Belisarius

During the time that Belisarius was on the road, the threat turned from potential to real - the Sassanian Shahinshah Khosrov devastated the rich areas of the empire and, agreeing to a large tribute, returned to Iran. But as soon as Belisarius arrived in Constantinople, Justinian broke the peace and sent the commander to the east. Khosrow invaded Colchis, and Belisarius, instead of going towards the Persians, invaded Persia and the Shahinshah was forced to return.

The next year, the Persians decided to invade Palestine and raised a large army. Belisarius resorted to cunning. When Khosrow sent an embassy to reconnoiter the Byzantine forces, the commander played a real "spectacle": he selected the best soldiers and sent them forward along the route of the embassy, ​​imitating a guard detachment of a huge army. The warriors spread out and constantly moved after the ambassador. Belisarius himself was very self-confident. The ambassador, returning to the Shahinshah, reported what a large army Justinian had gathered against the Persians, and Khosrow decided to retreat.

Last trip and disgrace

The emperor was afraid of the growing fame of Belisarius, and sent him with a small army to Italy, where the new king of the Ostrogoths, Totila, captured one city after another. Belisarius managed to recapture Rome, but did not have sufficient forces to take over Italy again. In 548, he returned to Constantinople without reaching his goal. After returning to the capital, Belisarius remained out of work, then, during the Slavic invasion, he managed to repel the attack of the Bulgarians. Soon he fell into disgrace to the emperor and lost all his estates and titles. It is this period of the life of Belisarius that is dedicated to the painting by Jacques-Louis David "Belisarius asks for alms." In the end, the commander was acquitted by the emperor, although he died in obscurity.

Flavius ​​Belisarius is one of the most prominent commanders in history, whose campaigns are still being analyzed by military theorists today. The loyalty of the commander, who went through not only fire and water, but also copper pipes, makes one respect the personality of Belisarius himself. His talents helped Justinian return Africa and Italy to the empire, although soon the empire's western possessions were reduced to a few cities, and the economy was upset by numerous wars.

Byzantine Empire

Flavius ​​Belisarius (Belisarius)(lat. Flavius ​​Belisarius, Greek Φλάβιος Βελισάριος ; OK. - March 13) - Byzantine commander of the time of Emperor Justinian the Great. Consul of 535. One of the greatest generals of Byzantine history.

Biography

Having started his service as a simple soldier of the imperial guard, in 527, under the new emperor Justinian I, Belisarius became the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army and in 530-532. won a series of impressive military victories over the Iranians, which led to the signing of the "Eternal Peace" of 532 with the Sassanid Empire, thanks to which Byzantium received a long-awaited respite on the eastern borders for almost a decade.

In 532, he participated in the suppression of the Nika uprising. As a result, the uprising was suppressed, order was restored in the capital and the power of the emperor was preserved. This further strengthened the position of Belisarius at the imperial court.

In 533, leading an army sent to Africa against the Vandals, he defeated them at Tricameron, occupied Carthage, captured the Vandal king Gelimer, and thus put an end to the Vandal kingdom (Vandal War). After that, he was instructed to drive the Goths out of Italy and destroy the Ostrogothic kingdom.

In 534 Belisarius subjugated Sicily and, crossing into Italy, took Naples and Rome and withstood its siege; but the war did not end there, but dragged on for several more years. Finally, the Ostrogothic king Vitiges, pursued by the troops of Belisarius, was captured and taken prisoner to Constantinople. Meanwhile, the war with the Persians resumed.

The victories won by the Persian king Khosrov forced Justinian to send Belisarius to Asia, where he, acting with unchanging luck, ended this war in 548. From Asia, Belisarius was again sent to Italy, where the Ostrogothic king Totila inflicted severe defeats on the Byzantine troops and captured Rome.

The second Italian campaign of Belisarius (544-548) was not so successful. Although he managed to regain Rome for a short time, the Byzantines could not win, since most of the troops were occupied with the war against the Sassanids in the East (the end of the Ostrogothic kingdom was put in 552 by the eternal rival of Belisarius Narses). Belisarius was removed from command and remained out of work for 12 years. In 559, during the invasion of the Bulgarians, he was again entrusted with command over the troops, and his actions were still successful.

At the end of his life in 562, Belisarius fell into disgrace: his estates were confiscated. But in 563, Justinian acquitted and released the commander, returning all the confiscated estates and previously granted titles, although he left him in obscurity. However, this disgrace later in the 12th century gave rise to the legend of the blinding of Belisarius.

In art

• David Drake, Eric Flint. A series of fantasy novels about Belisarius ("Detour", "Heart of Darkness", "Shield of Doom", "Strike of Doom", "Tide of Victory", "Dance of Time", see Belisarius series), alternative history. The Byzantine general fights not with the Vandals and Goths, but with the Indians, armed with gunpowder weapons, and does this in alliance with the Persians.

• Robert Graves. "Prince Belisarius" (Count Belisarius).
• Felix Dan. "Battle for Rome".
• Lyon Sprague De Camp. "Let no darkness fall". Alternative story about Belisarius.
• A. F. Merzlyakov, romance "Belisarius".
• Mikhail Kazovsky. " Stomp of a bronze horse", historical novel.
• Kay, Guy Gavriel, dilogy "Sarantia Mosaic" - commander Leontes.
• Donizetti Gaetano, Belisarius.
• Jacques-Louis David, Belisarius begging for alms.
• Valentin Ivanov "Original Russia".
• Carlo Goldoni, Belisarius tragedy.

To the cinema

• feature film "Battle for Rome", Germany, -1969. The role of Belisarius was played by Lang Jeffries.
• historical film "Original Russia", USSR, 1985. The role of Belisarius was played by Elguja Burduli.

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Notes

Literature and sources

• Procopius of Caesarea. War with the Persians. War with vandals. Secret History.
• Liddell Hart B. part 1, ch. IV: Belisarius and Narses // = ed. S. Pereslegina. - M, St. Petersburg: AST, Terra Fantastica, 2003. - 656 p. - (Military History Library). - 5100 copies. - ISBN 5-17-017435-7.
• Sh. Diehl In: Justinian and Byzantine Civilization in the 6th Century. St. Petersburg, Altshuler Printing House 1908 History of the Byzantine Empire. Chapter 2 "The reign of Justinian and the Byzantine Empire in the VI century." M. Publishing house of foreign literature, 1948 Byzantine portraits. Chapter 3. M. Ed. Art, 1994. Main problems of Byzantine history. M. Publishing house of foreign literature, 1947
• Chekalova A. A.. Constantinople in the 6th century, Nika Rebellion, St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 1997. 332 pp. ISBN 5-89329-038-0
• Udaltsova Z. V. Italy and Byzantium in the 6th century. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1957
• Nadler V.K. Justinian and the party of the circus. Kharkov. 1869

Political positions
Predecessor: Imp. Caesar Flavius ​​Peter Savvatius Justinian	Consul of the Roman Empire 535-537	Successor: John of Cappadocia

An excerpt characterizing Belisarius

To one old countess, Natasha would be able to tell everything that she thought in bed at night. Sonya, she knew, with her stern and solid look, either would not have understood anything, or would have been horrified by her confession. Natasha, alone with herself, tried to resolve what tormented her.
“Did I die for the love of Prince Andrei or not? she asked herself, and answered herself with a reassuring smile: What kind of fool am I that I ask this? What happened to me? Nothing. I didn't do anything, I didn't cause it. No one will know, and I will never see him again, she told herself. It became clear that nothing had happened, that there was nothing to repent of, that Prince Andrei could love me like this. But what kind? Oh my God, my God! why isn't he here?" Natasha calmed down for a moment, but then again some instinct told her that although all this was true and although there was nothing, instinct told her that all her former purity of love for Prince Andrei had died. And she again in her imagination repeated her entire conversation with Kuragin and imagined the face, gestures and gentle smile of this handsome and courageous man, while he shook her hand.

Anatole Kuragin lived in Moscow because his father sent him away from St. Petersburg, where he lived on more than twenty thousand a year in money and the same amount of debt that creditors demanded from his father.
The father announced to his son that he was paying half of his debts for the last time; but only so that he would go to Moscow to take up the post of adjutant to the commander-in-chief, which he secured for him, and would finally try to make a good match there. He pointed out to him Princess Mary and Julie Karagina.
Anatole agreed and went to Moscow, where he stayed with Pierre. Pierre received Anatole reluctantly at first, but then got used to him, sometimes went with him to his revels and, under the pretext of a loan, gave him money.
Anatole, as Shinshin rightly said about him, since he arrived in Moscow, drove all Moscow ladies crazy, especially by the fact that he neglected them and obviously preferred gypsies and French actresses to them, with the head of which - mademoiselle Georges, as they said, he was in close contact. He did not miss a single revelry at Danilov and other merry fellows of Moscow, he drank all night long, drinking everyone, and visited all the evenings and balls of high society. They told about several intrigues of him with Moscow ladies, and at balls he courted some. But with girls, especially with rich brides, who were for the most part all bad, he did not get close, especially since Anatole, which no one knew except his closest friends, was married two years ago. Two years ago, while his regiment was stationed in Poland, a poor Polish landowner forced Anatole to marry his daughter.
Anatole very soon abandoned his wife, and for the money that he agreed to send to his father-in-law, he reprimanded himself for the right to be known as a bachelor.
Anatole was always pleased with his position, himself and others. He was instinctively convinced with his whole being that it was impossible for him to live otherwise than as he lived, and that he had never done anything wrong in his life. He was unable to consider how his actions might resonate with others, nor what might come out of such or such an act of his. He was convinced that just as a duck was created in such a way that it must always live in water, so he was created by God in such a way that he must live on thirty thousand income and always occupy the highest position in society. He so firmly believed in this that, looking at him, others were convinced of this and did not deny him either the highest position in the world, or the money that he obviously borrowed without return from the counter and cross.
He was not a player, at least he never wanted to win. He was not conceited. He didn't care what anyone thought of him. Still less could he be guilty of ambition. He teased his father several times, spoiling his career, and laughed at all the accolades. He was not stingy and did not refuse anyone who asked him. The only thing he loved was fun and women, and since, according to his concepts, there was nothing ignoble in these tastes, and he could not consider what came out for other people from satisfying his tastes, then in his soul he considered himself an irreproachable person, sincerely despised scoundrels and bad people, and with a clear conscience carried his head high.
The revelers, these male Magdalenes, have a secret sense of the consciousness of innocence, the same as that of the female Magdalenes, based on the same hope of forgiveness. “Everything will be forgiven her, because she loved a lot, and everything will be forgiven him, because he had a lot of fun.”
Dolokhov, who this year appeared again in Moscow after his exile and Persian adventures, and led a luxurious gambling and revelry life, became close to the old St. Petersburg comrade Kuragin and used him for his own purposes.
Anatole sincerely loved Dolokhov for his intelligence and daring. Dolokhov, who needed the name, nobility, connections of Anatole Kuragin to lure rich young people into his gambling society, without letting him feel it, used and amused Kuragin. In addition to the calculation by which he needed Anatole, the very process of controlling someone else's will was a pleasure, a habit and a need for Dolokhov.
Natasha made a strong impression on Kuragin. At dinner after the theater, with the techniques of an expert, he examined in front of Dolokhov the dignity of her arms, shoulders, legs and hair, and announced his decision to follow her. What could come out of this courtship - Anatole could not think and know, as he never knew what would come out of his every act.
“Good, brother, but not about us,” Dolokhov told him.
“I will tell my sister to invite her to dinner,” said Anatole. - BUT?
- You better wait until you get married ...
- You know, - said Anatole, - j "adore les petites filles: [I love girls:] - now he will be lost.
- You already got caught once on a petite fille [girl], - said Dolokhov, who knew about Anatole's marriage. - Look!
Well, you can't do it twice! BUT? - said Anatole, laughing good-naturedly.

The next day after the theater, the Rostovs did not go anywhere and no one came to them. Marya Dmitrievna, hiding from Natasha, was talking to her father about something. Natasha guessed that they were talking about the old prince and inventing something, and she was worried and offended by this. She waited every minute for Prince Andrei, and twice that day sent the janitor to Vzdvizhenka to find out if he had arrived. He didn't come. It was now harder for her than the first days of her arrival. Her impatience and sadness for him were joined by an unpleasant recollection of a meeting with Princess Marya and the old prince, and fear and anxiety, for which she did not know the reason. It seemed to her that either he would never come, or that before he arrived, something would happen to her. She could not, as before, calmly and for a long time, alone with herself, think about him. As soon as she began to think about him, the recollection of him was joined by the recollection of the old prince, of Princess Mary, and of the last performance, and of Kuragin. She again presented herself with the question of whether she was to blame, whether her loyalty to Prince Andrei had already been violated, and again she found herself remembering every word, every gesture, every shade of the play of expression on the face of this man, who knew how to arouse in her incomprehensible to her and a terrible feeling. In the eyes of her family, Natasha seemed livelier than usual, but she was far from being as calm and happy as she had been before.

Belisarius

The great commander of the most famous emperor of Byzantium, the winner of the Persians and ready

Belisarius during the battle with the Goths

Emperor Justinian I entered the history of Byzantium as the most famous ruler, and Belisarius - as his most famous commander. Under them, the military organization of this great empire of the ancient world finally took shape. The army became regular, and the soldiers enrolled in it were stigmatized, treating them like slaves. They took an oath of allegiance to the monarch and pledged to serve for 20–25 years. Soldiers could have families, but then their children also became soldiers without fail.

Yet most of the Byzantine military force were mercenaries. Moreover, the barbarians were hired by entire detachments along with their leaders. But all the highest command positions in the army of Byzantium were occupied only by the Romans.

Justinian I was well aware that mercenaries were the most unreliable part of the Byzantine army. They often went over to the side of the enemy, they could simply be bought out. And in Constantinople itself, popular uprisings broke out more than once against the atrocities of this part of the emperor's army.

The main arm of the army under the crowned military reformer Justinian I and his great commander was the heavy, "armored" cavalry, since all the main opponents of Byzantium had mainly cavalry troops. Bow and arrows were the main weapon of horse and foot warriors. The riders had a heavy spear and a considerable supply of throwing spears - darts.

The difference between heavily armed and light infantry disappeared. Now the Byzantine foot warrior had unified weapons, which simplified the training of ground troops and their control in battle. This was a big innovation in that era.

The Byzantine army had a "Manual for archery", which, among other things, stated that the archer had to flank fire, since another warrior covered him with a shield from the front.

Organizationally, the land army of the Byzantine Empire under Justinian I consisted of infantry, cavalry, the squad of the commander (master of the army), the troops of the allied federations and the palace guard, which was divided into detachments - skills. The infantry and cavalry were divided into measures (6 thousand soldiers), those - into the city hall (2 thousand soldiers), those - into tagmas (250 people in the infantry, and 200-400 horsemen in the cavalry). The horse tagma consisted of hundreds, tens and heels.

The order of battle of the Byzantine army consisted of two lines. The first was for the cavalry, the second for the infantry. Horsemen, in addition to the loose formation, were trained to operate in close formation.

In Byzantium, a system of fortified lines was worked out. But unlike the Roman ones, they were not solid ramparts with watchtowers on them. These were lines of fortified points in which strong garrisons were located. Most of the estates in the Balkan borderlands were turned into well-defended castles.

Such a military organization allowed the Byzantine Empire for a long historical period to successfully resist the attacks of its warlike neighbors - barbarians, Slavs, Persia and others. But not only to defend, but also to attack them herself, as Justinian I did with the “hands” of the commander Belisarius.

The first Persian war of Emperor Justinian I did not promise success to the ruler of Constantinople in its development. The "King of Kings" Kavadh I, with the help of his Arab ally Numan ibn al-Mundhir, who ruled in Hira (an ancient city on the territory of modern Iraq), inflicted a number of defeats on the Byzantines on the border. But the Persians could not overcome the strip of border fortresses. They were not successful in Colchis either.

Success came to the imperial army when the talented Belisarius, a Thracian by birth, was appointed its master (commander-in-chief) at the age of 25 (!) In 529, he will conduct a successful raid behind enemy lines, which the Persians could not repel.

Belisarius received military glory in a big battle near the border fortress of Dara, in which he had previously commanded a garrison. This battle near the city of Nisibin took place in 530. Belisarius with a 25,000-strong army approached Dara first and built a horseshoe-shaped earthen fortification under the fortress walls. It consisted of a deep ditch and a high rampart with passages for sorties.

The army of Kavad I, consisting mainly of Persians and Arabs, numbering 40 thousand people, approached Dara later and, encamped, attacked the Byzantines the next morning. But at the sight of their field fortification, the army of the "king of kings" stopped in indecision. On that day, a detachment of Persian cavalry tried to attack one of the flanks of the army of Master Belisarius, but the attack was not successful. A hail of arrows fell on the attackers, and they had to gallop back to their camp.

The next day, 10,000 reinforcements approached the Persian army. Having received a double superiority in strength, Kavad I decided to approach Dara again. The order of battle of his troops consisted of two lines and a strong reserve, consisting of the "immortal" ruler of Persia. During the battle, the soldiers of the first and second lines had to change each other so that "fresh ones attacked the enemy."

Master Belisarius left his troops in the same position, hiding most of them behind the rampart and ditch. He only hid a detachment of German mercenaries (at the suggestion of their leader) behind the nearest hill with the task of striking the Persians from the rear in the midst of the battle.

The battle began with shelling each other with bows. But here the favorable wind helped the Byzantines well - their arrows flew further. Having shot the entire stock of arrows, including those carried on camels, the Persians and Arabs attacked the left flank of the enemy position.

They began to gain the upper hand, not without difficulty, but then an ambush detachment of the Germans hit the attackers in the back. At the same time, Byzantine horse archers appeared in large numbers on the flank of the Persians, who fired accurately at the solid mass of enemy soldiers. As a result, the attackers, having lost about 3 thousand people, retreated in disarray. They were not pursued.

Then the army of Kawad I attacked the other flank of the enemy with its whole mass. Even detachments of "immortals" went into battle. They managed to seriously press the Byzantines, but the commander Belisarius at the most critical moment of the battle transferred part of his horse archers to the right flank. And the successfully attacking Persians and Arabs, to complete surprise, found themselves in a semi-encirclement. They fled, losing up to 5 thousand people. After that, the entire Byzantine army went beyond the line of field fortifications and began a general pursuit of the retreating enemy. But Master Belisarius did not dare to storm his camp. The victory in the battle near Dara remained with him.

In the following year, 531, a significant Persian force crossed the Euphrates and began to plunder the province of Euphratesia, bringing booty to a camp set up near the besieged city of Gabala.

Belisarius, at the head of an 8,000-strong army, set out from the fortress of Dara and, on the way, joined up with a mercenary detachment of the Huns, commanded by the leader Sunik. Since there was no agreement between him and the master in actions, the Persians managed to build a sufficient number of various siege machines, smash the walls of Gabala with rams and take the city by storm.

Byzantine troops blocked the way to Antioch for the Persians and Arabs, but they did not go to the Mediterranean coast. Having captured rich booty and thousands of prisoners, they turned back and set up a camp not far from Kallinak. The construction of a crossing over the Euphrates began.

Belisarius, having called in a river flotilla for help, blocked the enemy camp. On August 19, a fierce battle took place near Kallinak, in which many soldiers and commanders died on both sides. Only the Huns of the leader Sunik lost 800 people.

After the Arab detachments fled from the battlefield, the Persians crossed the Euphrates and, not pursued by the imperial cavalry, began a campaign along the Byzantine border. They managed to take the Abgersat fortress and exterminate its garrison.

Emperor Justinian I was dissatisfied with the actions of his commander Belisarius. He recalled him to Constantinople, appointing the able Mundus as master of the army in his place. But he didn’t really have a chance to distinguish himself in the war. In 532, the warring parties signed a peace.

... The commander Belisarius had a chance to distinguish himself again in the long war of the Eastern Roman Empire with the barbarians, who "swallowed" the Western Roman Empire. Justinian I led the fight against the Goths, setting out to expel the Goths from Italy.

In 535, he sent his illustrious commander Belisarius, who now bore the title of Master of the East, to win back the island of Sicily from the "barbarians". His expeditionary army was relatively small: 4,000 Byzantine and federate allies from the regular imperial army, 3,000 Isaurian mercenaries, 200 Huns, 300 Moors, and Belisarius' personal squad, which numbered up to 7,000 selected and well-armed soldiers.

Having landed from ships in Sicily, the Byzantines occupied the vast island almost unhindered. Resistance, and even then not the most stubborn, they had only the Gothic garrison of the city of Palermo.

After that, Belisarius landed with his army in southern Italy and began to move rapidly to the north of the Apennine Peninsula. Naples and Rome were taken. The local population met the Byzantines as their liberators from the power of the barbarians.

Soon the Byzantines captured the Gothic capital of Ravenna, which was a well-fortified city and in its history withstood more than one cruel siege. In most of the clashes, the forces of Master Belisarius achieved convincing victories over the Goths, although they outnumbered them. The entire Gothic army in Italy reached 150 thousand, and most of it was cavalry.

Barbarians for a long time no longer looked like those horsemen who first appeared on Italian soil. They were heavily armed horsemen, who had solid defensive weapons and were armed with spears and swords. The horses of the Goths were also covered with protective armor and therefore were not very vulnerable in battle, including for long-range enemy arrows.

Belisarius found the "key" to deal with such cavalry. He defeated the Gothic horsemen with the help of horse archers. Those with thick flying arrows tried to injure the enemy horses wherever possible, and in such cases the Goths had to dismount. They had very few archers, and they were on foot.

Quite a few Gothic garrisons went over to the side of the Byzantines in that war: they simply hired on a higher pay to the ruler of Constantinople, Justinian I, not wanting to die for their king Vitiges. He was defeated in the battle of Ravenna and, having been taken prisoner, was sent to the capital of Byzantium as "the most honorable trophy." There he received from the emperor ... the high rank of patrician and began to serve at his court.

However, with regard to taxes, the rule of the Byzantine monarch in Italy turned out to be no easier for the local indigenous population than the Gothic. The Byzantines quickly lost their kind attitude from the inhabitants of the Apennines.

Totila became the new king of the Goths, who in 541 was able to gather a considerable army and expel 12 thousand Byzantines from all the cities of Italy, where they were garrisoned. The fierceness of that Byzantine-Gothic war is evidenced by at least the fact that Rome changed hands several times. And as a result, the Eternal City was badly destroyed.

Emperor Justinian I was forced to recall to Constantinople Master Belisarius, who had acted unsuccessfully in the second war with the Goths. His place was taken by the commander Nerses, originally from Armenia, who inflicted a complete defeat on King Totila in 552. The recall of the Master of the East was also connected with the fact that neighboring Persia started a war against the Byzantine Empire.

The military star of Belisarius did not set for history after a streak of bad luck on Italian soil. He managed to distinguish himself in the second war between Byzantium and Persia, which lasted intermittently from 539 to 562.

The war was started by the "king of kings" Khosrow I Anushirvan. He feared the growth of the power of the Byzantine Empire after its victories over the Vandals in North Africa and was dissatisfied with the fact that Constantinople constantly underpaid the Persian garrisons guarding the Caucasian passes. There were also religious differences.

The Persian invasion of Syria in 540 was a complete success. The Persians took the strong fortress of Antioch by storm, devastated the vast Syrian territory, and with many thousands of captives returned unhindered.

In 542–543, Colchis and the adjacent seaside Lazika became the theater of operations. The Persians took the city of Petra here. Emperor Justinian I, as he did not want to, had to recall his best commander Belisarius from Italy: there was no equivalent to him in Constantinople yet.

Belisarius, having taken command of the troops in Syria and Mesopotamia, in three years, conducting active operations, expelled the Persians from all the Byzantine lands they had captured. The "King of Kings" Khosrow I had to leave Lazika, the possession of which cost him great loss of life.

Shortly after this success, Master Belisarius made a successful campaign deep into the possessions of Persia, as he did in the first Byzantine-Persian war of Justinian I. When the enemy launched a retaliatory offensive, Belisarius did not allow the Persians to capture the cities of Dara and Edessa. These were his last victories for the glory of the monarch of Constantinople.