Battle of Mucellium: Difference between revisions

Battle in the Gothic War (542)

The Battle of Mucellium was an engagement in 542 near Mugello, Italy, between Ostrogoths (Goths) and Byzantines during the Gothic War. Having lifted a siege of Florence, the Goths led by Totila turned on the pursuing Byzantines, defeating their numerically superior force. The defeat and lack of coordination by the remaining Byzantine forces allowed Totila to launch a successful campaign in South of Italy and eventually to advance against Rome.

Following his success against the Byzantines in the Battle of Faventia in spring 542, Totila sent part of his troops to attack Florence. Justin, the Byzantine commander of Florence, had neglected to adequately provision the city against a siege, and hurriedly sent for aid to the other Byzantine commanders in the area: John, Bessas and Cyprian. They gathered their forces and came to the relief of Florence.

At the approach of the Byzantine army, the Goths raised the siege and retreated north, to the region of Mucellium. The Byzantines pursued them, with John and his troops leading the chase and the rest of the army following behind. Suddenly, the Goths rushed upon John’s men from the top of a hill. The Byzantines initially held, but when a javelin killed one of John’s bodyguards soon a rumor spread that John had fallen. They broke and fled towards the oncoming main Byzantine force, which was deployed on the plain as a phalanx. Their panic however was caught by the latter as well, and the entire Byzantine army dispersed in disorder.

The Goths took many captives, who were treated well and even induced to join the Gothic army. Totila captured Caesena and Petra Pertusa in the region of Umbria, however, Tuscany remained in Byzantine control. Subsequently he avoided the conquest of central Italy, where the Byzantines controlled well fortified large cities, and instead moved swiftly in south of Italy with great success, including the capture of the fortress of Cumae.

The Byzantine generals fled to isolated strongholds (Bessas to Spoleto, Justin back to Florence, Cyprian to Perugia, and John to Rome). From that point onward, they failed to coordinate their efforts against the Goths. In response to this setback, Justinian send civilian Maximin to be Praetorian Prefect of Italy, but his indecision left him unable to formulate an effective strategy. As a result, Totila captured and razed to the ground Naples, then advanced to besiege Rome in spring 544. Upon receiving this news, Justinian recalled general Belisarius from the eastern front against Persia and dispatched him to Italy.

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