Key Facts
- Year
- 538 AD
- Siege lifted
- 24 July 538
- Gothic withdrawal destination
- Ravenna
- Siege began
- March 538
- Duration of siege
- Approximately 4 months
Strategic Narrative Overview
The Goths failed to take Ariminum by assault and settled into a blockade to starve the garrison. Byzantine leadership was divided over rescuing the insubordinate John, but Chamberlain Narses persuaded Belisarius that John's capture would embolden the enemy. Belisarius devised a coordinated approach, splitting his forces into multiple columns advancing by land and sea simultaneously to create the illusion of a far superior Byzantine army.
01 / The Origins
During the Ostrogothic siege of Rome in 537–538, Byzantine general Belisarius dispatched John the Sanguinary to raid Picenum. John exceeded his orders and seized Ariminum, strategically close to the Gothic capital Ravenna. This bold move compelled the Ostrogoths under King Vitiges to fear for their capital, prompting them to abandon the siege of Rome and redirect their forces northward to besiege Ariminum in March 538.
03 / The Outcome
The near-simultaneous convergence of Byzantine forces from multiple directions unnerved the Gothic besiegers. Vitiges abandoned the siege on 24 July 538 and withdrew to Ravenna without battle. Although a Byzantine success, John's defiance deepened divisions within the Byzantine command, fracturing the leadership's unity and complicating the subsequent conduct of the Gothic War in Italy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Vitiges.
Side B
1 belligerent
Belisarius, John the Sanguinary, Narses.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.