Key Facts
- Duration
- ~11 months (April 538 – March 539)
- Ostrogothic commander
- Uraias (nephew of King Vitiges)
- Byzantine commander
- Mundilas, under Belisarius
- Outcome for male inhabitants
- Killed by Goths after capitulation
- Fate of women
- Sold to Burgundians as payment for their alliance
- Imperial consequence
- Narses recalled to Constantinople; Belisarius made sole commander
Strategic Narrative Overview
Vitiges sent his nephew Uraias with a Gothic and Burgundian force to besiege Milan. The city endured severe famine over the following months as Byzantine relief efforts stalled due to personal disputes between the two senior commanders, Belisarius and Narses. Neither general acted decisively to relieve Mundilas, and no substantial aid reached the besieged garrison, leaving Milan progressively weakened through attrition.
01 / The Origins
The siege was part of the broader Gothic War (535–554), in which the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian sought to reconquer Italy from the Ostrogoths. After the Goths lifted their siege of Rome in 538, Byzantine general Belisarius dispatched Mundilas northward to occupy Milan. The city's non-Gothic population welcomed Byzantine forces, an act the Ostrogothic king Vitiges treated as rebellion requiring punitive response.
03 / The Outcome
Milan surrendered in March 539. The Goths executed the city's male inhabitants as punishment for its defection and gave the women to their Burgundian allies. The city itself was razed, and the Goths recovered much of Liguria. Emperor Justinian, alarmed by the disaster, recalled Narses to Constantinople and placed Belisarius in sole command of the Italian campaign.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Uraias, Vitiges.
Side B
1 belligerent
Mundilas, Belisarius, Narses.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.