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How to pronounce ostrogoth in English?

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534 a.d
flavius belisarius eastern roman general
has waged one of the most successful
campaigns in the empire's history
the complete reconquest of north africa
in just six months almost without loss
he is well rewarded by emperor justinian
he celebrates his victory with a triumph
in constantinople
and receives the title of consul
belisarius has helped justinian's regime
survive political crisis
now his victory offers irrefutable proof
of god's divine sanction
emboldened justinian will pursue a new
strategic vision the reconquest of the
western roman empire and its
reunification
belisarius's next mission will be to
italy
where he will fight a desperate struggle
for the eternal city rome
itself
[Music]
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sixty years have passed since the
western roman empire fell to barbarians
many kings emerged to rule over its
shattered remains
above them all towered theodoric the
great
with eastern roman approval he'd led his
ostrogoth warbands from the balkans into
italy he overthrew and killed odo akka
the man who deposed the last western
emperor and forged his own goth super
state
theodoric an aryan christian worked with
the senate in rome and sought close
relations with the eastern roman empire
to emperor anastasius he wrote
our royalty is an imitation of yours
modeled on your good purpose
a copy of the only empire
procopius the sixth century historian
and aide to belisarius would himself
praise theoderic as in name a tyrant but
in fact an emperor
no less than any who've ever
distinguished themselves in that office
in the eyes of his supporters theodoric
had revived the western roman empire in
all but name
but the succession would unravel his
great achievement
theodoric had three daughters so his
heir was to have been his son-in-law
eutharic
but he died four years before the king
in
the succession passed to theodric's
ten-year-old grandson athalaric
his mother the highly educated and
formidable amila sunta ruled as regent
in defending her position amala sunter
made powerful enemies among the goths
and when her son died aged just 18
one of those enemies her cousin theodor
had
became king
in 535
he has amala santa imprisoned on an
island in the middle of lake borcena
weeks later assassins arrive
they're rumored to be vengeful relatives
of men amalasunta had killed during her
regency
the daughter of theodoric the great
is strangled in her birth
theodohad thinks he can quietly
eliminate his rival without
repercussions
but amala sunta had been a trusted ally
of the emperor justinian
and he is looking for an excuse
for war
and the emperor upon learning what had
befallen amela sunta
immediately entered upon the war being
in the ninth year of his reign
for justinian chaos at the ostrogoth
court presents an opportunity
after success in north africa he wants
italy for the empire
strategic and symbolic gains will be
immense
before her death amala sunta had offered
him the kingdom in exchange for
political asylum
now justinian pressures the other had a
notoriously corrupt and greedy man
to accept the same deal
or face war
justinian's tough diplomacy is backed up
by military deployments
mundus commanding the army in illyria
advances into goth control dalmatia and
takes salona the modern city of split
belisarius meanwhile is ordered to sail
with nine thousand men to sicily to see
if the goths there will put up a fight
only the garrison of palermo offers
resistance
which is soon overcome
the rest of sicily submits to the romans
without a fight
on the last day of 535 belisarius marks
the end of his consulship
scattering coins to the crowds in
syracuse
as his troops marched triumphantly
through the city
as negotiations continue in the goth
capital ravenna between theodohad and
justinian's envoy
solomon praetorian prefect of north
africa arrives in sicily with alarming
news from carthage
the army angered by late pay and
religious discrimination has murdered
its officers and mutinied
belisarius immediately sails for
carthage with just 100 picked men
his own formidable reputation plus
generous handouts of cash quickly
secures the loyalty of two thousand
troops whom he leads out to face the
nine thousand mutineers
[Music]
the mutineer army is a motley crew of
romans mercenaries renegade vandals and
escaped slaves commanded by statsas a
former buchellerias
they have no generals
and little discipline
starzas tries to maneuver his army into
a better position
it becomes badly disordered
belisarius immediately launches an
all-out attack
start sass and his army
turn
and run
belisarius has saved carthage but the
war in north africa against berbers and
rebels will drag on for 15 more years
this task falls to solomon as belisarius
must race back to sicily to quash
another mutiny among his own troops
in the balkans meanwhile a goth
counter-attack results in the death of
general mundus and the romans make a
tactical withdrawal
when news of this minor triumph reaches
king theodohad
he feels suddenly emboldened
and rejects all justinian's demands
belisarius receives new orders
he is to cross the strait of messina
and re-conquer italy from the ostrogoths
belisarius lands in italy with barely
eight thousand men
the bulk of his troops are infantry
including three thousand disorients
fierce warriors from the taurus
mountains of anatolia
his cavalry includes hun and berber
mercenaries as well as the elite
buccalari the picked troops maintained
by belisarius and other senior
commanders
as in north africa he is accompanied on
campaign by his wife antonina a capable
and trusted ally of empress theodora
that the emperor entrusts the campaign
to such a small force when the goths can
field an army four times its size
indicates justinian's supreme confidence
in belisarius
but it is also a sign that he has badly
underestimated the goths and their will
to fight
belisarius's army is welcomed by
southern italians
and meets no opposition as far as naples
this city has strong walls and a
garrison of 800 goths
belisarius appeals directly to its
citizens urging them to throw open the
gates
and warning of the dire consequences of
an assault
i pray that an ancient city which has
long been inhabited by christians and
romans may not meet with such a fortune
especially at my hands as a commander of
roman troops
the citizens of naples are divided
but ultimately their leaders reject the
demand to hand over the city
when belisarius's troops sneak into the
city using an old aqueduct there is a
savaged slaughter of goths and italian
citizens alike
until the general can restore order
the main ostrogoth army has been
standing idle 60 miles to the north
theodor had never suited to military
command and now unsettled by omens
does nothing to save naples
it's his own death sentence
he is deposed and killed
vitigus becomes the new king of the
ostrogoths he is in his 60s but he's an
experienced soldier who fought alongside
theodoric the great
he assumes that belisarius must be
leading a large army up from the south
and wants more time to gather his forces
he also plans to negotiate a truce with
the franks which will free up more
troops for the war against the romans
so leaving four thousand men to hold
rome
vitiges withdraws to ravenna
belisarius garrisons naples
and advances up the old roman road the
via latina
to rome
but as he nears the great city
the goths simply abandon it
they march out through the porta
flaminia as belisarius and his army
march in through the porta assinaria
a gate which though much restored
survives to this day
sixty years after the fall of the
western empire rome once more belongs to
the romans
belisarius duly dispatches the keys to
the city to emperor justinian
rome in the 6th century is still a great
city
but a shadow of its former glory
in its imperial heyday rome's population
had been around half a million
now it's just a fifth of that
but it remains the seat of the roman
senate and the pope
and a city of intense emotional and
cultural significance to all romans
the city is also notoriously difficult
to defend which is why the goths have
abandoned it
the famous aurelian walls are crumbling
and at 12 miles in length are too long
for a small army to easily hold
the goths had also worried that rome's
large population might turn against them
belisarius is down to seven thousand men
not enough to face the goths in open
battle
so he sends detachments to garrison key
strongholds along the villaflaminia the
road to ravenna which he hopes will
delay the inevitable goth advance
while in rome he and his men begin
hurried preparations for a siege
the walls are repaired
and merlons are added
a deep moat is dug around the city
the granaries are filled with grain
all rome's adult male citizens are
conscripted into the city guard
vitigus meanwhile has been told how
small
his army is
embarrassed by his earlier caution
he gives the order for his reinforced
army to march on rome
his chief concern is to get there before
belisarius can escape
but belisarius has no plans to flee
and whoever of you has hopes of setting
foot in rome without a fight is mistaken
in his judgment
for as long as belisarius lives it is
impossible for him to relinquish this
city
such were the words of belisarius
537ad
in early spring
vitigus leads a huge garth army probably
more than 30 000 men
down the via flaminia sweeping past the
small roman outposts
belisarius plans to fight a delaying
action a mile and a half north of the
city at the milvian bridge
but his infantry terrified by the size
of the goth army abandoned the bridge
without a fight
belisarius is left facing the goth army
with just a thousand horsemen
he orders his men to charge
belisarius himself fights in the front
rank
scores of men fall around him
goth spears finally drive belisarius and
his men back towards the porter salaria
at first its defenders don't recognize
belisarius covered in dust and gore and
won't let him in
he's forced to launch another desperate
charge to drive the goths back from the
walls
finally the gate is opened
and he and his men get back into the
city
the siege of rome begins
the city is too large for vitiges to
completely surround
he builds seven fortified camps north of
the city and cuts the aqueducts that
have supplied rome with water for 800
years
there will be no baths for the romans
but the city's wells will still supply
drinking water
when belisarius rejects calls to
surrender the goths begin building rams
ladders and siege towers for a major
assault
18 days later they
attack
but their inexperience in siege warfare
is soon evident
their towers are pulled by oxen
the romans shoot all the animals
and the towers are left stranded
the goths assault the city from multiple
directions
the mausoleum of hadrian converted into
a fortress comes under heavy pressure
but eventually the goths are thrown back
on all fronts
that night the romans celebrate a great
victory
lighting fires and singing from the
battlements
both sides prepare for a long siege
belisarius is an inspiring presence in
the city
active calm and confident even when
others begin to despair
he has written to justinian urgently
requesting reinforcements now he
oversees every aspect of the city's
defense and supply
he orders all non-combatants to travel
south to naples so there are fewer
mouths to feed
he has the keys to the gates changed
regularly to reduce the risk from
treachery
while his berber mercenaries patrol at
night with dogs to detect any surprise
attack
his wife antonina also takes an active
role
when the pope is suspected of conducting
secret talks with the goths she demands
tell us lord pope silvarius what have we
done to you and the romans to make you
want to betray us to the goths
the pope is arrested and sent out of the
city
a month into the siege belisarius
receives much-needed reinforcements 1
600 cavalry mostly huns and slavs led by
martinez and valerian
belasarius has seen that the goths have
no mounted archers
now he can use his own to make
hit-and-run attacks against the enemy
a few hundred horsemen will ride within
range of the goths
shower them with arrows
then fall back
under covering fire from the city walls
procopius counts 67 actions of this type
both large and small
almost all are won by the romans because
of their superior cavalry
the victories raise morale and frustrate
the enemy
but they will not break the siege
the situation deteriorates dramatically
when the goths take portus rooms poured
at the mouth of the river tiber
making it much more difficult to get
supplies into the city
by september
six months into the siege hunger and
sickness begin to take hold
even the army's mules are killed to make
sausages
[Music]
the citizens of rome beg belisarius to
stake everything on one decisive battle
for the city
but he refuses telling them
you act as though you were playing dice
and want to risk everything on a single
roll
but it is not my custom to choose the
short course over the best course
instead belisarius sends antonina and
procopius to naples with instructions to
use his authority to requisition all
grain and every soldier who can be
spared and send both to rome
500 men and a convoy of supplies are
soon rolling up the via appear
they're followed by 1 800 cavalry
reinforcements who land at dreyus modern
or trento
then 3 000 disorients arrive at naples
aboard grain ships and travel on to
austria by sea
after months of delay the vast resources
of the eastern roman empire are finally
coming to belisarius's aid
the garrison of rome launched a series
of diversionary attacks on the goths
these allow the supplies under
antonina's direction to slip into the
city
the threat of starvation is ended
it's the last straw for vitigus
his own men have been camped outside
rome for almost a year
harassed by the enemy themselves
decimated by disease and hunger
the austrogoth king asks for a truce
to open negotiations with the emperor
he offers justinian all of southern
italy
but it is not enough
the initiative has swung to belisarius
belisarius has sent an elite force of
2000 cavalry commanded by john north
into peconom behind enemy lines
when the goths break the terms of the
truce belisarius orders john
to unleash hell
almost all the goth warriors are away on
military service
their farms and settlements are
completely exposed
john sacks burns and plunders at will
enslaving hundreds of goth women and
children
romans are not harmed
viticus's uncle gathers a small force to
challenge john
they're no match for his buccalari
[Applause]
john ignores the goth strongholds at
orpino and outsimum
but at the invitation of its citizens
occupies the walled city of araminum
just 30 miles south of the ostrogoth
capital at ravenna
vitigus has no choice but to abandon the
siege
and march north to defend the gulf
heartland
against the odds
under resourced and outnumbered
belisarius has triumphed in one of
history's most epic sieges
a siege that has lasted one year and
nine days
because of him
the city of romulus and the caesars
once more belongs to the roman empire
the war against the goths in italy seems
to be entering its final phase
belisarius's position
appears unassailable
but as every emperor knows the history
of the empire has been blighted time and
again
by the treachery of over mighty generals
belisarius's victories are as glorious
as any in rome's history
how can justinian not regard him
with suspicion
soon belisarius will find himself facing
new rivals from within the empire
as an old enemy re-emerges
in the east
big thanks to legendarian for providing
our total war attila gameplay footage
check out his own youtube channel for
more videos on this period including his
latest video on the sassanian civil war
of the late 6th century
thank you also to professor david
parnell of indiana university northwest
our series consultant you can follow
david on twitter at byzantine prof or
via the link in our video description
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[Music]
you

534 a.d

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ostrogoth::noun | Spocien Dictionary

ostrogoth

noun

/'ɑstrə,ɡɑθ/

a member of the eastern group of Goths who created a kingdom in northern Italy around 500 AD

Type	Words
Type of	goth

How to pronounce ostrogoth in English?

ostrogoth::noun | Spocien Dictionary

abandonment

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