place. The new king
was able to purchase the neutrality of the Franks, who were in alliance
with Justinian, by ceding to them the Ostrogothic possessions in South
Gaul. However, Belisarius continued his advance and occupied Rome
(December, 536 A. D.). There he was besieged for a year (March, 537 to
March, 538) by the Goths, who were in the end forced to abandon the
blockade and fall back upon North Italy. At the same time, the eunuch
Narses arrived in Italy at the head of a new Roman army. But since his
presence was largely due to Justinian's mistrust of Belisarius, he failed
to cooeperate with the latter and accomplished nothing before his recall in
539. The last episode of the campaign was the siege of Ravenna (539-540
A. D.), which was defended by the Gothic king. With its fall and his
capture in 540, the resistance of the Goths came to an end. Italy was
declared a Roman province, the civil administration was reestablished, and
Belisarius was recalled to assume the command against Persia.

*Second phase, 541-554 A. D.* But the withdrawal of Belisarius and his
best troops led to a revolt of the Goths under the leadership of the brave
and energetic Totila (or Baduila) in 541. Within the next three years he
drove the Roman garrisons from the greater part of Italy, including Rome.
Belisarius was despatched against him, but was given inadequate support
and accomplished nothing except the recovery of Rome, which he held until
he was recalled at his own request in 548. The drain of a fresh Persian
war upon the resources of the empire forced Justinian to the temporary
abandonment of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Italy, apart from Ravenna and
a few other fortresses. At last in 552 he was able to resume the struggle
and entrusted the conduct of the war to Narses, whose ability as a
commander was superior to that of Belisarius himself. The army of Narses
numbered over 30,000, and consisted chiefly of barbarian auxiliaries, in
particular Lombards, who had been settled as _foederati_ in Noricum since
547. Narses marched upon Italy by way of Illyricum and reached the Roman
base at Ravenna. Thence he advanced towards Rome and met and defeated the
Goths in a decisive engagement in Umbria (552 A. D.). Totila fell in the
battle. A second victory in Campania in the following spring forced the
surviving Goths to come to terms. They were allowed to leave Italy and
seek a new home beyond the Roman borders. A fresh enemy then appeared in
t