Triumph

CHAPTER TWELVE

Unaware of precisely what was happening at Ariminum, Belisarius could at least be sure that Rome was secure, so he left it with a small garrison and marched his main army right across Italy towards the Adriatic. While at the mountain city of Aquila he was informed that Narses the Eunuch, a commander he had known since he was a young officer and at present a steward to Justinian, had arrived on that coast with five thousand men and was camped at Firmum.

Leaving his forces to follow, Flavius made haste to meet with him in order to plan strategy only to find that the problem that had arisen with John Vitalianus was now compounded. A general in his own right as well as the Keeper of the Royal Treasury, and having with him what was in effect the Army of Illyricum, Narses could see no need, and certainly had no intention, of bowing the knee to Flavius Belisarius.

Firstly, here was a fellow he had long ago had as a subordinate. If he had been elevated since to his present position it was as much to do with personal affinities as ability, albeit Flavius was the victor of the Battle of Dara and also the man who had brought about the reconquest of North Africa, so could not be discounted or overborne.

In essence the two, militarily, were equals, which meant that whatever action was undertaken next had to be agreed between them, bringing with it all the problems of dual command: endless discussion in front of officers who obviously took the side of those to whom they were loyal.

Disagreement rose early and at the heart of the dispute was naturally John Vitalianus. He was an associate to Narses and a man who owed much of his advancement to the eunuch; in short he was a client officer and that meant a shared obligation on the part of both. Then there was a memory of Flavius being far from obedient himself, though it was never referred to openly; on the Persian frontier he had disobeyed strict instructions from Narses not to cross into Sassanid territory, only surviving censure due to a degree of devilish subterfuge, added to his high connection to Justinus, then Count of the Imperial Guard at the court of Anastasius, the emperor he succeeded.

Flavius was focused on the capture of the whole of Italy while the new arrival seemed to wish to concentrate on saving his insubordinate client in Ariminum. The time came when the two needed to make a decision because the present dispute threatened the whole operation.

‘I have here my instructions from the Emperor, Narses, which if you care to read them appoints me as sole commander of the forces on the Italian campaign.’

‘Not instructions made known to me. What may have pertained before does not necessarily apply now.’

‘I have no doubt that Justinian intended that I should hold the position he granted me, made plain here in writing and above his imperial seal.’

Narses, older by a decade and an Armenian by birth, had started life, like so many of his race, as a mercenary in the service of Constantinople. Unlike the majority, he had prospered and risen to hold many positions of authority, including important provincial governorships, before being appointed as Chamberlain to the Imperial Treasury.

If not as personally close to Justinian as Flavius he was a man on whom the Emperor relied for advice, added to which Theodora, with a sharp eye on income and expenditure, must trust him as well. He would also enjoy powerful backing within the bureaucracy that surrounded the throne, a body that even in close contact numbered hundreds. If Justinian stood at the apex of that, he was far from the complete master of it: no emperor had ever managed to be that, it being too complex for any one man to control.

Many important offices were held by eunuchs and they formed a band that looked to each other’s interests, sometimes above that of the polity they claimed to serve. Not that those deprived of the opportunity to breed were alone in their comradeship; every kind of political grouping a man could envisage was in existence and then there was the fluidity brought on by greed or personal ambition, in which loyalty to ones fellows came a poor second.

Flavius had little love for Constantinople and its endemic intrigues; for all the problems of command in the field they were simple by comparison with the tangled skein of endless conspiracy, one in which Justinian more than held his own and often surpassed his opponents. This was the reason why he could never be wholly relied upon, a point continually alluded to by Procopius. Flavius might have this letter but he could never be sure that his master would not, if it suited his purpose on any given day, repudiate it.

Narses took the parchment handed to him with great reluctance and as he read it he adopted a look that indicated that the words before him mattered little, this as Flavius tried to drive home the point. He kept his voice low in what was, to him, too public a gathering for the making of decisions.

‘The wording is quite plain, Narses, and while I do not desire to diminish you in any way, for I respect you and your achievements, I am obliged to insist that the imperial will be respected.’

The older man raised his eyes to cast them round a room that had once formed the senate of this provincial capital of Picenum. Change the armour and colourful accoutrements of the imperial officers for togas and it could have been a gathering in Republican antiquity; two factions vying for power and seeking, in the assembled faces, some clue as to the level of their support. Now, in a louder voice, he addressed the whole chamber instead of Flavius alone.

‘It says here that your actions are to be judged as being in the best interests of the state. If I were to say to you that I consider your plan to leave John Vitalianus to hold Ariminum while we attack Auximus to be less than sound, and not in the best interests of the empire, you would see why I cannot agree with you.’

Not to be outdone Flavius applied in an equally carrying voice. ‘Do you agree that our ultimate objective should be Ravenna?’

‘That does not require to be stated and nor does the fact that Ariminum is between us and the Goth capital. It is on the way to our ultimate goal. By saving it we surely advance our cause.’

‘While Auximus lays to the south and even now at our rear, strongly garrisoned, and the men there will, once we are committed to an advance northwards, be able to act to threaten us. I maintain that John can hold and that if we move with our full force on Auximus they will, once they observe our numbers, surrender quickly, removing that threat.’

‘And if Ariminum falls?’

‘Do you not have faith in a man you have so favoured?’

That angered Narses, it was in his eyes if not his voice; no soldier likes to face an allegation of making tactical arrangements to suit extraneous purposes. ‘He cannot fight with my faith.’

‘He seems able to act with confidence in his own capabilities.’

‘So you wish to punish him for disobeying you?’

Flavius had to work to keep his own voice flat then; Narses had made an outrageous suggestion but if he had to be told so it required maintenance of a diplomatic tone; outcome had to triumph over pique.

‘I have been fighting in Italy for a long time now and I have Witigis on the rack. Do you really think, Narses, that I will risk all of that to chastise an insubordinate inferior?’

‘We all have our pride.’

‘Something a good commander seeks to keep in check, would you not say?’

The great unspoken was that Flavius did not wish to fight any more battles in the open against the Goths if it could be avoided. It was not just Auximus that required to be subdued, there were Goth garrisons forming an arc to the west and they would, in their heartlands especially, always combine to outnumber him, even with these new reinforcements.

He could not say that to Narses; it would sound like excessive caution to the newly arrived component of the assembly. His own officers, who had experienced the same as he, required no telling that care had to be taken and it was wise to fight their enemies only on ground and at a time chosen by themselves.

The ripple of voices that now arose was far from a commotion, but it was sufficient to engage the curiosity of both the principles, Flavius and Narses sitting forward in their chairs to find out what had set so many tongues wagging. The fellow who approached through the assembled ranks was covered in the dust of a long and hard ride, the latter evident in a weariness he could not conceal.

Stepping forward he handed a letter to Flavius who read it in a couple of seconds, it being short, before handing it to Narses.

‘The decision is taken?’ asked the older man as he read it, a gleam in his eye.

It was with no pleasure at all that Flavius had to concede the point; the words he had just read left him no choice. ‘If John says he has run out of food and can only hold for five more days or capitulate, then we must move to aid him at once.’

‘Then it would be churlish of me not to meet with your wishes as to how that is to be carried out.’

The acknowledgement that Flavius should plan the next move might look to be one with which to happily agree; it was far from it, given John Vitalianus was once more controlling his actions, a fact made plain to his own commanders once they had assembled at his chosen quarters. His first move was to detach a thousand men to mask Auximus, their task to threaten but on no account to fight.

‘Make much noise, as if you are preparing an attack, but retire if threatened.’

Given the fleet that had brought Narses to Italy was available, it seemed foolish not to use it against a city close to the shoreline. Ildiger was put in command of an amphibious force that would threaten Ariminum from the sea. Again they were to avoid battle on their own, forbidden to land unless the forces Flavius would lead had appeared on the landward side of the city.

The main army was split in two, Martinus leading half by the coastal road, while Flavius, accompanied by Narses and his Illyrian forces, would take the remainder on an inland route so as to come upon Ariminum from a different direction. The instructions to Martinus showed some cunning; Flavius did not want his enemies to suspect his chosen path, so the coastal army must light double campfires to fool the Goths into thinking they were the main force. If the garrison then attacked Martinus they would expose their rear to a crushing blow.

It was galling to have to seek approval from Narses, who seemed to Flavius, although he was willing to admit to a heightened sense of grievance, to be taking pleasure in the Belisarian discomfort. It was doubly irritating that the need for harmony demanded he do nothing to acknowledge it. The man who got the backwash of this was Procopius, who understanding the reason did nothing to deflect his master’s ire.

‘If any of my officers allows a single soldier of that Illyrian rabble to enter Ariminum before we do, I will flay them alive. I want Vitalianus to grovel in gratitude to the army of which he is supposed to be a part.’

‘Which, Magister, still leaves the problem of Narses.’

‘Do you think I do not know that, man?’

‘I do not, but I am concerned at how we counter it.’ It was then that Flavius realised he was taking his anger out on the wrong person, which occasioned a mumbled apology as well as a nod that Procopius should continue. ‘You must send to Justinian for clarification and by a hand that is personal to you.’

‘I cannot spare you.’

‘But you can Photius. Only Justinian can order Narses to obey you and if that remains a problem unsolved you will face no end of difficulties. Send your stepson to Constantinople with a personal plea to the Emperor, which will allow us to bypass the imperial officials.’

‘You mean Theodora?’

The look Procopius gave him then was to tell Flavius to keep his voice down; Antonina was within the same villa and not above eavesdropping on their conversations. A pull of the lips showed that Flavius had got the point and he added softly, ‘Even if they rarely meet she will spot he has left.’

‘For Rome, shall we say? And will not the young man enjoy fooling his mother?’

‘I can think of nothing that would make him happier.’

‘Other than fighting alongside you,’ Procopius replied, making a valid point; Photius would have to be persuaded to miss the coming campaign, which might involve, at its very best, the taking of Ravenna.

‘How do I cover for his absence? I am bound to be asked.’

‘Tell the Lady Antonina that he is on some mission for me.’

For once the look on the face of Procopius did not convey the aesthete for Antonina would drink hemlock before asking him anything; as of this moment he had the look of a sated wolf.

What Photius missed, if not the ultimate goal, was a tactical triumph, though as always in war it was not without a degree of luck. Flavius, after marching for three days, encountered and surprised a strong force of Goths marching towards Ariminum and he fell on them at a speed that caused many deaths and even more flight, as a large body of the enemy bolted to a nearby and dense forest, Flavius refusing the request of his men that they should follow.

Narses plainly saw this as wrong and faint-hearted, though it was conveyed by his jaundiced countenance not in words. Why would he question an act that in the eyes of the troops both men led could only diminish his co-commander? But it was not brought on by fear, although high casualties could result in fighting in such a wooded terrain.

Flavius wanted to let them go because with his men covering their escape to the north or west their only hope was to make for their original destination, which was Ariminum. Once there they would alert their comrades to his approach and he had high hopes that would provoke a reaction.

His ploy was justified when within sight of the city they saw the besieging Goths had decided to fight. They were deploying in late afternoon to give the Byzantines battle on the following day. As darkness fell, to the south both armies could see the mass of campfires, which Flavius knew would confuse his enemies, and that was compounded by the rising sun, which revealed, offshore, the Byzantine fleet, Ildiger making sure that it was plainly and visibly manned by warriors and not just sailors.

Faced with the need to fight on three fronts, added to a possible sortie from Ariminum itself, the Goths knew they were beaten. The forward skirmishers, sent to harass them, were called back in when those controlling them reported the enemy was in the process of striking their tents and loading their supply waggons. They were doing so at a deliberate pace until Ildiger began to land his troops on the nearby sandy shore.

Haste then became the order of the day, which meant that when Flavius led his men forward, his enemies having melted away northwards, it was to a field denuded of warriors but covered with much in the way of abandoned supplies, this while Ildiger led his men into the no longer besieged city.

The man who greeted him was less the Adonis than hitherto, having starved alongside the inhabitants and his soldiers. Not a horse was left of what had been a force of two thousand cavalry, every one having been eaten. With hollowed cheeks, much spare flesh and a less than full gait, John Vitalianus, having acknowledged Ildiger, went out to meet Flavius Belisarius, becoming somewhat restored in stature when he espied Narses, the pair quick to embrace.

Nor was it long before he found out about the differing opinions on tactics, which meant his meeting with Flavius alone did not proceed as the man in command thought it should. He felt Vitalianus would do well to grovel for his disobedience; John, never inclined that way, was bolstered by the proximity of Narses and was now, as far as he was concerned, the equal of the man before him.

‘Do you doubt it was a direct order?’

If Vitalianus was not physically fully restored, more than one good meal had lifted his spirits and that was evident in his defiant look. ‘A general, however clever, who is fifty leagues away, cannot see what is before the man on the spot.’

‘The man fifty leagues distant might have a plan that encompasses more than a search for individual glory. And do not forget that I had eyes in Ariminum in the presence of Ildiger, who had the good sense, when you plainly had none, to bring his men to a place where they could be of some use to a campaign. Had he stayed, you would have been starved out.’

‘Which I am told you were willing to countenance.’

‘Do not think yourself worth it. Remember the two thousand men you led and nearly lost to Goth slavery.’

‘They would have died for me.’

‘Then they would have died in vain,’ Flavius barked. ‘Now regardless of that which you owe to me, you are required to thank Ildiger, who entered Ariminum first, as well as publically apologise for overruling him when he brought you my orders.’

The reply was given with cold but suppressed fury. ‘I will not.’

‘Then you leave me no choice but to send you back to Constantinople.’

‘An order I refuse to obey.’

‘Is that because of habit?’

Vitalianus stood, his emaciated frame shaking with fury. ‘I will not put myself under obligation to Ildiger, and by association to you, and I will remind you that Ariminum was held and the Goths were forced to retire, even if it was not of your doing. If I owe my survival to anyone it is to Narses.’

‘And if he demands the same?’

‘He won’t, Flavius Belisarius, for he is not only a better man than you but he is twice the general you will ever be. He knows my worth, and added to that he has the Emperor’s ear and has done for many years now. So I doubt you will be sending me anywhere.’

Again it was Procopius who became the sounding board for what was a real dilemma. The secretary was not in the least surprised that Narses had declined to support Flavius in taking action against Vitalianus.

‘Narses cannot be seen to abandon John, for to do so would be taken badly by all of his client officers.’

Flavius could appreciate that; did he not himself have men who looked to him for advancement and in return gave him their loyalty? He might reassure himself that he never indulged a poor commander but that did not change matters. The system of clientism had existed since the Republic and nothing he could do would change it.

The response came with a sigh. ‘While if I insist, I will split the army.’

‘Pray Photius brings back that which you need.’