Battle of Taginae 552
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 552 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Gothic War of 535–554 | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Byzantine Empire, Ostrogothic Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 43.2333, 12.7833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Taginae or Battle of Busta Gallorum took place in July 552 AD, where Byzantines led by Narses defeated the Ostrogoths (Goths) under King Totila in the late stages of the Gothic War (535–554). The Byzantine victory paved the way for the Byzantine reconquest of the Italian Peninsula and the dissolution of the Gothic Kingdom.
After Totila restored Gothic control over much of the Italian Peninsula, Emperor Justinian appointed his chamberlain, Narses, to assemble an army to bring the war to an end. Narses assembled his army at Salona, Dalmatia and from there marched along the coast of Adriatic Sea to Italy. Despite obstacles laid by the Goths, the Byzantines were able to cross the river Po and reach Ravenna. After a nine-day break, Narses continued south along the Via Flaminia road towards Rome. Totila, realizing that a defensive strategy was not viable, marched to intercept the Byzantines at Taginae.
Despite his numerical superiority, Narses placed his troops in a defensive position on the battlefield with archers at the flanks protected by natural terrain. Totila used delaying tactics until reinforcements under Teia arrived. He then attempted a surprise attack by withdrawing his troops for lunch, hoping to tempt the Byzantines to pursue and abandon their position.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Taginae (revision 1381265444), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Gothic War of 535–554
- Battle of Mucellium 542
- Siege of Naples (542–543) 542
- Sack of Rome (546) 546
- Siege of Rome (549–550) 549
- Battle of Sena Gallica (551) 551
- Battle of Mons Lactarius 552
- Battle of the Volturnus 554
- Siege of Salona (537)
All 20 battles of the Gothic War of 535–554 →
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