Siege of Naples (542–543) 542
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 542 | Wikidata P580 (start 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 | 40.8333, 14.2500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Siege of Naples, also known as the siege of Neapolis, took place in 542–543 AD during the Gothic War (535–554) when the Ostrogoths (Goths) captured it from the Byzantine Empire.
After the fall of Ravenna in 540 AD, Belisarius restored much of Italy to Byzantine rule but was recalled by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who distrusted his actions and needed him on the eastern front. Justinian replaced him with three commanders on equal authority whose rivalry and corruption, together with the emperor's harsh fiscal policies, alienated the Italian population and weakened Byzantine control. These failures enabled the Gothic king Ildibad to regain territory in northern Italy before his assassination, after which his successor Eraric briefly ruled and was himself murdered in 541. Eraric's death brought Totila, the nephew of Ildibad, to the Gothic throne, and Byzantine inaction and poor leadership allowed him to seize the initiative.
Totila defeated Byzantine forces at Faventia and Mucellium, then advanced rapidly into southern Italy while bypassing the heavily fortified cities of the central regions. In November 542, he encircled Naples, which was defended by a 1000-strong garrison under Conon. Two Byzantine relief efforts failed to reach the city.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Naples (542–543) (revision 1370252516), 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.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Naples (536) 536 · 0 km
- Siege of Naples (1528) 1528 · 0 km
- Siege of Naples (1191) 1191 · 0 km
- Battle of the Counts 1287 · 0 km
- Capture of Neapolis 327 BC · 0 km
- Battle of Vesuvius 340 BC · 15 km
Other battles of the Gothic War of 535–554
- Siege of Urbinus 538
- Siege of Auximus 539
- Siege of Ravenna (539–540) 539
- Battle of Treviso 541
- Siege of Verona 541
- Battle of Faventia 542
- Battle of Mucellium 542
- Sack of Rome (546) 546
- Siege of Rome (549–550) 549
- Battle of Sena Gallica (551) 551
All 20 battles of the Gothic War of 535–554 →
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