Siege of Rome (537–538)
| Siege of Rome | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gothic War (535–554) | |||||||||
First phase of the Gothic War campaigns | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Ostrogothic Kingdom | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Belisarius | Vitiges | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Larger force | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The siege of Rome of 537–538 AD was the city's first siege during the Gothic War (535–554) between the defending Byzantine Empire's forces under the leadership of Belisarius against a numerically superior Ostrogothic (Goths) force under Vitigis. The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents, and played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the war.