Siege of Verona

The siege of Verona in the winter of 541 AD was an engagement during the Gothic War (535–554), where the Ostrogoths (Goths) repelled the besieging Byzantine forces.

Byzantine Emperor Justinian compelled his commanders in Italy to take the initiative in the war against the Goths. After some deliberation, they sent a 12,000-strong army to take Verona, one of the last bastions of the Goths. The Byzantines sent a small detachment to secure the entrance since an insider had opened the city gate for them. The Gothic garrison panicked and moved out of the city. Quarrels over the distribution of the expected booty delayed the main Byzantine army's advance. The Goth defenders exploited the confusion, regained control of the city at dawn and forced the small Byzantine force, which had entered the previous night, to flee by jumping from the city walls. When the main Byzantine force arrived early in the morning, they found the gates closed and its commander chose to withdraw. The Byzantines were pursued by the Gothic King Totila, and they were defeated at the Battle of Faventia, marking the beginning of the Gothic recovery of the Italian peninsula from Byzantine control.