Editing Justinian I (section)

====War in Italy, first phase, 535–540====
{{Main|Gothic War (535–554)}}
[[File:Empèri Bizantin - Rèine de Justinian.png|thumb|Justinian's conquests]]

As in Africa, dynastic struggles in [[Ostrogothic Italy]] provided an opportunity for intervention. The young king [[Athalaric]] had died on 2 October 534, and a usurper, [[Theodahad]], had imprisoned queen [[Amalasuintha]], Theodoric's daughter and mother of Athalaric, on the island of Martana in [[Lake Bolsena]], where he had her assassinated in 535. Thereupon Belisarius, with 7,500 men,<ref name="Norw">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Early Centuries'', 215</ref> invaded Sicily (535) and advanced into Italy, sacking [[Naples]] and capturing Rome on 9 December 536. By that time Theodahad had been deposed by the Ostrogothic army, who had elected [[Vitigis]] as their new king. He gathered a large army and besieged Rome from February 537 to March 538 without being able to retake the city.{{sfn|Rosen|2007|pp=153–155}}

Justinian sent another general, [[Narses]], to Italy, but tensions between Narses and Belisarius hampered the progress of the campaign. [[Milan]] was taken, but was soon recaptured and razed by the Ostrogoths. Justinian recalled Narses in 539. By then the military situation had turned in favour of the Romans, and in 540 Belisarius [[Siege of Ravenna (539–540)|reached]] the Ostrogothic capital [[Ravenna]]. There he was offered the title of Western Roman Emperor by the Ostrogoths at the same time that envoys of Justinian were arriving to negotiate a peace that would leave the region north of the [[Po River]] in Gothic hands. Belisarius feigned acceptance of the offer, entered the city in May 540, and reclaimed it for the Empire.<ref>Moorhead (1994), pp. 84–86.</ref> Then, having been recalled by Justinian, Belisarius returned to Constantinople, taking the captured [[Vitigis]] and his wife [[Matasuntha]] with him.<ref name="AbbottLay1900">{{cite book|author1=John Stevens Cabot Abbott|author2=Wilfred C. Lay|title=Italy|url=https://archive.org/details/italy00laygoog|year=1900|publisher=P. F. Collier|page=[https://archive.org/details/italy00laygoog/page/n424 424]}}</ref>