Belisarius (c505 - c565). Flavius Belisarius Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century before. One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called Last of the Romans. Belisarius is considered a military genius, who conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the Vandalic War in nine months and much of Italy during the Gothic War. He defeated the Vandal armies at the battles of Ad Decimum and played an important role at Tricamarum, compelling the Vandal king, Gelimer, to surrender. During the Gothic War, he took Rome and then held out against great odds during the Siege of Rome. He also won an important battle against the Persians at Dara but was defeated at Callinicum. He successfully repulsed a Hunnish incursion at Melantias. Also known for military deception, he repulsed a Persian invasion by deceiving their commander, and lifting the Siege of Ariminum without a fight. Belisarius was probably born in Germane or Germania, a fortified town of which some archaeological remains still exist, on the site of present-day Sapareva Banya in south-west Bulgaria, within the borders of Thrace and Paeonia, or else in Germen, a town in Thrace near Adrianople, in present-day Turkey. Born into an Illyrian or Thracian family that spoke Thracian as a mother tongue, he spoke Latin as a second language and is described as a native speaker. He is also noted to have spoken some kind of Slavic language even though it is unlikely he was a Slav. He became a Roman soldier as a young man, possibly as young as 16, serving in the bodyguard of Emperor Justin I. He also served in the guard of magister militum Praesentalis and future emperor Justinian. After coming to the attention of Justin and Justinian as an innovative officer, he was given permission by the emperor to form a bodyguard regiment. It consisted of elite heavy cavalry, that he later expanded into a personal household regiment, 7,000 strong. Belisarius's guards were the nucleus around which all the armies he would later command were organized. Armed with a lance, composite bow, and spatha, they were fully armoured to the standard of heavy cavalry of the day. A multi-purpose unit, the bucellarii were capable of shooting at a distance with bows, like the Huns, or could act as heavy shock cavalry, charging an enemy with lance and sword. In essence, they combined the best and most dangerous aspects of both of Rome's greatest enemies, the Huns and the Goths. In his early career, Belisarius participated in multiple Roman defeats. In the first battle where he commanded an independent force he suffered a resounding defeat, but he and Sittas were noted as successful raiders, plundering Persian territory, for example, during the first invasion of Persarmenia of the war taking place shortly before. The next battle was fought at Tanurin, where Belisarius played a leading role again, and in this role fled with his troops after his colleagues were lured into a trap. His army was then defeated at Mindouos, but he was promoted shortly afterwards, so this was probably not seen as being his fault. At first, he was likely a junior partner to some higher placed commander like Sittas, while at Thanurin there was no overall commander. Mindouos was probably the first battle in which he led the army entirely on his own. Following Justin's death in 527, the new emperor, Justinian I, appointed Belisarius to command a Roman army in the east, despite earlier defeats. In June/July 530, during the Iberian War, he led the Romans to a stunning victory over the Sassanids in the Battle of Dara. This victory caused the shah, Kavad I, to open peace negotiations with the Byzantines. At the battle Belisarius had dug trenches in order to direct the more mobile Sassanian force to a location where he could attack them from the rear. On other fronts the Byzantines were also winning. The Persians and their Arabic allies, with a mobile force of 15,000 high-quality cavalry, invaded Byzantine lands again, now via Euphratensis, a route they had never taken before. Belisarius was taken by surprise and was unsure whether this was a feint or a real attack, so at first he did not move. He did call upon Roman-allied Arab tribes for help and received 5,000 troops.