For the battle of the Italian Risorgimento, see Battle of the Volturnus (1860)

The Battle of the Volturnus, also known as the Battle of Casilinum or Battle of Capua, was fought in 554

554

Year 554 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 554 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* General Narses reconquers all of...

 between an army of the Eastern Roman Empire and a combined force of Franks

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 and Alemanni. The Romans, led by Narses

Narses

Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....

, were victorious.

Background

During the later stages of the Gothic War, the Gothic king Teia

Teia

Teia , also known as Teja, Theia, Thila, Thela, Teias, was the last Ostrogothic king in Italy.Apparently a military officer serving under Totila, Teia was chosen as successor and raised over a shield after Totila was slain in the Battle of Taginae in July 552...

 called upon the Franks

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 for help against the Roman armies under the eunuch Narses

Narses

Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....

. Although king Theodebald refused to send aid, he allowed two of his subjects, the Alamanni

Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...

 chieftains Leutharis and Butilinus, to cross into Italy. According to the historian Agathias

Agathias

Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus , of Myrina , an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor , was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558....

, the two brothers gathered a host of 75,000 Franks and Alamanni, and in early 553 crossed the Alps and took the town of Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

. They defeated a force under the Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

 commander Fulcaris, and soon many Goths from northern Italy joined their forces. In the meantime, Narses dispersed his troops to garrisons throughout central Italy, and himself wintered at Rome.

In the spring of 554, the two brothers invaded central Italy, plundering as they descended southwards, until they came to Samnium

Samnium

Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...

. There they divided their forces, with Butilinus, with the larger part of the army, marching south towards Campania and the Straits of Messina, while Leutharis led the remainder towards Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

 and Otranto

Otranto

Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...

. Leutharis, however, soon turned back home, laden with spoils. His vanguard, however, was heavily defeated by Artabanes

Artabanes (general)

Artabanes was an East Roman general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I . Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fled to the Sassanid Persians but soon returned to Byzantine allegiance. He served in Africa, where he won great fame by killing the rebel general Guntharic and...

 at Fanum, leaving most of the booty behind. The remainder managed to reach northern Italy, and cross the Alps into Frankish territory, but not before losing more men to a plague, including Leutharis himself.

Butilinus, on the other hand, more ambitious and possibly persuaded by the Goths to restore their kingdom with himself as king, resolved to remain. His army was infected by dysentery, so that it was reduced from its original size of 30,000 to a size close to that of Narses' forces. In summer, Butilinus marched back to Campania and erected camp on the banks of the Volturnus, covering its exposed sides with an earthen rampart, reinforced by his numerous supply wagons. A bridge over the river was fortified by a wooden tower, heavily garrisoned by the Franks.

The battle

When Narses found out about the location of the Frankish camp, he set forth at the head of an 18,000 strong force, including strong contingents of Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

 mercenaries. His army included infantry, heavy cavalry and horse archers, and was thus at an advantage over the mostly infantry-based enemy forces. As the Romans approached the Frankish camp, Narses sent an Armenian officer, Charananges

Chanaranges (Italy)

Chanaranges was a Byzantine military officer, active in the late reign of Justinian I . His name is occasionally rendered as Charanges . He is only known for his activities in the Gothic War, in particular the Battle of the Volturnus . The main source about him is Agathias. The name probably...

, with a cavalry force, to cut the Franks' supply. Indeed, Charananges not only captured several wagons, but used one of them to set fire to the large watchtower guarding the bridge. After this first skirmish, both sides exited their camps and formed up for battle. At that point, an incident almost wrecked Narses' plans. A Herul captain killed a servant, and when judged by Narses, refused to acknowledge any fault. Narses had him executed, whereupon the rest of the Heruli announced that they refused to fight.

Nevertheless, Narses drew up his forces for battle. Faced with the solid and deep-arrayed Frankish infantry, he chose a disposition similar to that of the battle of Taginae

Battle of Taginae

At the Battle of Taginae in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the Italian Peninsula.From as early as 549 the Emperor Justinian I had planned to dispatch a major army...

, with the infantry in the centre, backed by archers, and the cavalry on the wings. Narses himself took command of the right wing, while Artabanes

Artabanes (general)

Artabanes was an East Roman general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I . Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fled to the Sassanid Persians but soon returned to Byzantine allegiance. He served in Africa, where he won great fame by killing the rebel general Guntharic and...

 and Valerian were placed in charge of the left wing. Part of the left wing was also concealed in a wood that grew there. At the pleas of the Herul general, Sindual, who promised to persuade his men to fight, he left a gap in the middle of the infantry, which the Heruls were to occupy.

However, two Heruls had deserted to the Franks, and persuaded Butelinus to attack now, while the Heruli stayed out of the battle. The Franks, arrayed in a large wedge-shaped formation (cuneus or "swine's head") advanced, and smashed into the Roman centre. They quickly penetrated the gap left by the Heruli, but Narses commanded his cavalry, which included many horse archers, to wheel on their flanks and attack the Franks from their exposed rear. The Franks, already engaged with the Roman infantry, were unable to turn and face their more mobile enemies in the rear. As confusion started to spread amongst them, the Heruli finally returned to the fray. In the words of J.B. Bury, "... then Sindual and his Heruls appeared upon the scene. The defeat of the Franks was already certain; it was now to be annihilation."

Butelinus and most of his men perished, while Roman casualties were small. Agathias gives the impossibly low number of 80 dead Romans, while claiming that only five barbarians survived. Whatever the true numbers, it was a magnificent victory for Narses, and signaled the final triumph of the Empire in Italy.

Aftermath

Despite Narses' great victories, the war was not finished. Seven thousand Goths held out at Campsa, near Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 until they capitulated in the spring of 555. The lands and cities across the River Po were still held by Franks and Goths, and it was not until 562 that their last strongholds, the cities of Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 and Brixia

Brixia

Brixia is the Latin name of the modern city of Brescia in Northern Italy.Its location was first settled in the 7th century BC by a tribe of Gauls , which were the inhabitants of this part of Italy before the Roman conquest . The name of the tribe was Cœnomani, and the name of the city comes from...

were subjugated.