事件 › 战役

塔吉纳战役

Battle of Taginae

时间: 552 年 7 月
地点: 瓜尔多塔迪诺
国家 / 地区: 意大利
参与方: 拜占庭帝国、东哥德王国
属于: 哥特战争
类型: 战役
简述: 552 battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom during the Gothic War

The Battle of Taginae or Battle of Busta Gallorum took place in July 552 AD, where Byzantines led by Narses defeated the Ostrogoths (Goths) under King Totila in the late stages of the Gothic War (535–554). The Byzantine victory paved the way for the Byzantine reconquest of the Italian Peninsula and the dissolution of the Gothic Kingdom.

After Totila restored Gothic control over much of the Italian Peninsula, Emperor Justinian appointed his chamberlain, Narses, to assemble an army to bring the war to an end. Narses assembled his army at Salona, Dalmatia and from there marched along the coast of Adriatic Sea to Italy. Despite obstacles laid by the Goths, the Byzantines were able to cross the river Po and reach Ravenna. After a nine-day break, Narses continued south along the Via Flaminia road towards Rome. Totila, realizing that a defensive strategy was not viable, marched to intercept the Byzantines at Taginae.

Despite his numerical superiority, Narses placed his troops in a defensive position on the battlefield with archers at the flanks protected by natural terrain. Totila used delaying tactics until reinforcements under Teia arrived. He then attempted a surprise attack by withdrawing his troops for lunch, hoping to tempt the Byzantines to pursue and abandon their position. Narses anticipated this ruse and prevented it by keeping his army in the original defensive position. Totila then reformed his army for a concentrated cavalry charge into the Byzantine center, composed of foreign mercenaries. The Gothic attack faltered after several volleys of arrows from Byzantine archers fired from both sides, inflicting heavy losses. The Byzantine center repelled the Gothic assault, and the cavalry retreat caused the Gothic infantry at the rear to panic and flee as well.……

详细介绍

Background

After the death of Theodoric the Great in 526, the Gothic state, centered in Italy, entered into a period of instability. His daughter Amalasuntha continued pro-Byzantine policies and maintained close ties with Emperor Justinian. She alienated the Gothic nobility because she relied on Byzantine advisers, sought a Roman rather than Gothic education for her son Athalaric, and tried to secure power as regent. Athalaric died in 534, at which point opposition intensified, and Theodahad deposed and murdered Amalasuntha in 535.……

Prelude

As early as 549, the Emperor Justinian I planned to dispatch an army to Italy to conclude the war with the Goths. He assigned his cousin, Germanus, to start recruiting an army for this purpose. Germanus's sudden death in 550 resulted in a temporary postponement as Justinian delayed in selecting a replacement for the commander-in-chief for the campaign. During 550–551, an expeditionary force strong enough to remove the Goths from Italy was gradually assembled at Salona in Dalmatia, comprising regular Byzantine units and several contingents of foreign allies, notably Lombards, Heruls, and Bulgars.……

Military actions

Deployment

In July 552, the Byzantine and Gothic forces encountered each other at Busta Gallorum, a hilly terrain near the village of Taginae, located somewhere to the north of modern Gualdo Tadino. Totila pitched his camp at Taginae while waiting for 2,000 soldiers under Teia to arrive. Narses pitched his camp near the Apennine Mountains and about 100 stades, c. 18.4 km (11.4 mi), away from Totila's camp. Narses sent an envoy to Totila, urging him to surrender or name a day for battle. Totila replied that he would fight in eight days.……

Skirmishes and delays

The following day, the two armies drew up facing one another at a distance of about two bowshots.……

Aftermath

Narses attributed his victory to divine favor. Afterward, he dismissed his Lombard allies, whose immediate turn to arson and rape made them intolerable. He paid them generously and entrusted Valerianus with escorting them to the Italian frontier. Once separated from the Lombards, Valerianus encamped outside Verona and opened negotiations with the Gothic garrison, which was willing to surrender. However, the talks collapsed after intervention by the Franks in Venetia. Valerianus then withdrew; Narses ordered him to remain in the region and observe the remaining Gothic forces.……

Scholarly assessment

The military historian Charles Oman placed the Battle of Taginae in his 1898 analysis within the broader development of medieval warfare. He described it as "the first experiment in the combination of pike and bow" and drew parallels with later engagements such as the Battle of Crécy. His interpretation was based on the assumption that in late antiquity, the diminishing role of the infantry was replaced by mounted combat. In Byzantine warfare in particular, the rise of mounted archers was seen as decisive in many of Belisarius's victories.……

正文摘自英文维基百科（原文为英文，未翻译）「Battle of Taginae」（节选，删去了参考文献、表格和图片），按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用；在维基百科读全文 ›