A heavily fortified city in Italy and a prized possession of the Gothic kingdom, Naples fell to Belisarius in 536 after his soldiers infiltrated it through an abandoned aqueduct channel while a diversionary assault masked the noise. Less than a decade later it was besieged again, this time by the Gothic king Totila, and starved into surrender in May 543 when Byzantine generals failed to relieve it. Totila's deliberate mercy toward the garrison and citizens—providing ships, horses, and carefully rationed food—transformed the city's fall into a propaganda victory that cast him as a champion of the common people.
What each episode says
Episode 8 (2 mentions)
Naples is described as one of the 'crown jewels of the Gothic kingdom,' heavily fortified and stoutly defended. Belisarius took it by sending soldiers through an old water channel discovered inside the aqueduct, enlarging the opening with files while noisily attacking another section of the wall to cover the sound.
“conquered most of southern Italy. Even the city of Naples, one of the crown jewels of the Gothic”
“He seemed paralyzed by fear and had not even sent a single soldier to aid Naples. The frustrated”
Episode 9 (5 mentions)
One of the last four Italian cities holding out against Totila, Naples was slowly starved into surrender while none of the five Byzantine generals lifted a finger to help. When it fell in May 543, Totila's merciful treatment of the garrison and citizens — providing ships, horses, and carefully rationed food — broadcast his image as champion of the people.
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