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life, he became " praepositus sacri cubiculi," an "illustris," and entitled along with the praetorian prefects and the generals to the highest See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank at the imperial court. In this capacity, in 530, he received into the See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor's obedience another Narses, a See also:

FELLOW

fellow-countryman, with his two See also:

BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

brothers, Aratius and See also:

ISAAC (Hebrew for " he laughs," on explanatory references to the name, see ABRAHAM)

Isaac. These Persarmenian generals, having formerly fought under the See also:

standard of Persia, now in consequence of the successes of See also:

BELISARIUS (c. 505–565)

Belisarius transferred their See also:

ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

allegiance to the emperor Justinian, came to Constantinople, and received costly gifts from the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister. In 532 the insurrection known as the Nika See also:

broke out in Constantinople, when for some See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours the See also:

THRONE

throne of Justinian seemed doomed to overthrow. It was saved partly by the courage of his wife, See also:

Theodora, and partly by the timely prodigality of Narses, who See also:

STOLE (Lat. stela and orarium, Fr. etole, It. stola, Sp. estola, Ger. Stela)

stole out into the See also:

capital, and with large sums of See also:

MONEY

money bribed the leaders of the " See also:

BLUE (common in different forms to most European languages)

blue " See also:

FACTION (through the French, from Lat. factio, a company of persons combined for action, facere, to do; from the other French derivative facon comes " fashion ")

faction, which was aforetime loyal to the emperor, to shout as of old " Justiniane Auguste to vincas." The See also:

AFRICAN

African and See also:

ITALIAN

Italian See also:

WARS

wars followed.

In the See also:

FOURTH

fourth See also:

YEAR

year of the latter See also:

war (538) the splendid successes of Belisarius had awakened both joy and fear in the See also:

heart of his See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master. Reinforcements were sent into See also:

Italy, and Narses was placed at their See also:

head. Belisarius understood that Narses came to serve under him like any other officer of distinguished but subordinate rank, and he received a See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter from Justinian which seemed to support this conclusion. But the See also:

friends of Narses continually plied him with suggestions that he, a great officer of the See also:

house-hold, in the secrets of the emperor, had been sent to Italy, not to serve as a subaltern, but to hold See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent command and win military See also:

GLORY (through the O. Fr. glorie, modern gloire, from Lat. gloria, cognate with Gr. KXebs, abets)

glory for himself. The truth probably See also:

lay between the two. Justinian could not deprive his great See also:

general of the supreme command, yet he wished to have a very powerful emissary of the court constantly at his See also:

side. He would have him watched but not hampered. The two generals met (A.D. 538) at See also:

FERMO (anc. 1%irmum Picenum)

Fermo on the Adriatic See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast. The first interference of Narses with the plans of Belisarius was beneficial. See also:

John, one of the See also:

OFFICERS

officers highest in rank under Belisarius, had pressed on to See also:

RIMINI

Rimini, contrary to the instructions of his See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief, leaving in his See also:

REAR

rear the difficult fortress of See also:

OSIMO (anc. Auximum, q.v.)

Osimo (See also:

AUXIMUM (mod. Osimo)

Auximum) untaken. His daring See also:

march had alarmed the Goths for See also:

Ravenna, and induced them to raise the See also:

SIEGE (0. Fr. sege, siege, mod. siege, seat, ultimately from sedere, to sit, cf. Class. Lat. obsidium, a siege)

siege of See also:

Rome; but he himself was now shut up in Rimini, and on the point of being forced by See also:

FAMINE (Lat. fames, hunger)

famine to surrender.

Belisarius and his followers were prepared to let him pay the See also:

PENALTY (Lat. poena, punishment)

penalty of his rashness and disobedience. But his friend Narses so insisted on the See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow to the reputation of the imperial arms which would be produced by the surrender of Rimini that he carried the See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council of war with him, and Belisarius had to See also:

plan a brilliant march across the mountains, in See also:

CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction with a See also:

MOVEMENT

movement by the See also:

FLEET

fleet, whereby Rimini was relieved while Osimo was still untaken. When Belisarius and John met, the latter ostentatiously thanked Narses alone for his preservation. His next use of his authority was less fortunate. See also:

Milan,which was holding out for the See also:

Romans, was also hard pressed by famine. The two generals who were sent to relieve it loitered disgracefully over their march, and, when Belisarius wished to despatch further reinforcements, the commanders of these new troops refused to stir till Narses gave them orders. Belisarius wrote to the eunuch pointing out the See also:

NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of unity of purpose in the imperial See also:

army. At length, grudgingly, Narses gave his consent, and issued the required orders; but it was too See also:

LATE

late. Milan had been compelled by extremity of famine to surrender, and with it the whole See also:

province of See also:

LIGURIA

Liguria See also:

fell into the hands of the enemy. This event forced Justinian to recognize the dangers of even a partially divided command, and he recalled Narses to Constantinople. Twelve years elapsed before Narses returned to Italy. Mean-while there had been great vicissitudes of See also:

FORTUNE, ROBERT (1813-188o)

fortune both for the Romans and the Goths.

Italy, which appeared to have been won by the See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword of Belisarius, had been lost again by the exactions and misgovernment of See also:

Alexander. See also:

TOTILA (d. 552)

Totila had raised up a new army, had more than kept Belisarius at See also:

bay in five difficult See also:

CAMPAIGNS

campaigns (544—548) and now held nearly all the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. Belisarius, however, in this his second See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of campaigns, had never been properly seconded by his master. In the See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring of 552 Narses set See also:

SAIL

sail from Salona on the Dalmatian coast with a large and well-appointed army. It was a See also:

ROMAN

Roman army only in name. See also:

LOMBARDS, or LANGOBARDI

Lombards, See also:

HERULI

Heruli, See also:

HUNS

Huns, Gepidae and even Persians followed the standard of Narses, men equal in See also:

PHYSICAL

physical strength and valour to the Goths, and inspired by the liberal pay which they received, and by the See also:

hope of See also:

PLUNDER

plunder. The eunuch seems to have led his army See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round the head of the Adriatic Gulf. By skilfully co-operating with his fleet, he was able to See also:

CROSS

cross the See also:

rivers of See also:

VENETIA

Venetia without fighting the See also:

GOTHIC

Gothic general Teias, who intended to dispute their passage. Having mustered all his forces at Ravenna, he marched See also:

south-See also:

ward. He refused to be detained before Rimini, being determined to meet the Gothic See also:

king as soon as possible with his army undiminished. The occupation of the pass of Furlo (See also:

PETRA (r)

Petra Pertusa) by the Goths prevented his marching by the Via See also:

FLAMINIA, VIA

Flaminia, but, taking a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit, he rejoined the great road near See also:

CAGLI

Cagli. A little farther on, upon the See also:

crest of the Appenines, he was met by Totila, who had advanced as far as Tadini, called by See also:

PROCOPIUS

Procopius Tagina.

Parleys, messages and harangues by each general followed. At length the See also:

LINE

line of See also:

BATTLE

battle was formed, and the Gothic army, probably greatly inferior in number to the See also:

BYZANTINE

Byzantine was hopelessly routed (See also:

JULY

July 552), the king receiving a mortal See also:

WOUND (O. Eng. wund,connected with a Teutonic verb, meaning to strive, fight, suffer, seen in O. Eng. winnan, whence Eng. " win ")

wound as he was hurrying from the battlefield. With Totila fell the last hopes of the Gothic See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom of Italy. Teias, who was proclaimed his successor, protracted for a few months a desperate resistance in the rocky See also:

peninsula of Castellamare, overlooking the bay of See also:

Naples. At length want of provisions forced him into the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, and there by the See also:

RIVER

river See also:

SARNO (anc. Sarnus)

Sarno, almost in sight of See also:

POMPEII

Pompeii, was fought (553) a battle which is generally named from the overlooking range of See also:

MONS (Flemish Bergen)

Mons Lactarius (See also:

MONTE

Monte Lettere). The actual site of the battle, however, is about See also:

HALF

half a mile from the little See also:

TOWN

town of Angri, and its memory is still vaguely preserved by the name Pozzo dei Goti (well of the Goths). In this battle Teias was killed, He was the last king of the See also:

OSTROGOTHS, or EAST GOTHS

Ostrogoths. The task of Narses, however, was not yet ended. By the invitation of the Goths an army of 75,000 warlike See also:

Alamanni and See also:

Franks, the subjects of King Theudibald, crossed the See also:

ALPS

Alps under the command of two Alamannic nobles, the brothers See also:

Lothair and Buccelin (553). The great strategic talents of Narses were shown even more conspicuously in this, than in his previous and more brilliant campaigns. Against the small but gallant bands of Totila and Teias he had adopted the policy of rapid See also:

MARCHES, THE (It. Le Marche)

marches and imperative challenges to battle. His See also:

STRATEGY

strategy in dealing with the great See also:

HOST

host from See also:

Gaul was of the See also:

FABIAN [FABIANUS], SAINT (d. 250)

Fabian See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind.

He kept them as See also:

long as he could See also:

north of the See also:

APENNINES (Gr. 'A1T- vvLvos, Lat. Appenninus—in both cases used in the singular)

Apennines, while he completed the reduction of the fortresses of See also:

Tuscany. At the approach of See also:

winter he gathered his troops into the chief cities and declined operations in the See also:

field, while the Alamannic brothers marched through Italy, killing and plundering. When the spring of 554 appeared, Lothaire with his See also:

PART

part of the army insisted on marching back to Gaul, there to See also:

DEPOSIT (Lat. depositurn, from deponere, to lay down, to put in the care of)

deposit in safety the plunder which they had reaped. In an unimportant engagement near See also:

PESARO (anc. Pisaurum, q.v.)

Pesaro he was worsted by the Roman generals, and this hastened his northward march. At Ceneda in Venetia he died of a raging See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

fever. Pestilence broke out in his army, which was so wasted as to be incapable of further operations in Italy. Meanwhile his See also:

BROTHER

brother Buccelin, whose army was also suffering grievously from disease, partly induced by See also:

FREE

free See also:

INDULGENCE (Lat. indulgentia, indulgere, to grant, concede)

indulgence in the grapes of See also:

CAMPANIA

Campania, encamped at See also:

CASILINUM (mod. Capua)

Casilinum, the site of See also:

MODERN

modern See also:

Capua. Here, after a See also:

time, Narses accepted the offered battle (554)• The barbarians, whose army was in the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of a See also:

WEDGE (O. Eng. wecg, a mass of metal, cognate with Dutch wig, wigge, Dan. vaegge, &c.; in Lith. the cognate form outside Teut. is found in wagis, a peg, spigot; there is no connexion with " weigh," " weight," which must be referred to the root wegh, to li

wedge, pierced the Roman centre. But by a most skilful manoeuvre Narses contrived to draw his lines into a See also:

CURVE (Lat. curvus, bent)

curve, so that his mounted archers on each flank could aim their arrows at the backs of the troops who formed the other side of the Alamannic wedge. They thus fell in whole ranks by the hands of unseen antagonists. Soon the Roman centre, which had been belated in its march, arrived upon the field and completed the See also:

WORK

work of destruction. Buccelin and his whole army were destroyed, though we need not accept the statement of the See also:

Greek historian (See also:

AGATHIAS (c. A.D. 536—582)

Agathias ii.

9) that only five men out of the barbaric host of 30,000 escaped, and only eighty out of the Roman 18,000 perished. The only other important military operation of Narses which is recorded—and that indistinctly—is his defeat of the Herulian king Sindbal, who had served under him at Capua, but who subsequently revolted, was defeated, taken See also:

CAPTIVE (from Lat. capere, to take)

captive and hanged by the eunuch's See also:

order (565). In the See also:

main the thirteen years after the battle of Capua (554–567) were years of See also:

peace, and during them Narses ruled Italy from Ravenna with the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of See also:

PREFECT (prefet)

prefect.' He rebuilt Milan and other cities destroyed in the Gothic War; and two See also:

INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions on the Salarian See also:

BRIDGE

bridge at Rome have preserved to modern times the See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record of See also:

REPAIRS (from Lat. reparare, to make ready again)

repairs effected by him in the year 564. His See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration, however, was not popular. The effect of the imperial organization was to wring the last solidus out of the emaciated and fever-stricken See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of Italy, and the belief of his subjects was that no small portion of their contributions remained in the eunuch's private coffers. At the See also:

close of 565 Justinian died, and a deputation of Romans waited upon his successor See also:

JUSTIN (JUNIANUS JUSTINUS)

Justin II., representing that they found " the Greeks " harder taskmasters than the Goths, that Narses the eunuch was determined to reduce them all to See also:

SLAVERY

slavery, and that unless he were removed they would See also:

TRANSFER (from Lat. transferre, to bear across, carry over)

transfer their allegiance to the barbarians. This deputation led to the recall of Narses in 567, accompanied, according to a somewhat late tradition, by an insulting See also:

MESSAGE (a word occurring in slightly different forms in several languages, e.g. Fr. message, Span. mensaje, Ital. messagio; adapted from the Low Lat. missaticum, from mittere)

message from the empress See also:

SOPHIA (1630-1714)

Sophia, who sent him a See also:

GOLDEN

golden See also:

DISTAFF

distaff, and bade him, as he was not a See also:

man, go and spin See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool in the apartments of the See also:

WOMEN

women. " I will spin her such a hank," Narses is represented as saying, " that she shall not find the end of it in her lifetime "; and forthwith he sent messengers to the Lombards in See also:

PANNONIA

Pannonia, bearing some of the fruits of Italy, and inviting them to enter the See also:

LAND

land which See also:

BORE

bore such goodly produce. Hence came the invasion of See also:

ALBOIN (d. 572 or 573)

Alboin (568), which wrested the greater part of Italy from the See also:

EMPIRE

empire, and changed the destinies of the peninsula? ' See also:

Gibbon's statement that Narses was " the first and most powerful of the exarchs " is more correct in substance than in form. The title of See also:

EXARCH (EEapxos, a chief person or leader)

exarch does not appear to be given to Narses by any See also:

con-temporary writer. He is always " Praefectus Italiae," " Patricius or " See also:

DUX (Czech Duchcov)

Dux Italiae," except when he bears the See also:

style of his former offices in the imperial household, " Ex-Praepositus [Cubiculi] " or " Chartularius." 2 This celebrated See also:

story seems to be unknown to strictly con-temporary authors.

We find no hint of it in Agathias (who wrote between 566 and 582), in See also:

MARIUS, GAIUS (r55–86 B.c.)

Marius (532–596), or in See also:

Gregory of See also:

TOURS

Tours (540-594). The possibly contemporary See also:

LIBER

Liber Pontificalis and Isidore of See also:

Seville (56o–636) hint at the invitation to the Lombards. Fredegarius (so-called), who probably wrote in the middle of the 7th century, and See also:

Paul the See also:

DEACON (Gr. S&& ovos, minister, servant)

Deacon, towards the close of the 8th, See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply the See also:

SAGA (literally a story committed to writing)

saga-like details, which become more See also:

minute the farther the narrators are from the See also:

ACTION

action. On the whole, the transaction, though it is too well vouched for to allow us to dismiss it as entirely fabulous, cannot take its See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place among the undoubted facts of See also:

HISTORY

history. Narses, who had retired to Naples, was persuaded by the See also:

pope (John III.) to return to Rome. He died there about 573, and his See also:

BODY

body, enclosed in a leaden See also:

COFFIN (from Lat. cophinus, Gr. K64wos, a coffer, chest or basket, but never meaning " coffin " in its present sense)

coffin, was carried to Constantinople and buried there. Several years after his See also:

DEATH

death the See also:

SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret of the hiding-place of his vast stores of See also:

WEALTH

wealth is said to have been revealed by an old man to the emperor Tiberius II., for whose charities to the poor and the captives they furnished an opportune supply. Narses was short in stature and lean in figure. His freehandedness and affability made him very popular with his soldiers. See also:

EVAGRIUS (c. 536–600)

Evagrius tells us that he was very religious, and paid especial reverence to the Virgin, never engaging in battle till he conceived that she had given him the See also:

SIGNAL

signal. Our best authorities for his life are his contemporaries Procopius and Agathias. See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vols. iv. and v., edited by J.

B. See also:

Bury (1898). (T.

End of Article: NARSES (c. 478—573)

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