In 549–550 AD, Rome was besieged for the third time during the Gothic War (535–554), as Byzantine forces defended against an Ostrogothic (Goths) army under their King Totila.
Within the first five years of the war, the Byzantines had conquered much of Italy, culminating in the capture of the capital of the Gothic kingdom in 540. However, corruption and harsh taxation reignited Gothic resistance under Totila, who reversed many Byzantine territorial gains in a few years.
In June 549, Totila besieged Rome, facing a Byzantine garrison of about 3,000 troops under Diogenes, who prepared for a prolonged defense with stored food. Totila imposed a blockade to starve the Byzantine garrison. Discontented defenders, unhappy over years of unpaid wages, accepted promises made by him and opened the gate to the Goths on 16 January 550. A massacre followed, and although residents tried to escape, many of them were killed in ambushes. A Byzantine cavalry unit briefly resisted from the Tomb of Hadrian, but the terms Totila offered persuaded most of them to enter his service.
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