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Roma Coniungetur:
A Roman Timeline

Germanus’s Reconquest of Italy (550-552):
By taking Matasunta as his second wife, Germanus, aged 491 and heir apparent to the Gothic realm of Italy, as well as the Eastern Roman Empire, hoped he would significantly reduce resistance from the Ostrogoths. As the former queen of the Ostrogoths, granddaughter of Theodoric the Great and the last surviving heir of the royal Amal dynasty, she was a figure of considerable importance to the Ostrogoths. Additionally, several East Roman defectors had already sent letters to Germanus telling him that they would return to East Roman allegiance upon his return. It seemed his conquest of Italy was favored by God, despite his wife’s heresy in the form of Arianism.

Having been preparing the reconquest of Italy for some time, barbarians and Romans alike flocked to his banner due to his enormous popularity amongst the soldiers. It seemed his reputation preceded him. News had even reached him that a Slavic raid intended for Thessalonica had turned and raided Pannonia instead after hearing of his presence in Thrace. To Germanus, this was a mixed blessing. On the one side, this could mean a much smoother ascension to the throne and less resistance to his rule in both the Eastern Roman Empire and the Gothic realm of Italy. However, Germanus must always be careful. Should Justinian I feel he is too popular, Germanus may find that he falls out of favor with his cousin. This could be disastrous for his career. If Justinian I would turn against Germanus, he would go from future Eastern Roman Emperor to a lifeless corpse before he knew what had happened.

Then, two days before the army of Germanus departed, disaster struck. Suddenly Germanus found himself very ill. Confined to bed, Germanus found himself covered in Buboes, chills and a fever2. Over the night, the army physicians did all they could for him. However, by midnight, they had come to the conclusion that he was in God’s hands. Somehow, Germanus found the will to make it through that night. Somehow, as the days went on, Germanus survived3. Now horribly disfigured due to the Buboes, Germanus nonetheless spoke to his men, telling them that although he was disfigured and ill, he would nonetheless lead them to victory, and to the greatness fit for the Roman Empire.
By late October, the army of Germanus departed, ready to reclaim Italy for the glory of the Roman Empire.



Marching through Dalmatia, Germanus’s reputation preceded him. Encountering almost no resistance, town after town capitulated to the might of the Roman Empire. By late November Germanus entered Italy. The first major town he encountered was Veneto. Much to the surprise of Germanus, he was welcomed with open, albeit reluctant arms. It seemed that the people of Italy would much rather accept a ruler with a claim to the throne, even if he wasn’t Ostrogoth, than they would fight and die to defend the current king.

Initially, Germanus had planned to take the northern cities, keyly Medi
olanum, before advancing south and crushing the Ostrogoth resistance once and for all. However, after seeing that the towns and cities would not pose a threat, Germanus decided that he would simply find Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, and destroy him and his army. From their he and his army could establish control over the rest of Italy with far less bloodshed, as he would be the legitimate heir to the Ostrogoth Kingdom due to his marriage with Matasunta.

On January 14th, 551, King Totila of the Ostrogoths and Germanus of the Eastern Roman Empire met on the field of battle outside Spoleto. Having been abandoned by many of his nobles due to their desire for peace, as well as many Byzantine defectors joining Germanus as he marched south, King Totila decided he must meet the East Romans on the battlefield before the disparity in numbers grew any more. Despite this, the gap in numbers was already huge. When the two armies met at Spoletta, there were 12,000 Ostrogoth soldiers facing an army of 20,000 East Roman Soldiers, 5,000 Lombards, 3,000 Heruli, 500 Gepids and an additional 5,000 East Roman defectors. Outnumbered almost three to one, King Totila was determined to go down in history, dying a heroes death. Choosing the slopes of a mountain to fight, hoping to help negate the East Romans numerical advantage, King Totila prepared for battle.

The Battle of Spoletta began slowly. King Totila began by attempting to challenge Germanus to single combat, however, having had suffered from a terrible illness, and still not being fully recovered, Germanus had a valid reason to ignore King Totilas challenge. Germanus, having a massive numerical superiority, was determined to sustain as few casualties as possible. There had been enough death in Italy. Putting the East Roman defectors in the center of his line, on either side of them were the German allies and mercenaries, with the East Romans on the flanks. Allowing the defectors to take heavy casualties, they took the brunt of the Ostrogoths mad charge. The German allies and mercenaries also suffered significant casualties. However, the East Romans on the flanks slowly moved in, enveloping the Ostrogoths. Within a few hours all that was left of the Ostrogoth force was King Totila and a few hundred of his loyalist warriors. However, they were quickly decimated. By attempting to fight the East Romans head on and win glory, King Totila had caused his men to be annihilated and Ostrogoth resistance to East Roman rule to collapse.

It would take Germanus another year to firmly establish control over all parts of Italy. However, few resisted his rule. It was more a matter of establishing garrisons and spreading the word who the new rulers were. These people had died in the Gothic wars for so long, most truly no longer cared who ruled them, as long as there was no further bloodshed. However, one problem remained. Germanus recognized that Italy needed him here, or the fragile order he had brought may soon collapse.

Traveling to Constantinople, Germanus met with Justinian I in person. While Justinian I had once again grown jealous of the success of oneof his generals, he recognized that as the legitimate heir to the throne of the Ostrogoths, Germanus was the most well suited man for the job. Additionally, his heir to the Empire would need experience administrating large realms. However, Justinian I would not allow Germanus to run an effectively independent kingdom, or worse attempt to claim the throne before his own death. So, On June 11th, 552, Justinian announced that Germanus, as his heir to the empire4, would become Prefect of the Praetorian Prefecture of Italy5. However, there was a catch. Half of the army of Germanus would be sent east, to fight the Sassanid empire. This left Germanus with 10,000 East Roman soldiers and about as many Germans and those who had joined his cause in Italy. Additionally, Narses, loyal eunuch to Justinian I, would accompany Germanus to Italy to make sure he served his duty to the emperor. Knowing this was all Justinian I would give him, Germanus left for Italy, determined to bring Italy, and later the entire Roman Empire, to its former glory.

On August 30th, 552, Germanus was crowned in Rome as King Germanus of the Ostrogoth Kingdom.

1- I had to estimate his age. He was born before 505, so I assumed he would be born shortly before 505, so 49 seems about right to me.
2- Common Symptoms of Justinian's Plague (Bubonic Plague) figured it was one of the likely causes of death of Germanus due to it reoccurring several times after the initial plague (541-542), as well as his death being described as ‘sudden’ in the only sources I could find.
3- This is the POD.
4- This is important, as it is the first time Justinian I officially acknowledged Germanus as his heir.
5- Different Praetorian Prefecture of Italy than IOTL. Comprised of former Ostrogoth Kingdom. Italy (Minus Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica), as well as Dalmatia and Pannonia (Although much of Pannonia is effectively controlled by the Lombards).
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