History UsefulNotes / FlaviusBelisarius

%%* ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' by Creator/DavidDrake and Creator/EricFlint

* He is the first Byzantine hero of ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresCastleSiege'', appearing as "Belisarius". He's mostly weak, but has a special ability to destroy walls.
* ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' by Creator/DavidDrake and Creator/EricFlint

* ''Belisarius'' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* Plays a major role in the historical novel ''A Struggle for Rome'' by Felix Dahn, wherein during his Italian campaign he is TheRival to (the fictional) Cethegus, the ambitious prefect of Rome.

* Unsurprisingly brought up in the ''Podcast/TheHistoryOfByzantium'' podcast. Procopius, his aide, history books (both state-approved and secret) also being a topic of discussion.

Flavius Belisarius was perhaps the greatest general of the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire, and in his cunning, determination, and his tragic victimization by [[DecadentCourt court politics]], is in a way an [[UrExample archetype]] of the Byzantine state. He is first mentioned as an officer in the bodyguard of TheEmperor (first Justin and then Justinian). His first military command was against the Persians. This was a seesaw campaign in which his most notable achievement was the great victory of Dara. His next deed was the bloody subjugation of a revolt by Constantinople's chariot racing fans (yes, really. Chariot races were very SeriousBusiness), which by some accounts had 30,000 people slaughtered.

After this he was sent to North Africa to fulfill Justinian's ambition to restore the Roman Empire in the West. The Vandals who ruled at the time were led by an ineffectual monarch, and Belisarius was able to outwit him militarily and politically and to gain enough [[IFightForTheStrongestSide defections]] to give Justinian a solid base. Belisarius' next campaign was in Italy. While there were many victories including the temporary capture of Rome itself, the campaign was tougher than North Africa. At the height of the campaign, the Gothic rulers of Italy tried to bribe him with the offer of making him an independent emperor. Though he refused, Justinian was suspicious enough to recall him to Rome (this has been alternately seen as a SecretTestOfCharacter). He was sent back again to Italy and then recalled again, in favour of Narses who was a less famous general (he'd started out as a [[BadassBureaucrat bureaucrat]]) but a competent one in his own right, with a nigh uncanny skill for logistics.

* ''Literature/CountBelisarius'' by Creator/RobertGraves -- A historical novel, similar to Graves' more famous ''Literature/IClaudius''

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'' has The Last Roman DLC, which focuses on Belisarius reconquering the fallen territories of the Western Roman Empire from the Barbarian Kingdoms. Belisarius is the faction leader of the Roman Expedition, the Expedition is allied to the Roman Empire but has the option of [[AlternateHistory separating from it and forming the Roman Kingdom]].

Flavius Belisarius was perhaps the greatest general of the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire, and in his cunning, determination, and his tragic victimization by [[DeadlyDecadentCourt court politics]], is in a way an [[UrExample archetype]] of the Byzantine state. He is first mentioned as an officer in the bodyguard of TheEmperor (first Justin and then Justinian). His first military command was against the Persians. This was a seesaw campaign in which his most notable achievement was the great victory of Dara. His next deed was the bloody subjugation of a revolt by Constantinople's chariot racing fans (yes, really. Chariot races were very SeriousBusiness), which by some accounts had 30,000 people slaughtered.

* A fictionalized version in ''Literature/TheGeneralSereis'' by Creator/DavidDrake and Creator/SMStirling.

* A fictionalized version in ''Literature/TheGeneral'' by David Drake (again) and Creator/SMStirling