After leaving the Gothic battlefield and returning to Constantinople in 548, Belisarius gradually faded from public view and lived an ordinary life until his death in 565. But his later years were not all smooth sailing.
First, the retreat of Belisarius
After returning to Constantinople, Belisarius chose a bland and low-key lifestyle in view of his situation.
Subjectively, his deeds in the Southern Expedition and the Northern War over the years have been well known at home and abroad, and his success or failure has his own comments, and he himself has no shame about what he has done in his life, and he can even claim to be famous with an optimistic attitude; objectively speaking, the passage of time has also brought about a great change in Belisarius's mentality and thinking; he is no longer the flesh-and-blood young soldier who was strong and indomitable, and at this time, when others reach middle age, they have to consider practical issues such as personal advances and retreats, their own safety, and so on.
Moreover, for various reasons, he had clearly fallen out of favor, and Justinian I seemed to have found a suitable replacement for him, and Belisarius, whether willing or not, had only one way to go at this time: to retreat.
However, Belisarius was a very intelligent figure after all, and while being loyal to the country and the emperor, he did not completely forget to plan for his future. As a front-line commander of the byzantine Empire's foreign wars, he captured a large amount of booty over the years in the course of his struggles with enemies at home and abroad, and some of this wealth was more or less attributed to his personal property. Justinian I also gave him a great reward for his outstanding military achievements. Belisarius had come from a well-to-do family, and with the rewards he deserved, he was bound to become a wealthy man. Therefore, he has every reason to be able to enjoy the glory and wealth of the second half of his life without getting involved in the vortex of meaningless right and wrong.
2. Belisarius's vast possessions
Prokoby mentions many times in his writings the inheritances that Belisza had left in various places. His personal guard of seven thousand men shows that he had sufficient financial resources to support a large number of His vassals, and that he also owned a territory on the outskirts of Constantinople called Pantesiang, which was inherited through inheritance, thus confirming Stanhop's inference of belisarius' aristocratic origins.
Prokobi explicitly wrote there that "after arriving in Byzantium, he settled there permanently, by which time he had accumulated a large amount of property...". Similarly, the Secret History reiterates that Beliza had remained in the East to plunder a great deal of wealth, that he had made a fortune in the Italian battlefield, that "his heart had been completely occupied by greed", and that Theodora forced him to surrender three thousand pounds of gold to the Emperor on the grounds that he had appropriated the property of Gelimer and Viticius. The gold was only a fraction of his family's possessions, and his general data was unknown to everyone, including the emperor.
Although we have reason to believe that the accusations of the Empress above, or Prokobi's account, may be false and exaggerated, it is an indisputable fact that Belisarius lived in sufficient material security in his later years.
Third, the last battle of Belisarius's life
He lived in obscurity until 559, when a sudden event again unexpectedly put him back on the battlefield. The incident was mainly recorded by Agassias or Diophanis, when Belisarius was still serving as commander of the Imperial Janissaries, when suddenly the news came that the barbarian army had crossed the Danube and invaded the south, and the army had reached twenty miles from Constantinople.
It was winter, and the whole of Constantinople was in a state of panic. In his later years, Justinian I, due to his extreme distrust of the army, deployed very few troops in the capital, and was surrounded by only a group of untethered priests and scholars. It was in this situation that Belisarius was ordered to lead more than a thousand people who had been hastily recruited to the front, and his old and strong fearlessness gave great encouragement to the citizens, so that the whole city was united and excited, and the morale of the army and the people was high. Belisarius took the lead, and the Byzantine army launched a charge, killing more than 400 enemies in the first battle. The Bulgars, stunned by his momentum, quickly withdrew their troops and did not attack again for many years.
Belisarius's righteous act of saving the capital won the cheers of the people, but Justinian I was even more jealous of him, and belisarius, who had returned triumphantly, received only a cold hug in the court, after which the emperor ordered him to retire from the ranks of slaves.
Repelling the Bulgars was the last battle of Belisarius's life. He paid horribly to the end of his military career, but Gibbon believed that the victory brought him only one crime; Stanhope also said that Justinian I was unhappy about it.
Involvement in the murder of Justinian I
There are true records in the chronicle fragments of John Malalas and Diofanis about Belisarius' condition, but these have become the most interesting parts of the literary and dramatic work about him in the Middle Ages and modern times.
Historians can confirm that Belissa remained involved in the murder of Justinian I in 562.
At that time, Justinian I's health deteriorated sharply due to old age, and his illness was not cured for a long time. Marcellus and Sergius and others plotted to assassinate the emperor with a dagger, but the plan was leaked, the former committing suicide and the latter being imprisoned and tortured. Sergius, for some purpose, confessed to two of Belisarius's courtiers, who, in order to protect themselves, did not hesitate to sell their lords for glory. In December 563, despite insufficient evidence, Belisarius was convicted, and Justinian I, as a sign of his "leniency and mercy", granted him a death sentence instead of confiscation of all property and life imprisonment. Due to the injustice of the case, Justinian I finally agreed to rehabilitate him the following year, his freedom and reputation were restored, and his property was partially returned. In March 565, Belisarius died.
Antonina may have seen through the red dust and donated the rest of her inheritance to the monastery until her death.
V. What was be life like after Belisarius was released from prison?
Although the vast majority of historians believe that the compensation received by Belisarius after his release from prison was still enough to maintain a decent life, literary and artistic works invariably portray his last days as miserable and tragic, quite dramatic.
The most widely spoken version is that Belisa remained in prison blinded by stabbings, and was not returned to his property after his release, so he had to live on the streets begging for bread slices. "Reward General Belisarius with a penny", this sentence became a classic line. Historians have unanimously denied this.
The author has two points to add on this issue.
First, an important medium for the legend of Belisarius's blindness and begging is the play "Count Belisarius" by the famous 19th-century English writer Robert Graff. The play is by far the most widely circulated and well-known literary work about Belisarius. Although it cites many historical materials, and its literary level and artistic value are recognized as second to none in similar works in the 19th century, after all, based on the characteristics of its script, there are many components of fabrication and adaptation, so it has no historical value.
Second, several famous paintings from the late Western European Enlightenment also played a role in popularizing the legend to a certain extent.
One of them is the French painter Jean-François Pierre Perron's "Belisarius and the Farmer", who portrayed Belisarius not begging, but caring for the poor farmers, Belisarius was placed in a dark ancient building, although he had fallen into the people, but the heroic temperament of the past still existed, he cared for the people around him with the same fate; the other was "Belisarius Staying in Begging" by Napoleon's royal painter Jacques Louis David. In the painting, a woman is giving alms to the disheveled, white-haired, but still wearing armor, while a soldier on the side seems to suddenly recognize the old general of the past, raising his hands in a surprised state, and the picture is extremely detailed.
These paintings reinforce the drama of the historical anecdotes of Belisarius's later years. In any case, Belisarius's old age must have been spent in depression. However, I believe that his eventual departure should be dignified, of course, with deep regret.