Paolo Diacono – Paulus Diaconus - History Of The Lombards

Silence reigned supreme, where before the trumpets of war and the roar of arms were heard, no traveller and no bandits, yet there were corpses as far as the eye could see. The shepherds' shelters had become tombs for men, and the dwellings dens for the beasts. But this misfortune struck only the Romans within Italian territory, as far as the border with the Alemanni and Bavarians.

While this was happening in Italy, Justinian died and in Constantinople Justin II (The Second) took the leadership of the state. Narsete instead captured Vitale, bishop of the city of Altino, who had long before fled to Agunto in the Kingdom of the Franks and condemned him to exile in Sicily.

5.

Narsete, having conquered every Gota lineage in Italy and also the others we have mentioned before, put together such riches of gold, silver and other precious things, arousing great envy in those Romans whom he had defended and protected from many enemies. Their hatred produced a message that they secretly sent to Augustus Justin and his wife Sophia, a message that read: "The Romans are pleased to be slaves of both Goths and Greeks, since we are ruled by a eunuch, Narsete, and kept us oppressed in slavery, and our pious prince ignores him. Deliver us from his hands, or we shall surely deliver the city of Rome and with it ourselves, to the heathen. Upon learning of this, Narsete answered with these words: "If I have acted badly with the Romans, I will have bad. The emperor, outraged with Narsete, sent Longinus to Italy as Prefect to take his place.

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