Belisarios (English spelling)

A famous general under the command of Emperor Justinian I of the Byzantine Empire. His life is detailed in the works of his advisor, the historian Procopius. He began as a military commander in Mesopotamia (527), and twice led the Persian campaign (530-531, 541-543). To fulfill the emperor's political goal of recovering the former Roman territories in the West, he fought in Africa (533-534, 544-548), and from there went to Italy (535-540), where he defeated the Ostrogoths (544-547). During this time, he suppressed the Nika Rebellion (532) by citizens of the capital. In 548, he returned from Italy and retired. He was later implicated in the assassination of the emperor, which temporarily displeased him, but the suspicion was soon cleared. After his death, many heroic poems and novels were written in memory of this hero.

[Hiroshi Wada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ビザンティン帝国ユスティニアヌス1世麾下(きか)の名将。その生涯は彼の顧問官である歴史家プロコピオスの作品に詳しい。メソポタミアの軍司令官（527）を皮切りに、対ペルシア戦に二度（530～531、541～543）指揮をとった。皇帝の旧ローマ西方領の回復という政治目標のためアフリカに転戦（533～534、544～548）、そこからイタリアに赴き（535～540）、東ゴート人を破った（544～547）。その間首都の市民による「ニカの乱」を鎮圧（532）。548年イタリアから帰り引退。その後、皇帝暗殺事件に関係ありとされ、一時皇帝の不興を買うがすぐに嫌疑が晴れる。死後この英雄をしのんで多くの英雄詩や小説が書かれた。

［和田　廣］

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