hem all and commanded in person,
having as his guard some few of the guardsmen of Belisarius. And with
them was also Fidelius, who had been made praetorian prefect. For since
he was a native of Milan, he was regarded as a suitable person to go
with this army, having as he did some influence in Liguria. They set
sail, accordingly, from the harbour of Rome and put in at Genoa, which
is the last city in Tuscany and well situated as a port of call for the
voyage to Gaul and to Spain. There they left their ships and travelling
by land moved forward, placing the boats of the ships on their waggons,
in order that nothing might prevent their crossing the river Po. It was
by this means, in any event, that they made the crossing of the river.
And when they reached the city of Ticinum,[184] after crossing the Po,
the Goths came out against them and engaged them in battle. And they
were not only numerous but also excellent troops, since all the
barbarians who lived in that region had deposited the most valuable of
their possessions in Ticinum, as being a place which had strong
defences, and had left there a considerable garrison. So a fierce battle
took place, but the Romans were victorious, and routing their opponents,
they slew a great number and came within a little of capturing the city
in the pursuit. For it was only with difficulty that the barbarians
succeeded in shutting the gates, so closely did their enemy press upon
their heels. And as the Romans were marching away, Fidelius went into a
temple there to pray, and was the last to leave. But by some chance his
horse stumbled and he fell. And since he had fallen very near the
fortifications, the Goths seeing him came out and killed him without
being observed by the enemy. Wherefore, when this was afterwards
discovered by Mundilas and the Romans, they were greatly distressed.

Then, leaving Ticinum, they arrived at the city of Milan and secured
this city with the rest of Liguria without a battle. When Vittigis
learned about this, he sent a large army with all speed and Uraias, his
own nephew, as commander. And Theudibert, the leader of the Franks, sent
him at his request ten thousand men as allies, not of the Franks
themselves, but Burgundians, in order not to appear to be doing injury
to the emperor's cause. For it was given out that the Burgundians made
the expedition willingly and of their own choice, not as obeying the
command of Theudibert. And the Goths, joined by these