Belisarius One of the greatest generals in history, one of his

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Belisarius

One of the greatest generals in history, one of his earliest military sucesses was putting down what was arguably the worst sport riot in history.

For chariot races in the Roman Empire people would form, much like today, clubs which supported their favourite players. By the Byzantine era the only sports teams with any influence were the Blues and Greens. Emperor Justinian I was a supporter of the Blues. The team associations had become a focus for various social and political issues.

In 531 some members of the Blues and Greens had been arrested for murder in connection with deaths that occurred during rioting after a recent chariot race. The men were supposed to be hung but they escaped and an angry mob formed. The men were pardoned to disperse the angry mob and new races were scheduled to be held.

But the day of those races came and at race 22, the partisan chants had changed from "Blue" or "Green" to a unified Nίkα ("Nika", meaning "Win!!" or "Conquer!"), and the crowds broke out and began to assault the palace. For the next five days, the palace was under siege. They then declared a new emperor, Hypatius, who was a nephew of former Emperor Anastasius I.

Justinian created a plan that involved Narses, a popular eunuch, as well as the generals Belisarius and Mundus. Carrying a bag of gold given to him, the slightly built eunuch entered the Hippodrome alone against a murderous mob that had already killed hundreds. Narses went directly to the Blues' section, where he approached the important Blues and reminded them that Emperor Justinian supported them. He also reminded them that the man they were crowning, Hypatius, was a Green. Then, he distributed the gold. Then, in the middle of Hypatius's coronation, the Blues stormed out of the Hippodrome. The Greens sat, stunned. Then, Imperial troops led by Belisarius and Mundus stormed into the Hippodrome, killing the remaining rebels.

About 30,000 rioters were reportedly killed.