At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses break the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and pave the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the Italian Peninsula.From as early as 549 the Emperor Justinian I had planned to dispatch a major army to Italy to conclude the protracted war with the Ostrogoths initiated in 535.

During 550-51 a large expeditionary force totaling 20,000 or possibly 25,000 men had gradually been assembled at Salona on the Adriatic, comprising regular Byzantine units and a large contingent of foreign allies, notably Lombards, Heruls and Bulgars.

The imperial chamberlain (cubicularius) Narses had been appointed to command in mid 551.

The following spring Narses leads this grand army around the coast of the Adriatic as far as Ancona, and then turns inland aiming to march down the Via Flaminia to Rome.