Thanks for posting the famous mosaic. Unfortunately, the claim that Belisarius is the man on Justinian’s right is only a guess. It’s a fairly logical guess, given what we know about what Belisarius looked like (dark hair and beard according to Procopius). However, I think the mosaic was done during a time when Belisarius was in semi-disgrace and Justinian was always fretful of his great general’s popularity in Italy. Really, it could be any one of Justinian’s top ministers—maybe his nephew Germanus who was married to a Gothic princess.
Belisarius-———Very interesting man-thanks for sharing your information.
So many Byzantine artifacts have been destroyed especially but not exclusively by the Muslim Turks. It’s really a loss for all humanity.
Fortunately this mosaic rests in The Basilica of San Vitale which was safely far away from the ravages done by Muslims.