Question

According to the passage, why did the Byzantines want Belisarius to stake everything in a single battle against the Goths?

"But when the corn-lands had no more grain and all the Romans (Byzantines) had come into an exceedingly evil plight, they surrounded Belisarius and tried to compel him to stake everything on a single battle with the enemy (Goths), promising that not one of the Romans (Byzantines) would be absent from the engagement."
—History of the Wars, Book VI, Article III

Answer 1

To prevent starving to death

Step-by-step explanation:

In the test there are four options

- To deceive the enemy

- To gain a strategic advantage

- To prevent starving to death

- To finish the war before winter

The "No more grain" part of this quote shows they had lack of food, thus why "To prevent starving to death" is correct, also i've taken the test.

Answer 2

According to the passage included in this question, the reason that the Byzantines wanted Bilisarius to stake everything in a single battle against the Goths was that they had hope this would prevent them from starving to death. This is evidenced by the reference to them having 'no more grain'.