Belisarius defects?!

[The Space Viking]

What could be the causes and effects of Belisarius defecting from Justinian's command? How far could he go, how long could he last, and what would he hold with his troops? I don't know when he would actually defect, but being a smart man, he'd wait until the time was right (ie: he had an army at his beck and call). IIRC, Belisarius (one of the greatest generals of the ERE) was not on the best terms with his Emperor, and after reading a little bit about him I don't know why he didn't just give Justinian the finger and carve out a little Empire for himself.

Thoughts?

[Typo]

One of the very best timelines, with an awesome amount of detail on this board is written on this very same PoD

Basically, Belisarius stabilizes Italy, and then taking advantage of the Avar invasions to actually march on Constantinople and becomes emperor

One of the far off butterflies being that the Mongols raze both Rome and Mecca

http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/Bas...rence_Timeline

[The Space Viking]

Originally Posted by Typo

One of the very best timelines, with an awesome amount of detail on this board is written on this very same PoD

Basically, Belisarius stabilizes Italy, and then taking advantage of the Avar invasions to actually march on Constantinople and becomes emperor

One of the far off butterflies being that the Mongols raze both Rome and Mecca

http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/Bas...rence_Timeline

That sounds epic. Thanks for the link, I will definitely check this TL out.

[DuQuense]

?Just how much of Italy did Belisarius control, when the Goths offered Him the Crown?

[RyuDrago]

Originally Posted by DuQuense

?Just how much of Italy did Belisarius control, when the Goths offered Him the Crown?

Probably Rome and most of central Italy except for Ravenna and the Pentapolis...

[Basileus Giorgios]

Originally Posted by yourtowndrunk

What could be the causes and effects of Belisarius defecting from Justinian's command? How far could he go, how long could he last, and what would he hold with his troops? I don't know when he would actually defect, but being a smart man, he'd wait until the time was right (ie: he had an army at his beck and call). IIRC, Belisarius (one of the greatest generals of the ERE) was not on the best terms with his Emperor, and after reading a little bit about him I don't know why he didn't just give Justinian the finger and carve out a little Empire for himself.

Thoughts?

Mostly because of the mindset of the time this is implausible I'm afraid- remember that a Roman Emperor was ordained by God, after all, so a revolt from Belisarius would be a revolt against God. Obviously, revolts were common against the Emperor in East Roman history, but not until Phocas did they really get going, and in 540, this watershed has not yet been reached.

In the unlikely event a revolt happens and succeeds, you see a much more stabilised ERE, with Italy being brought back to the fold after five, rather than eighteen, years of warfare. This may make the province less of a drain on coffers, which in turn may encourage Roman authorities to look seriously at a full reconquest of Visigothic Spain too. However, Belisarius is still going to have to deal with the Plague of 542, which will be as devastating to the long term fortunes of the ERE as it was IOTL.

[The Space Viking]

Originally Posted by Basileus Giorgios

Mostly because of the mindset of the time this is implausible I'm afraid- remember that a Roman Emperor was ordained by God, after all, so a revolt from Belisarius would be a revolt against God. Obviously, revolts were common against the Emperor in East Roman history, but not until Phocas did they really get going, and in 540, this watershed has not yet been reached.

In the unlikely event a revolt happens and succeeds, you see a much more stabilised ERE, with Italy being brought back to the fold after five, rather than eighteen, years of warfare. This may make the province less of a drain on coffers, which in turn may encourage Roman authorities to look seriously at a full reconquest of Visigothic Spain too. However, Belisarius is still going to have to deal with the Plague of 542, which will be as devastating to the long term fortunes of the ERE as it was IOTL.

So if Belisarius defects and takes Rome for himself, it leads to a stabilized ERE? Interesting. And it would give cause for a possible reconquest of Spain...nice.

What are the odds of Belisarius being crowned WREmperor by the pope? Or is that just not happening...

[MNP]

The only way I see Belisarius defecting is if Justinian turns on him completely. Not just recalls him but actively tries to lay hands on him and execute him, or his wife. Even then I'm not sure if Belisarius wouldn't just delay until Justinian got whatever it was (Theodora?) out of his system and then accept some lesser penalty. Maybe if he executes Belisarius's wife.