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Emperor in the West, Part 1
The campaign against the Ostrogoth was much more difficult than even the Vandalic War. While Rome won the majority of the battles, and had conquered Rome under the leadership of Belisarius, the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna was well fortified. Belisarius dreaded a direct attack, and a siege would take months, during which time any number of calamities could occur. However, a stroke of good luck saved the campaign and changed the course of history forever.

The Ostrogoth council sent a message to the Roman commanders stating that they would surrender, if Belisarius would agree to be the Western Emperor, ruling alongside Justinian. Belisarius viewed this as treasonous, and in any case, ridiculous. The Western Empire was dead, and had been for decades. However, this gave him an idea. What if he were to pretend to accept the offer, move his troops in, and then renege on his promise?

Just as he was thinking, another courier burst in the door with a message: Emperor Justinian had arrested Belisarius’s wife, Antonina, for “conspiracy”. News had already gone back to the capital about Belisarius’s success on the battlefield, and many in Constantinople were clamoring for Belisarius to take the reins of power. It’s important to remember that Belisarius was given a Roman triumph after his impressive victory over the Vandals in Africa, just like many Roman emperors. It was almost natural that he been seen as the logical successor: Justinian had no children.

Belisarius was far from shocked about these developments. He was loyal to the Emperor, but knew that Roman politics were far from clean cut. He would have to travel back to the capital to help his wife. The problem now was that if he even pretended to claim the throne, it would look as though Antonina really was guilty of the crime she was accused of… and the punishment, of course, would be death.

The general weighed his options. He called in one or two of his trusted subordinates, and they talked for almost an hour. Though he was often exasperated of his wife, who was unfaithful to him, he couldn’t abide the disrespect that Justinian had done to his family’s name. As they walked out of the general’s tent, they knew what must be done. Belisarius would take the throne of the West, and march on Constantinople with impunity.

Perhaps everything would have ended differently had he known that the message itself was fake, manufactured by the eunuch Narses, who had been sent back to Constantinople the previous year.

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