What would it take for an ambitious general (Belisarius? Heraclius?) To take control of byzantine Italy- the Exarchate plus Sicily, Venice, Dalmatia and maybe Africa?
Would this limit the general collapse of the empire's Balkan frontier once the Eastern emperor gives up on reconquest.
Given Italys problems after rather Gothic wars the big problem seems to be- why stay in italy? Any would be pretender would like heraclius view the west as merely a stepping stone to usurp Constantinople. Now this isn't necessarily impossible to overcome- I can think of two specific individuals- Belisarius or Narses defecting at the start of the Gothic Wars (which would presumably avert much of the devastation and thus help a potential Western restoration in Africa, Illyria, Iberia etc) or perhaps Heraclius or someone like him could set up shop in the west after Constantinople falls to the Persians.
Would this limit the general collapse of the empire's Balkan frontier once the Eastern emperor gives up on reconquest.
Given Italys problems after rather Gothic wars the big problem seems to be- why stay in italy? Any would be pretender would like heraclius view the west as merely a stepping stone to usurp Constantinople. Now this isn't necessarily impossible to overcome- I can think of two specific individuals- Belisarius or Narses defecting at the start of the Gothic Wars (which would presumably avert much of the devastation and thus help a potential Western restoration in Africa, Illyria, Iberia etc) or perhaps Heraclius or someone like him could set up shop in the west after Constantinople falls to the Persians.