Belisarius accepts

Flavius Belisarius was one of the great military leaders of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine empire. However, by the time he was really hitting his stride in in late 530's, the Western Empire was all but destroyed, and its former territory was a playground for various "barbarian" kingdoms, notably the Ostrogoths. This was obviously a threat and an embarrassment to what remained of the empire. In 535, at the behest of Eastern Emperor Justinian, Belisarius headed west and took the fight to the Ostrogoths.

He was highly effective and much beloved by his troops. (Which always made Justinian and his highly-vocal wife Theodora a little wary). By 540, Bel had retaken Rome, Naples, Milan and even the Gothic capital of Ravenna. After the capture of their king, the reeling Ostrogoths made a very surprising move; offering to make Belisarius the Western Emperor. He turned it down, kept fighting but was soon recalled by the now very skeptical Justinian. Bel would lead armies again, but the royal family was now too scared of him to ever get off his back. His career and personal life decayed and he died in humiliation.

My question is, how would history change if he took the Goth offer and accepted the crown? Granted, one man is not going to entirely reverse the collapse of the West, but a very effective leader with several legions behind him and the nominal support of the powerful Ostrogoth could have made some serious waves. I'm considering this with an idea towards a timeline; any ideas?
 
I think that Justinian's paranoia about Belisarius would be confirmed if he did that. It could provoke a war with Justinian trying to seize the throne for himself.
 
Belisarius actually DID accept the title of Western Roman Emperor to get into Ravenna- he just renounced it the moment he was safely in the city and the Goths had surrendered.

The chances of him holding the title seem remote though- he did not in OTL, when he had the perfect opportunity to do so. Belisarius was, above all, a decent loyalist, who remained loyal not only to Justinian, but to various other individuals who treated him badly, including his wife, stepson, and fellow commanders. For him to do this against Justinian, is, sadly ASB. By this point, the Western Roman Empire is gone for good- the West simply cannot compete on anything like equal terms with the East.
 
Flavius Belisarius was one of the great military leaders of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine empire. However, by the time he was really hitting his stride in in late 530's, the Western Empire was all but destroyed, and its former territory was a playground for various "barbarian" kingdoms, notably the Ostrogoths. This was obviously a threat and an embarrassment to what remained of the empire. In 535, at the behest of Eastern Emperor Justinian, Belisarius headed west and took the fight to the Ostrogoths.

He was highly effective and much beloved by his troops. (Which always made Justinian and his highly-vocal wife Theodora a little wary). By 540, Bel had retaken Rome, Naples, Milan and even the Gothic capital of Ravenna. After the capture of their king, the reeling Ostrogoths made a very surprising move; offering to make Belisarius the Western Emperor. He turned it down, kept fighting but was soon recalled by the now very skeptical Justinian. Bel would lead armies again, but the royal family was now too scared of him to ever get off his back. His career and personal life decayed and he died in humiliation.

My question is, how would history change if he took the Goth offer and accepted the crown? Granted, one man is not going to entirely reverse the collapse of the West, but a very effective leader with several legions behind him and the nominal support of the powerful Ostrogoth could have made some serious waves. I'm considering this with an idea towards a timeline; any ideas?

Ah yes, actually I had begin a TL with this idea, but I would admit that I'm a amateur in AH and then my TL wasn't the best TL in this forum...
So miceli, if you want to build a TL with this POD, I will gladly following it...
 
sneaky b**tard?

Belisarius actually DID accept the title of Western Roman Emperor to get into Ravenna- he just renounced it the moment he was safely in the city and the Goths had surrendered.

I have read that this was merely a stratagem to get into the city and he never actually intended on accepting it "for real." Pretty gutsy if it is true.

And I realize this idea is unlikely, but I don't think it's impossible. This is a proud man being offered an enticing prize - what if, in the excitement of the moment, he just went with it, even if was out of his loyal character? A single rash decision could put him past the point of no return - and/or provoke the very suspicious royal family to deem the general an enemy.
Would Justinian send an another army after him and cause a civil war? Does that weaken Byzantium and hasten the Muslim takeover? Or does the East call it a loss, and through inaction, create a nascent kingdom to in the heart of Rome's collapse? Does this unify the barbarians and shorten the Dark Ages or just lead to more fighting?
 
As Basileus pointed out, Justinian was a complete a-hole to Belisarius. True, he was loyal to the extreme, but everyone has their breaking point.

Maybe Justinian writes a letter to Belisarius recalling him to Constantinople right before he takes Ravenna. This "last straw" causes him to accept the Ostrogoth's offer rather than just using it as a ploy to get inside the city.

I assume that after becoming the ruler of the Ostrogoth territories, or "Western Roman Emperor", Justinian will declare war. I wonder how Belisarius will fair against the forces of the east?
 

Sir Chaos

Banned
I have read that this was merely a stratagem to get into the city and he never actually intended on accepting it "for real." Pretty gutsy if it is true.

And I realize this idea is unlikely, but I don't think it's impossible. This is a proud man being offered an enticing prize - what if, in the excitement of the moment, he just went with it, even if was out of his loyal character? A single rash decision could put him past the point of no return - and/or provoke the very suspicious royal family to deem the general an enemy.
Would Justinian send an another army after him and cause a civil war? Does that weaken Byzantium and hasten the Muslim takeover? Or does the East call it a loss, and through inaction, create a nascent kingdom to in the heart of Rome's collapse? Does this unify the barbarians and shorten the Dark Ages or just lead to more fighting?

What if Belisarius, as historically, did NOT mean it when he accepted, but back in Constantinople, the Emperor heard about it (from someone who does not like Belisarius, perhaps) and did all manner of rash things like condemn Belisarius to death for treason, have friends and relatives of Belisarius imprisoned and/or killed, send an army after him to kill and/or capture him... that sort of thing? Belisarius would be forced to choose between building some kind of power base for himself in Italy, or be killed, either directly or once back Constantinople.
 

Typo

Banned
There was a timeline done with the exact same POD, one of the most detailed and plausible one I've ever seen on these forums actually.
 
There was a timeline done with the exact same POD, one of the most detailed and plausible one I've ever seen on these forums actually.

Really? If I know there is a TL about this in this forum, I wouldn't started my own.
Can you give me the link, Typo?
 
What if Belisarius, as historically, did NOT mean it when he accepted, but back in Constantinople, the Emperor heard about it (from someone who does not like Belisarius, perhaps) and did all manner of rash things like condemn Belisarius to death for treason, have friends and relatives of Belisarius imprisoned and/or killed, send an army after him to kill and/or capture him... that sort of thing? Belisarius would be forced to choose between building some kind of power base for himself in Italy, or be killed, either directly or once back Constantinople.
That's good, except he would have renounced the title by the time word of Justinians condemnation gets back to him.
 
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