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?