Sorry it took so long for this update. Having three A.P. tests in one week tends to necessitate large amounts of study time. Anywho, enjoy this installment, complete with an ATL Plague of Justinian.
541:
An outbreak of Bubonic Plague occurs in Axum; it is transferred north into Ægyptus through trade shipments
The Langobardi defeat the Rugii at Jovis Pagus [Glapowaz]
Khosrau captures Concobar [Kangavar]; the capture disrupts trade between Europa and India
The Novioduni beat the Franks back and push into Frankish territory, capturing Camaracum [Cambrai] and Scarpona [Charpeigne]
The plague reaches the Ægyptian army in the Levant; a few sick soldiers are captured by Ostrogothic soldiers, who carry the disease back to their camps
The Ægyptians are able to capture the city of Cyrrhus [near modern Kilis] before having to halt their advance due to the logistical problems and casualties caused by the plague
542:
An outbreak of the plague in Constantinople kills thousands, including King Ildidoric himself; he is succeeded by his second son [16], Eradahad
The Numidians invade the now barely defended Ægyptian Tripolitana up to Leptis Magna [Al Khums]
Dagobert defeats a Novioduni army when they lay siege to Divodurum [Metz], but Tonantius inflicts a serious defeat unto Clovis at the Battle of the Fluvius Mosa [Meusse River], near the city of Perniciacum [Braives]
From Ostrogothia, the plague works its way west to Alemannia and then up into Italia; from Ægyptus, the plague spreads north and east into Armenia and the Hephthalite Teginate, where it is then transferred to the invading Sassanids
The plague enters the territory of the Langobardi and Rugii, forcing Raginprand to halt his invasion until his people can recover [17]
Khosrau captures Phraaspa [on the Aras River]
543:
While the plague does cause many deaths within the Hephthalite Teginate, the more densely populated Sassanid south of Persia is much more heavily affected [18]
Ægyptus abandons Leptis Magna [Al Khums] and the remainder of Tripolitana to the Numidians
Vitiges recovers from his illness, and he attributes his recovery to his conversion of Catholicism while on his deathbed; naturally, the newly recovered Vitiges does not approve of his younger brother's place on the throne, but Erdahad refuses to give it up [19]
The plague slowly crawls into Visigothia, Frankia, and Noviodunum, but the disease has lost of its potency, and doesn't result in as many fatal cases as it had further east
Khosrau finishes his invasion of the Teginate at Apamea Ragiana [location unknown], as the plague is wearing the numbers of his troops thin and Hephthalite control in the unconquered areas is falling apart anyway
Novioduni forces under Tonantius pillage the Frankish capital of Colonia Agrippina [Cologne]; Dagobert's army swings north before facing a Novioduni force at Beda [Bitburg]
544:
Khosrau begins persecuting against Nestorians and Buddhists, both of who had been given preferential treatment by the Hephthalites over the Zoroastrians; many flee south into the Arabian desert, where the Mazdakis reside
Wacianius succeeds Lucius II as Catholic Pope [20]
Without the support of Himyar, and with the incursion of the various Sassanid refugees, the Arab kingdom of Kindah collapses, creating a large power vacuum that both the Mazdakis and the Ghassanids attempt to fill
Dagobert and Clovis manage to attack Tonantius from both sides at Icorigium [Jünkerath], but he manages to retreat with most of his forces intact
Slavs begin to raid across the Danuvius [Danube], further exacerbating the disunity of the Rugii and catching the Bolgars, whose army is off on the stagnant frontier with the Ægyptians, unguarded; when word of the attacks reaches the mercenaries, they desert the army to defend their home
545:
A minor resurgence of the plague in Roma leaves King Godomar bedridden; a native Latin known as Postumius becomes the power behind the throne
After Tonantius razes Baudobrica [Boppard] and Clovis is killed in battle outside the city, Dagobert sues for peace; Tonantius receives a large amount of territory up to the Rhenus [Rhine]; the Frankish capital moves to Moguntiacum [Mainz]
As Vitiges and Erdahad are battling each other (the largest battle occurring at Didymotiche [Didimoticho]) and the Bolgars have returned to their homeland, Basiliscus II manages to scrape up a large enough force to move into Ostrogoth-occupied Anatolia, capturing Irenopolis [Irnebol]
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[16] His eldest son, Vitiges, is infected with the plague, and most are certain he is near death
[17] The plague, however is not entirely harmful to his effort; it also killed many Rugii, preventing them from taking back the territory Raginprand had already captured
[18] It is notable that the Mazdakis in Arabia, being cut off from the rest of Persia, are barely affected by the plague and maintain a fairly stable population level
[19] Vitiges has the support of the legitimists and the Catholic populace, while Erdahad is supported by most of the Ostrogothic aristocracy
[20] Wacianius is the first Pope of Burgundian descent