This is for a TL I'm considering, to gauge how likely it is.
Let's assume that Belisarius/Narses completes his reconquest of Italy successfully per OTL. If we assume that the story of Narses inviting the Lombards into Italy is true, do you think that the ERE could hold on to Rome, legitimizing itself (the Byzantines are often knocked as unRoman for not possessing Rome herself)
If Constantinople can maintain control of all of Italy, and this doesn't butterfly Islam away, how long would it take Italy to recover from the mauling it took during the wars twixt the ERE and the Ostrogoths? There's the almost certainly nonsense story of Rome having only a few hundred people in it after Belisarius retook it, but as I said, that's nonsense.
And if they can maintain a hold of Italy and possibly Sicily too, after Islam comes, how strong are our favorite Late Roman buddies going to be after a hundred years?
OR, would this lead to the destruction of the Empire, as they overcommit to defending Anatolia, the Balkans, and Italy from attacks by Slavs, Arabs, and Franks.
Let's assume that Belisarius/Narses completes his reconquest of Italy successfully per OTL. If we assume that the story of Narses inviting the Lombards into Italy is true, do you think that the ERE could hold on to Rome, legitimizing itself (the Byzantines are often knocked as unRoman for not possessing Rome herself)
If Constantinople can maintain control of all of Italy, and this doesn't butterfly Islam away, how long would it take Italy to recover from the mauling it took during the wars twixt the ERE and the Ostrogoths? There's the almost certainly nonsense story of Rome having only a few hundred people in it after Belisarius retook it, but as I said, that's nonsense.
And if they can maintain a hold of Italy and possibly Sicily too, after Islam comes, how strong are our favorite Late Roman buddies going to be after a hundred years?
OR, would this lead to the destruction of the Empire, as they overcommit to defending Anatolia, the Balkans, and Italy from attacks by Slavs, Arabs, and Franks.