The Rebirth of the Western Roman Empire (AHC)

Emperor in the West, Part 1
  • The campaign against the Ostrogoth was much more difficult than even the Vandalic War. While Rome won the majority of the battles, and had conquered Rome under the leadership of Belisarius, the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna was well fortified. Belisarius dreaded a direct attack, and a siege would take months, during which time any number of calamities could occur. However, a stroke of good luck saved the campaign and changed the course of history forever.

    The Ostrogoth council sent a message to the Roman commanders stating that they would surrender, if Belisarius would agree to be the Western Emperor, ruling alongside Justinian. Belisarius viewed this as treasonous, and in any case, ridiculous. The Western Empire was dead, and had been for decades. However, this gave him an idea. What if he were to pretend to accept the offer, move his troops in, and then renege on his promise?

    Just as he was thinking, another courier burst in the door with a message: Emperor Justinian had arrested Belisarius’s wife, Antonina, for “conspiracy”. News had already gone back to the capital about Belisarius’s success on the battlefield, and many in Constantinople were clamoring for Belisarius to take the reins of power. It’s important to remember that Belisarius was given a Roman triumph after his impressive victory over the Vandals in Africa, just like many Roman emperors. It was almost natural that he been seen as the logical successor: Justinian had no children.

    Belisarius was far from shocked about these developments. He was loyal to the Emperor, but knew that Roman politics were far from clean cut. He would have to travel back to the capital to help his wife. The problem now was that if he even pretended to claim the throne, it would look as though Antonina really was guilty of the crime she was accused of… and the punishment, of course, would be death.

    The general weighed his options. He called in one or two of his trusted subordinates, and they talked for almost an hour. Though he was often exasperated of his wife, who was unfaithful to him, he couldn’t abide the disrespect that Justinian had done to his family’s name. As they walked out of the general’s tent, they knew what must be done. Belisarius would take the throne of the West, and march on Constantinople with impunity.

    Perhaps everything would have ended differently had he known that the message itself was fake, manufactured by the eunuch Narses, who had been sent back to Constantinople the previous year.
     
    Emperor in the West, Part 3
  • As Belisarius’ army moved eastwards, there was an joyful atmosphere in the towns they crossed through. Many people cheered the great general for his successes, some even calling him Caesar! While he still considered Justinian a friend, and his commander, this was now a question of self-preservation. What he was planning was treason, but if he could convince the Emperor that it was the right thing for Rome… then even he would have to agree.

    Belisarius’s army was small, but he had a couple of advantages. Due to the Ostrogoth accepting him as Emperor, he decided to let them control their own territory for the time being, He left an extremely small garrison to protect a tiny district in Ravenna which he wanted to use as his base of operations. Other than that, he had all of his men, including officers.

    He also knew that the Ostrogoth would be hesitant to try anything, even if they wanted to, because he had as prisoners both the King and Queen of the Ostrogoth, along with most of the Ostrogoth treasury. Vitiges and Matasuntha would probably never see their homes again, and perhaps it was for the best. Keeping them around was a recipe for disaster, and yet for now, they were useful. If Justinian saw they were captured, he might even give Belisarius another triumph!

    The general had probably preferred to sail back, but now that he had declared himself Emperor in the West, he couldn’t trust the fleet at all. The march back was exhausting, was taking too long, and raised the possibility that the army would have to plunder their own territory. It was now the year 541, one of the most important in the history of the Byzantine Empire. This was the year of the Plague of Justinian.

    Later in the year, Belisarius’s army finally reached the outskirts of Constantinople. For some reason, there wasn’t much activity going on near the town. Belisarius assumed that the news had spread, and that Justinian himself was going to meet with him immediately, but instead, the guards said that the city was closed to new entrants due to some type of sickness that had spread through the town. The Emperor was stationed in his palace, and couldn’t leave at the moment. However, the guard would let Belisarius in, as the Emperor had actually already sent a messenger recalling him.

    Belisarius knew something was wrong… he hadn’t received any message recalled him to Constantinople, and in fact thought he was going to be arrested as soon as he entered. Now he was going to be welcomed by the Emperor, in spite of a plague? Belisarius decided that, no matter what, he needed to meet the Emperor immediately. He asked if he could bring his generals, and they made their way into the great city.

    They walked by dozens of people in the streets, piled up, dead or dying. They saw that nearly the entire city was shut down, with guards blocking off various portions due to the plague. Commerce was completely absent. Belisarius didn’t know what to think…
     
    Emperor in the West, Part 4
  • Justinian said that his nephew, Justin, would likely inherit the throne in the East since his own children were illegitimate. Therefore, he wanted Belisarius to agree to “adopt” his daughter and make sure that she was allowed to take control in the West after his death. This would show that Belisarius was still loyal to the Emperor and was acting in the best interest of Rome.

    Belisarius said that although he didn’t have children of his own, he doubted that the citizen of Rome would agree to this proposal. Also, the Ostrogoth would likely want their own ruler on the throne of the West. Despite this, Justinian insisted, and Belisarius agreed, saying that his goal was only to stabilize Rome, not to overthrow it.

    There were 3 people that decided they must act when they heard this news: the son of the Ostrogoth king, Belisarius’ former wife, and some relatives of a former Emperor. These would all become important later, but for now, a fragile peace was restored. However, from this day on, many would doubt that Justinian was a truly legitimate ruler, as he had been captured and forced to agree to a mere general’s demands.

    Belisarius merged his army with two others that were in Greece at the time, and decided that the time was ripe to strike Persia. This would be a war that would have major consequences.
     
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