Justinian's Empire

We've been talking lately about Emperor Justinian I and the Eastern Roman Empire trying to reunite with the Western Roman Empire in the Gothic Wars. Ostrogoths had taken over much of Italy, and Justinian wanted the west back under his control. He failed, but not for lack of trying. Also, he had many more things on his imperial plate.Although he could not hold Italy, the red line seen in the illustration shows the extent of the area in which he had influence, not just control.Despite operating out of Constantinople/Byzantium, and despite the tendency to think of this as the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and his people felt they were the extension and continuation of the Christian Roman Empire. (My recent posts refer to the soldiers sent by Justinian as Byzantines because of the name of the city, not some national identity).Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus was born in 482 in what is now southern Serbia, east of Kosovo, near where he later founded the city of Justiniana Prima in 535. He also…