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| - What caused Belisarius to accept the title of Western Roman Emperor? Historians debate whether Justinian feared his General’s betrayal and had his wife murdered, or if he waited until after Belisarius betrayed him to slay her, either way Belisarius was now free to marry again, and chose an Ostrogoth Princess as his new wife, uniting the Romans and the Goths of Italy into a single political power. An outraged Justinian wanted nothing more than to see the blood of Belisarius spilled before him, his plot for revenge would have to wait, as he turned his attention east to fight the Persians. Belisarius spent the years strengthening his position in Italy, forming alliances with the Barbarian tribes and Visigoths, and supporting the anti-Byzantine uprising in Carthage, by the time Justinian could focus on the usurper in Ravenna, it was too late. Justinian’s Army was annihilated at the Battle of Syracuse in 545. The resulting loss led to a rebellion against the rule of Justinian in 547 the elderly general and hero of the campaign against the Persians, Narses led a coup in the East establishing himself as the Emperor of the East. Justinian was captured along with his wife Theodora trying to gather troops loyal to them in Anatolia to reclaim the throne. Justinian was tried for treason and executed, Theodora spent the rest of her life as a nun in Macedonia, and she died in 549. Narses extended his recognition of Belisarius as the Emperor of the West and began a long and unpopular rule being overthrown by Justin II, the nephew of Justinian in 568. Narses died in prison a few months after the coup. The year of the coup in Constantinople was also the year the Lombards invaded Italy, Belisarius personally took command of the Roman and Ostrogoth Armies leading them to victory after victory, while pushing the Lombards into the Alps. Justin II had his hands full in the east as well fighting against the Persians with neither Belisarius or Justin able to help one another in their times of crisis. Belisarius died in Verona en route to Ravenna in 572 and was succeeded by his son Theodosius III. According to legend Theodosius had met with Lombard King Albion to arrange a cease fire. Because of early defeats many of the Lombards' Germanic allies had deserted them, alone Albion hoped to become a vassal of the Western Roman Empire. Theodosius fell in love with Albion’s wife Rosamund having a sexual affair with her. Together they plotted to kill Albion and arrange for Rosamund to flee to Ravenna and be with her lover. The plot succeeded, Albion was murdered by one of Theodosius’ most trusted warriors, and Rosamund escaped into her lover's arms. The murder however provoked another war with the Lombards and an alliance between the Lombard’s and the Burgundy Franks. Albion’s nephew Gisulf became the King of the Lombards and renewed hostilities with Rome. Gisulf conquered Tuscany and Provence from Rome before his own demise 587; he was succeeded by his son Gisulf II. Under the rule of King Gisulf II, the Lombards allied with the Avars began harassing Roman settlements in Illyria and nearly marched to the gates of Ravenna before the Byzantine-Roman alliance defeated them in 609. Believing Ravenna to be vulnerable the elderly Theodosius moved the capital to Rome itself. Theodosius died in 612 and was succeeded by his son-in-law Constantius IV. Constantius arranged an armistice with the Lombards in 615, making his reign the first peaceful one since the restoration of the Empire. During his twenty three years of rule, Constantius rebuilt much of the eternal city, making the jewel of his Empire and of Europe. The Roman Forum was renovated under his supervision, the Roman Coliseum was restored, and many new Cathedrals were built including St. Belisarius Chapel. The population of Rome began to swell once more, when Constantius died in 638 it was claimed over a million Romans mourned him in the great city. When the reign of Gelasius began in 655 Arianism had all but vanished in the Empire and much of Lombardy had been conquered by the Roman Armies including Provence. With the Lombards neutralized, Gelasius planned on reconquering Gaul and driving the Franks into Britain or Germania but a new enemy revealed itself to Gelasius, the Arabic Muslims. For more than 20 years the Arabians had been conquering the Holy Lands from the Byzantines, and in spite of the Byzantine Emperor’s pleas, Gelasius’ father Theodosius IV refused to send aid. Now the territory of the Western Empire was being attacked, the Arabs attacked the city of Carthage first in 659 with little success and attempted another failed assault on the city in 664; finally the year Gelasius died 673 Carthage fell to the Arab armies, and was the staging point for the invasion of Sicily the following year. The Romans suffered military defeat after defeat to the Arabs in Sicily and Southern Italy until turning their fortunes around with a major victory at Naples in 688, the Arabs were gradually pushed off the Italian Peninsula by 702. Although Sicily remained firmly in the hands of the Arabs, the Caliphate turned its focus west eventually crossing into Hispania, marching their way into Europe until their defeat at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Christian victory at the Battle of Tours is often marked as the end of the Late Antiquity era and the beginning of the Medieval Ages by modern historians.
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