Following the division of the Roman Empire into two halves during the 3rd century A.D., the Eastern Roman Empire became an increasingly independent entity. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th Century, the East attempted various expeditions to reconquer the West. The most successful attempt occured under the reign of Justinian I in the middle of the 6th century, when his General Belisarius succeeded in capturing many former Roman territories in the West, including the Iberian peninsula, Carthage, and parts of Hispania. This was not to last as most of these newly conquered territories were lost within a generation.