Let us dicuss the rule of Justinian during his reign in the Byzantine Empire. From his dilusions of Grandure to the effect of the plague on his populus.
Ah yes. But what if he did go into exile rather than slaughter all those rioting civilians? Also could he have the man power to continue his campaign if it was't for the plague? Or it would just be more rioting.
Justinian was a cold, ruthless, callous son of a bitch. He was also quite, quite brilliant. In an environment where an emperor could be murdered at the drop of a hat he had a knack for employing just the right people to take the empire forward, including the great general Belisarius and Tribonian. He reformed the imperial administration, compiled the Justinian Code, and came down hard on corruption. And of course his architectural feats are legendary. Militarily, things did not always go his way. The peace with the Sassanids was a costly one. But even then he succeeded in re-taking Italy, North Africa, and southern Spain. And all this despite the multitude of earthquakes and plagues which blighted his reign. As for the massacre at the Hippodrome, that was Theodora's idea. Unquestionably the greatest of all Byzantine emperors. No one else comes close.
You forgot his shwerd way of getting money for his campaigns. He didn't pay his soldiers blaming it on needing the money for peace or randsom. He forged wills and fabricated claims on lands.
Well, that was more to do with Belisarius' campaigns in Italy. The general was so well-liked that his opponents agreed to surrender on condition Belisarius became king of Italy. From that moment on, Justinian became deeply mistrustful of Belisarius, going as far as to deny him much-needed supplies during the wars.
Belisarius and the other general who fought during that time where awesome, although I much like Justinian's wife alot. Though one of the great questions is if the Byzantine could have truly recaptured the lost lands of the roman empire and govern them.
No chance. They were overstretched as they were and faced far more numerous and formidable enemies than their predecessors ever did. They might have done better had they been able to quell the frequent feuds between different factions, but it was unthinkable that they would ever have recreated the borders of the old empire, let alone hold onto it.
I bet if they weren't so divided they might've held onto Italy, or at least some of the more important parts like Rome.
Now another question was what if the rain of Irene proved backed up by byzantine elites and the marriage between her and Karl de grosse worked out?
Irene was an unremarkable ruler who was only remembered for ending iconoclasm. In fact she was a rather nasty piece of work: she had her own son's eyes gouged out in the very place where he was born.
I kind of like her to be honest, it seems as though alot of historical works try to play her our to be some sort of demon in human form.
She had her own son's eyes gouged out man! But if you still think Irene got a raw deal then rest in the knowledge that she was made a saint by the Orthodox church.
Well that is just reports she was never officially canonized by the Orthodox church, and Irene's son was no saint either heck he took out many eyes and tongues himself. and besides her ruling had the adane effect of the future rift between the two holy churches.
