The world as Justinian takes power

Justinian ascended to the throne decades after the fall of the Western Roman empire:

• The Italian peninsula was now under the rule of the Ostrogoths.
• The Vandals who sacked Rome 100 years before were now ruling northern Africa.
• The Sassanids in the east were continuing the Persian heritage. 

Justinian’s destiny will be tightly linked to his greatest general, Belisarius, the man who will act as the spear-head of Justinian ambition. Similar to the bond between Augustus, the first Roman emperor and Marcus Agrippa, 500 years earlier.