>tfw Belisarius will never tell that cunt Justinian to go fuck himself and birth a new Rome from the ashes of the old with a bloody conquest of Italy
>>760092
Imperium Romanum 2 had a great little scenario on this exact hypothetical.
>>760140
Total War: Attila has a DLC about it as well.
>tfw Belisarius could've been a god tier Western Emperor ruling a united and restored Roman Empire alongside his bro Justinian if it wasn't for that slut Theodora
>>760092
He didn't have the balls to do it.
>>760092
Honestly, if he received the Ostrogoth throne, renamed it WRE and stabilized it, we could've seen a reunified Roman Empire that the Ostrogoths were a part of.
>>760092
But telling him to fuck off wouldn't do any good, because the West was always dependent on the East and for him to get all them roman shekels he would need a great relation with the East.
>Tells the guy paying his troops to fuck off
lmao m80
>>761701
Might be possible if he got their recognition, was able to ease their tensions and somehow unfucked Italy from their wars
>>760092
My favourite reunited rome fantasy is if Constantine VI married Rotrude and their heir inherited both Kingdoms. All of the best of Byzantine and Carolingian Empires in the framework of a reunited Roman Empire. Glorious.
Can someone explain Theodora and belisarius to me?
>>762260
Belisarius did nothing wrong but Theodora was a cunt anyway.
>>762291
Why was she such a cunt though? Its not like she was sexualy frustrated since she was a whore
Its not like she didn't have power, she is in charge of Justinian's penis. Why would she go ruin Belisarius's life
>>762310
She was paranoid of Belisarius's power and sought to undermine him at every turn partly because she thought he might go and do exactly what OP is proposing.
>>760092
>ywn bitchslap his cunt wife for dissing on your loyalty
Beli was a true bro, he never once thought about betraying Justin and take Rome for himself.
>>762469
Why does this always fucking happen
>Loyal and talented general gets told to off to war
>emperor gets jealous off success and popularity
>execute/cripple them in anyway possible because they threw a hissy fit and ignored the grand scheme of things
>>762492
>Loyal
Well but really, no way for the emperor to be sure. Better kill them when you can than trust them and risk an insurrection at the worst possible moment.
Essentially it's the emperor putting his own interests before the empire's.
>>762574
I guess it looks better for these supposed loyal generals to die at the hands of their emperor than to rebel, fail and remembered as a shitty person
>>761731
Iirc they offered him the crown
Too bad he literally got cucked. Great guy.
>>762625
Well he literally married a whore, the fuck could he expect?
>>762424
She also fucked over his daughter if I remember correctly.
>>762632
Why don't anyone call Justinian a cuck? He married a whore too
>>760092
Isn't this the guy who got cucked by his wife with the help of Empress Theodora who then had him blinded?
>>760092
>the Flavius Aetius will never usurp the western throne for himself and save Rome from the barbarian hordes.
>>762665
*tfw* fucking autocorrect.
![EvXMimX[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/PO2gs5U.jpg "EvXMimX[1].jpg")
>>762662
>Why don't anyone call Justinian a cuck?
EVERYONE calls Justinian a cuck.
>>760092
>>762492
Didn't this happen exactly in the foundation books? If the emperor is great he wouldn't have great subjects so an invasion would fail, but if he's weak his subjects would be great, and no emperor should have great subjects to keep his head for sure, so either the invasion would fail or the general would be executed..
>>762492
Their legitimacy is backed by naked force, so they become insecure when some one more powerful than themselves starts to emerge, we see the same thing with modern dictators purging their officers.
>>762664
no
I know this because Belisarius was alive well after Theodora died, but was called out of retirement to suppress bulgarian scum.
can't lead an army if you're blind.
>And the Barbarians said: "We give up to you Sicily, great as it is and of such wealth, seeing that without it you cannot possess Libya in security."
>And Belisarius replied: "And we on our side permit the Goths to have the whole of Britain, which is much larger than Sicily and was subject to the Romans in early times. For it is only fair to make an equal return to those who first do a good deed or perform a kindness."
>>764326
kek
>>762291
Thank you Holly Hindsight
>>760092
Belisarius was a terrible fucking politician and would have driven Rome into the ground just like Isaac II Angelus did.
>>762492
At least Augustus made up with Agrippa
>>762492
Because the general/second in command had a history of doing just that sort of rebellion.
You get to be top dog by fucking people over, you stay top dog by not letting others do the same
>>760092
>who is Theodoric the great
>>762492
Because Justinian himself literally came to power as a loyal second in command who took over when he saw his chance.
>What would I do if I was Belisarius?
>Oh
>>764326
VENETIANS DID 1453
TURK SIEGE ENGINES CAN'T MELT THEODOSIAN WALLS
>this one dude who was a decent military leader would have totally been a good emperor too, he would have created a new Rome and certainly not imploded within a few years of getting any real power
>>762888
The Foundation series was, by Asimov's own admission, just The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire... IN SPACE!
He was offered the western crown and the Ostrogoth's loyalty to lift his seige of Ravenna. He accepted to get inside and then took Ravenna for Justinian. He remained loyal but Justinian paradoxically never trusted him after that. Even when Justinian did trust him, he still starved him of the men and materials he needed for a quick victory.
Honestly, he should have just taken the crown for himself. Italy wasn't depopulated until after he left and the Ostrogoths revolted. The subsequent re-invasion ruined much of Italy, with Rome depopulated and the Senate fatally weakened. Had Besilarius accepted the western crown, he would have had Italy, Dalmatia, and Africa, the richest parts of the WRE, under his direct control. Conclude a marriage with Justinian and he's set. If Justinian refuses and invades, beat the shit out of him until he accepts a white peace. Then it's just a matter of restoring the Rhine-Danube frontier. Attack the Visigoths first in the vain of Majorian, then move into Gaul, Noricum, and Pannonia. Ignore Britannia, because it had always been a dump and a massive sinkhole of men and material. Without massive frontiers to defend, the ERE would remain strong, and would be capable of fighting off both the Sassanids and the Arabs.
>>760092
Belisarius wasn't a good leader. He was an excellent, gloriously skilled general, but he was not good at making his subordinates stay loyal. The same cycle repeats all the fucking time in his life, he got shat up by not having a forceful personality or the ability to use it.
>Empress Irene offered to marry Charlemagne to unite the Roman Empire and the Franks
>Frustrated by byzantine schemers
>Pope fucked it all up and poisoned relations with the Byzantines for good by crowning Charlemagne the emperor
Could have recovered the West in one bloodless swoop but no.
>>762492
>Thank god Tiberius is dead! Let's make the son of Germanicus Emperor!
>Caligula
>>766811
Irene herself cancelled the marriage between Constantine and Rotrud. She is as much to blame.
