The Emergence of Europe (286-843) Part XIII: The Empire Strikes Back

A series of civil wars and repeated invasions by Germanic tribes caused the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Following the end of imperial authority, several Germanic tribes struggled against each other for control of territory. The Franks became the dominant power in Gaul, but Greater Frankia repeatedly broke apart during wars between rival claimants for the throne. Finally, Charlemagne united the Franks, and greatly expanded the size of the kingdom. However, his grandsons proved unwilling to share the empire, and divided it in 843, laying the foundations for France and Germany. Episode Thirteen explains that Justinian gambled on an invasion of North Africa after the Nika riots. When the Vandal kingdom fell surprisingly quickly, Justinian decided to conquer Italy. The Ostrogoths proved to be more difficult than the Vandals, so general Belisarius moved slowly. Several years later, the Ostrogoth king finally surrendered. Great, Justinian could call himself emperor of the Roman empire. Except, the Shah of Persia sacked Antioch, while the imperial army was busy in the west.

Cast of Characters:
Amalasuintha-queen of the Ostogoths, co-ruler with her cousin Theodahad, regent for her son Athalaric (526-534), daughter of Theodoric the Great
Theodahad-king of the Ostogoths, co-ruler with his cousin Amalasuintha (534-535), sole ruler (535-536), nephew of Theodoric the Great
Wittigis-king of the Ostogoths (536-540)
Justinian-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire (527-565), nephew of Justin 
Belisarius-leading general of the Eastern Roman Empire
Narses-general of the Eastern Roman Empire
Gelimer-king of the Vandals and the Alans (530-534)
Hilderic-king of the Vandals and the Alans (523-530)
Theudebert I-king of Austrasia (533-548)
Khosrow-shah of Persia (531-579)

Sources:
Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion-Peter Heather
Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West 376-568-Guy Halsall
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians-Peter Heather
The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization-Bryan Ward-Perkins
The Inheritance of Rome-A History of Europe from 400 to 1000-Chris Wickham
Empires of Faith: The Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam, 500-700-Peter Sarris
Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages-Dan Jones
The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian Popes and Imperial Pretenders-Peter Heather
Theodoric the Great: King of Goths, Ruler of Romans-Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, Translated by John Noel Dillon
The Franks-Edward James
Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization-Lars Brownsworth
Byzantium: The Early Centuries-John Julius Norwich
Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint-Peter Sarris
Visigothic Spain 409-711-Roger Collins
History of the Goths-Herwig Wolfram, translated by Thomas J. Dunlap
Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe-Judith Herrin

Image Credit
By Unknown author - [1] 'Grandes Chroniques de France, Mandragore, BNF, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=723625