Changes

Justinian is widely seen as the ‘Last Roman’ because of his efforts to restore that Empire. His many wars were largely successful, and he did reconquer many areas of the old Western Roman Empire. However, the majority of these were soon lost. The costs of his wars were enormous, and they placed a great strain on the Christian Empire. They attempt to revive Rome, weakened the Byzantines and resulted in a very serious political-economic and military crisis. Paradoxically, the provinces added by Belisarius, proved to be invaluable to the Christian Empire in its life and death struggles with the Arabs. Then there is the fact that the conquests in the west by the Eastern Roman Empire, was an important stage in the transition from the Late Classical World to the Medieval era in the Mediterranean.