Editing Justinian I (section)

====Other campaigns====
[[File:4KJUSTINIAN.png|thumb|Emperor Justinian reconquered many former territories of the Western Roman Empire, including [[Roman Italy|Italia]], [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]], Africa, and southern [[Hispania]].]]

In addition to the other conquests, the Empire established a presence in [[Visigothic]] [[Hispania]], when the usurper [[Athanagild]] requested assistance in his rebellion against King [[Agila I]]. In 552, Justinian dispatched a force of 2,000 men; according to the historian [[Jordanes]], this army was led by the octogenarian [[Liberius (praetorian prefect)|Liberius]].<ref>''Getica'', 303</ref> The Byzantines took [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]] and other cities on the southeastern coast and founded the new province of [[Spania]] before being checked by their former ally Athanagild, who had by now become king. This campaign marked the apogee of Byzantine expansion.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

During Justinian's reign, the [[Balkans]] suffered from several incursions by the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Slavic peoples]] who lived north of the [[Danube]]. Here, Justinian resorted mainly to a combination of diplomacy and a system of defensive works. In 559 a particularly dangerous invasion of [[Slavic peoples|Sklavinoi]] and [[Kutrigurs]] under their [[Khan (title)|khan]] [[Zabergan]] threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the aged general Belisarius.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Evans|first=James Allan|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/843198707|title=The Power Game in Byzantium : Antonina and the Empress Theodora.|date=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4411-2040-3|location=London|pages=205–206|oclc=843198707}}</ref>