Editing Justinian I (section)

====Results====
Justinian's ambition for re-conquest was only partly realized, with the only lasting and sustainable conquest being [[Byzantine North Africa|Africa]]. In the West, the early military successes of the 530s were followed by years of stagnation. The dragging war with the Goths was a disaster for Italy, even though its long-lasting effects may have been less severe than is sometimes thought.<ref>See Lee (2005), pp. 125 ff.</ref> The heavy taxes that the administration imposed upon Italian population were deeply resented.<ref>{{cite book |last=Amory |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Amory |year=1997 |title=People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489&ndash;554 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=176 |isbn=0-521-57151-0}}</ref>

The final victory in Italy and the conquest of Africa and the coast of southern [[Hispania]] significantly enlarged the area of Byzantine influence and eliminated all naval threats to the empire, which in 555 reached its territorial zenith. Despite losing much of Italy soon after Justinian's death, the empire retained several important cities, including Rome, Naples, and Ravenna, leaving the [[Lombards]] as a regional threat. The newly founded province of Spania kept the Visigoths as a threat to Hispania alone and not to the western Mediterranean and Africa.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

Events of the later years of his reign showed that Constantinople itself was not safe from barbarian incursions from the north, and even the relatively benevolent historian [[Menander Protector]] felt the need to attribute the Emperor's failure to protect the capital to the weakness of his body in his old age.<ref>W. Pohl, "Justinian and the Barbarian Kingdoms", in Maas (2005), pp. 448–476; 472</ref> Some historians view that in his efforts to renew the Roman Empire, Justinian dangerously stretched its resources while failing to take into account the changed realities of 6th-century Europe.<ref>See Haldon (2003), pp. 17–19.</ref>