Belisarius | Flavius Valerius Severus | Flavius Gaudentius | Flavius Antiochianus | Count Belisarius | ''Belisarius |
General Flavius Belisarius under Justinian I in the early 6th century made a serious attempt to recover the western half; however his gains were short-lived and poorly planned out – resources and troops that could have been used to defeat the Persians were diverted forcing the Byzantines into tribute and diplomacy to deal with this Eastern threat.
Paul Kastenellos is a nom de plume for the author of two novels of Byzantine: Antonina, A Byzantine Slut about the maligned wife of the famed sixth century Roman general Flavius Belisarius, and Count No Man Happy, A Byzantine Fantasy, which recounts the sad life of the Emperor Constantine VI who was blinded by his own mother in the eighth century.