Plausible?: Justinian goes East?

[EMT]

Seriously, this is an honest question. I don't want to get flamed for asking an honest question. There's a reason I stick to South America. Anyway, Is there a possibility of Justinian clawing his way east and taking large chunks of/all of Persia over heading westwards? What made him decide to annex parts of the Western Empire? Could Justinian plausibly try to take parts of Arabia/Axum/Nubia? What's the plausibility of this?

 

[hopper2cool]

OK I am not an expert to say that least and I am sure I am going to get flamed for any mistakes I make but I will try to answer this because I do like Justinian and Belasarius.
Mainly it boils down to two major things. The Persians were tougher and Justinian really wanted to reform the Roman Empire under him. Or more accurately he wanted to bring those rebellious barbarians back into his Roman Empire under the rightful rule of Justinian. Of course how legitimate the Byzantine claim to Italy was is pretty questionable but the Greeks Byzantines Eastern Romans did think they were Romans no matter what anyone else called them or what we call them now.

 

[Philip]

Anyway, Is there a possibility of Justinian clawing his way east and taking large chunks of/all of Persia over heading westwards?

You would need a different Justinian to have him focus on the East. Even if he does, taking big chunks of Persia is not overly likely. The Sassanids were in too good of shape at this point. Making advances into northern Mesopotamia are possible (we're talking a couple of fortified cities -- not large swaths of land), but I would bet on more control of Iberia (the Georgian one, not Spain) as being a more likely goal.

What made him decide to annex parts of the Western Empire?

Two things factored in: The lands were considered Roman, and there was some easy pickings.

Could Justinian plausibly try to take parts of Arabia/Axum/Nubia?

Annexing the Ghassanids is possible (though likely a mistake). The rest of Arabia as well as Nubia and Axum is right out.

 

[Saepe Fidelis]

Even if Belisarius & Justinian turned east the same thing would happen- Justinian would feel insecure and order Belisarius back. Persia is tougher than the Ostrogoths, and the landscape in eastern Anatolia is far more rugged.

 

[Basileus Giorgios]

No, for the reasons discussed above. AH.com has a bit of a tendency to underate the Sassanids I find; they were every bit a match for the Roman Empire until the very end of the Sassanid period when Heraclius thoroughly destroyed them by sacking Ctesiphon and burning Mesopotamia and western Persia.

Anyway, I digress. Justinian can't really turn East, because Ctesiphon is the only power in the world that can compete with him on an equal footing. The Ostrogoths and Vandals were both crippled by civil wars, and, in the case of the Vandals, considerable unpopularity with the local Roman populace. Justinian's campaigns were based to a large degree on opportunitism: and to the East, these opportunities did not appear in the Sassanid Empire (except in Iberia in the 550s). So he won't go there.

If the Sassanids collapse into civil war though for whatever reason (let's say the 542 plague devastates Persia and has minimal impact on Rome) then it's plausible Justinian will attempt to extend his control deeper into Mesopotamia and the Caucasus.