THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD IN LATE ANTIQUITYwas a temporary check, but did not prevent the Huns from invading Italy.^20
Again, the western empire had a lucky escape, for Attila’s death (Chapter 1)
brought the break-up of the Hun empire and removed the danger.
From now on, as the western government became progressively weaker,
and it became less and less possible to sustain any coherent policy in relation
to barbarian settlement. Even in the vacuum left by the death of Theodosius I
in 395, Rome still occupied the centre in the shifting game of barbarian move-
ments; by the end of the century no Roman emperor was left in the west, and
we can see the fi rst stage in the development of the early medieval kingdoms.^21
The fi rst to be established was, as we have seen, that of the Vandals in North
Africa. However, it was untypical in that it was overthrown by the imperial
armies under Belisarius in AD 534 and replaced by well-established Byzantine
rule lasting at least in part until the late seventh century. North Africa, in fact,
represents the success story of Justinian’s policy of reconquest; the irony was,
however, that in contrast with the long history of Roman Africa before the
arrival of the Vandals, the restored imperial province was governed by eastern-
ers from Constantinople whose language of administration was Greek (Chap-
ter 5). The longest lasting of the Germanic kingdoms was that of the Franks,
Figure 2.2 Composite buckle, Ostrogothic style, inlaid with cloisonné garnets, green glass
and shell in gold cellwork, late fifth–early sixth century. Found in a female grave near the gate
of the church of St Severin, Cologne. Trustees of the British Museum