Product not suitable for children under 14 years - Kit not painted and not assembled
After the death of Theodoric in 526 AD, the kingdom faced both internal and external challenges and tensions. As Ostrogothic power weakened, Emperor Justinian I sought to reassert eastern control over Italy, leading to a series of conflicts known as the Gothic Wars (535–554 AD). The war was the result of a policy that had been taking shape for some time and which envisaged the reconquest of the territories that belonged to the Western Empire before the upheaval brought about by the barbarian kingdoms. The first step was the subtraction of Africa from the Vandals, and their military annihilation; the second step was the recovery of the Ostrogothic territories, at that time dominated by King Theodatus, nephew of Theodoric. The conflict began in 535 with the landing in Sicily of a Byzantine army led by general Belisarius. Going up the peninsula, Belisarius' forces defeated the Gothic troops of kings Theodatus first and then Vitiges, reconquering many important cities including Rome and Ravenna. The accession to the Gothic throne of Totila and the recall of Belisarius to Constantinople led to the reconquest by the Goths of many of the lost positions. Only with the arrival of a new army under the general Narses were the imperial forces able to recover, and after the death in battle of Totila The Ostrogothic Kingdom concluded its parable with the battle of the Lattari Mountains ... (extract from the guide sheets contained in the Mounting kit)
