Justinian, fully occupied in Italy, has somewhat…

Justinian, fully occupied in Italy, has somewhat neglected the army in the East.

A Gothic embassy had reached Persia in 539, and the information it provided had caused Khosrau to grow restive under the constraints of the “Endless Peace.”

In 540, the same year that a Bulgar force had raided Macedonia and reached the long walls of Constantinople, Khosrau's armies had moved into Mesopotamia, northern Syria, and Roman Armenia and systematically looted the key cities, reaching even Antioch in the pursuit of booty and blackmail and returning unhurt.