Justinian I's Empire

[poiuytrewq0987]

During the rule of Justinian I he managed to restore much of Italy, parts of Spain and Africa. Many lauded his attempt to restore the empire and in some ways he did succeed in doing just that by recapturing Rome and Carthage. However with his campaigns he managed to overstretch the empire's resources. What puzzles me is how did he manage to overstretch the empire's resources if there should be plenty of them just sitting in Rome or in the Italian peninsula and to some extent, Africa (Carthage). It was with the supposed overstreching of resources that he wasn't able to hold onto his newly conquered lands and later, Egypt.

[Saruman]

Yes he overstretched the resources because you need to take into equation different circumstances in the 6th century. Belisarius and Narses were very successful generals and they played a big part in reconquest. But Italy itself wasn't as rich as before, and he already placed them under high taxes. Plus different economic environment, slave-owning system was basically gone at that point being replaced by proto-feudal relationships. Not to mention the bubonic plague in 542. So the time wasn't right for such ambitious project, and not only that but he actually weakened the Eastern empire with the campaign, and that weakness would later cost the Byzantines in their conflict with Persians and emerging Arab Islam. Also his conquests weakened Germanic kings in Italy and would contribute to the rise of Papal power.
His lasting legacy is today though is Corpus Iuris Civilis, the codification of Roman private law.