Changes

The Roman Empire had been divided by the Emperor Theodosius I into an Eastern and Western state. The two parts of the Roman Word were very different with from the east, mainly Greek -speaking, wealthier and urban, while the west, was mainly Latin speaking and increasingly impoverished. The Western Empire was much weaker than the East and after the collapse of the Rhine frontier in 410 AD it was slowly occupied by various Germanic tribes who created states in the former Imperial provinces.  By 500 AD, Italy was ruled by the Ostrogoths, North Africa was ruled by the Vandals and Spain was in the possession of the Visigoths. The Eastern Empire had been able to avoid the fate of the West because of its inherent strengths and some strong leaders such as the Emperor Zeno. By the start of the 6th century AD , the eastern part of the Roman Empire was a unified state that was actually growing stronger and its borders were secure.<ref> Baker, George Philip. <i>Justinian: The Last Roman Emperor</i> (London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), p 119</ref>