The detailed history of Justinian’s wars with Khosrow lies beyond the scope of this chapter. Suffice it to say, however, that besides the long-standing historical tendency of two neighboring empires to jostle for position and preeminence, Byzantium and Persia both nursed an economic interest in the lucrative Silk Road mercantile trails that ran through their borderlands. The economic and geographical reality of this was the chief reason why their “Eternal Peace” of the 530s lasted less than ten years.
