 Belisarius had been recalled in the face of renewed hostilities by the Persians . Following a revolt against the Empire in Armenia in the late 530s and possibly motivated by the pleas of Ostrogothic ambassadors , King Khosrau I broke the " Eternal Peace " and invaded Roman territory in the spring of 540 . He first sacked Beroea and then Antioch ( allowing the garrison of 6 @,@ 000 men to leave the city ) , besieged Daras , and then went on to attack the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom of Lazica near the Black Sea , exacting tribute from the towns he passed along his way . He forced Justinian I to pay him 5 @,@ 000 pounds of gold , plus 500 pounds of gold more each year . 
