The Gepids reign as the most powerful people north of the Danube, but a new rival supported by the Roman empire threatens to dismantle their kingdom, all while a horrifying illness makes its appearance in the Balkans.

Here’s what the region looked like in the 540s after the Lombards settled west of the Gepids at Justinian’s invitation. Note how the Gepids held lands along the south bank of the Danube to better protect their capital at Sirmium, and how the Romans still held the city of Sucidava on the north bank of the river, such that each side had bridgeheads in the other’s territories.