Belisarius regains Sicily 535

I have just been reading a book called Justinian's Flea, about the numerous episodes of plague that devastated populations around the globe. The book is a rather rambling history of Justinian's rule and the many military campaigns and conquests of his era. Justinian was the Roman Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire centered in Constantinople, which is commonly referred to as the Byzantine Empire. After the Vandals and the Goths invaded the west, including Rome, Gaul and Spain, the Roman Empire in the west essentially disappeared. The Ostrogoths ruled in Italy from about 493 to 535 under King Theoderic. This included Sicily. One of Justinian's ambitions was to return the captured western regions to control of his (Eastern Roman) empire. Thus, he sent a general Belisarius to Sicily in 535 AD with 4000 soldiers to take the island. After Belisarius was temporarily diverted to Carthage to put down a revolt of Roman soldiers, he sailed into Palermo harbor where the fortress defenders basically fled. Belisarius had his archers mass on the top masts of his ships, giving them a downward flight for their arrows. This advantage of the 'high ground' even on the coast sent his enemies running. Thereafter, he took Syracuse to achieve his goals on the island and moved on to recapture Naples in 536 and eventually Ravenna, the seat of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Control of the island of Sicily generally means that the main population centers came under the rule of one king or another. The mountainous and rugged interior provinces were much less troubled by jurisdictional transitions. Corleone, mentioned in Book 2 and soon to be featured in Book 3 is in those mountainous regions. Were these regions somewhat like the Ozarks or Appalachians in America, the last to be 'converted' to modern lifestyles and resistant to governmental intrusion in their society?

Belisarius at SanVitale Church in Ravenna