Hello, I apologize if this is not the correct venue to ask this question but I didn't see anything in the subreddit rules that specifically touched on this subject.
I'm a Computer Science major taking an Ancient-Rome history class and I have to write a 2500 word paper. I've decided to write a paper on Justinian's wars with the Vandals and Ostrogoths and I need help finding good sources.
My teacher pointed me in the direction of The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire (which I've been unable to locate) and Volumes 2-5 of Procopius, Loeb edition. While searching for the Cambridge book I stumbled upon Justinian and the Later Roman Empire.
My questions are as follows:
I apologize again if this sort of question is not allowed on /r/AskHistorians.
The Cambridge Histories are usually pretty good; the Barker book is a bit old but not terrible.
Check out libraries near you here.
Otherwise, you may want to try /r/homeworkhelp
JB Bury's History of the Later Roman Empire tends to be fairly widely available, vol 1 and 2 and is a good primer for the period. I believe there are several free versions available online. Just do a quick google search.
Despite being written in the 1920s, it still holds up rather well as a reference (and I love it for his conclusions and straightforward writing style), as he focuses on the political history of the period. He also incorporates many choice selections and citations from Procopius himself, so that might save you some trouble.
BTW, JB Bury was the editor for the previous incarnations of the Cambridge Medieval History, which is also available for free. So you can use the older book series as well.
However, remember that the more recent scholarly books on that era tend to focus on the non-political history aspects of that period, so like the social, the cultural, the economic, and so forth. Bury's historiography will be a bit out of date, but the areas most likely to hold up will be in the realm of the essential political narrative.
But if you're willing to pay for amazon money on Justinian, I see this relatively recent book, The Age of Justinian most often as a standard but accessible reference.