Amalasuntha continued the policies of conciliation between the Goths and Romans, supporting the new Eastern Emperor Justinian I and allowing him to use Sicily as a staging point during the reconquest of Africa in the Vandalic War. With the death of Athalaric in 534, Amalasuntha crowned her cousin and only relative Theodahad as king, hoping for his support. Instead, Amalasuntha was imprisoned and, even though Theodahad assured Emperor Justinian of her safety, she was executed shortly after. This served as an ideal "casus belli" for Justinian, who prepared to invade and reclaim the Italian peninsula for the Roman Empire.