Praetorian prefecture of Africa
Encyclopedia
The praetorian prefecture of Africa was a major administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire, established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the Vandals
in 533-534 by emperor Justinian I
. It continued to exist until the late 580s, when it was replaced by the Exarchate of Africa
.
defeated and destroyed the Vandal Kingdom
that had existed in the former Roman territories of Northern Africa. Immediately after the victory, in April 534, the emperor Justinian published a law concerning the administrative organization of the newly acquired territories. The old provinces of the Roman Diocese of Africa
had been mostly preserved by the Vandals, but large parts, including all of Mauretania Tingitana
, much of Mauretania Caesariensis
and large parts of the interior of Numidia
and Byzacena
, had been lost to the inroads of the Amazigh tribes, collectively called the Mauri (Moors
). Nevertheless, Justinian restored the old administrative division, but raised the overall governor at Carthage to the supreme administrative rank of praetorian prefect
.
Indeed, Justinian's intent was to, in the words of the historian J.B. Bury, "wipe out all traces of the Vandal conquest, as if it had never been". The churches were restored to the Chalcedonian
clergy, and the remaining Arians
suffered persecution. Even the land ownership was reverted to the status prior to the Vandalic conquest, but the scarcity of valid property titles after 100 years of Vandal rule created an administrative and judicial chaos. The military administration was headed by the new post of magister militum
Africae, with a subordinate magister peditum and four regional frontier commands (Tripolitania, Byzacena, Numidia, and Mauretania) under duces
. This organization was only gradually established, as the Romans pushed the Mauri back and regained these territories.
) in Numidia were ruled by Iaudas, and the Mauretanian Moors were led by Mastigas
and Masuna.
Africae by his domesticus
(senior aide), the eunuch Solomon
from Dara
. The tribes of Mauri living in Byzacena
and Numidia
almost immediately rose up, and Solomon set out with his forces, which included allied Moorish tribes, against them. The situation was so critical that Solomon was also entrusted with civil authority, replacing the first prefect, Archelaus, in the autumn of 534. Solomon was able to defeat the Mauri of Byzacena at Mamma, and again, decisively, at the battle of Mt. Bourgaon in early 535. In the summer, he campaigned against Iabdas and the Aurasii, who were ravaging Numidia, but failed to achieve any result. Solomon then set about erecting forts along the borders and the main roads, hoping to contain the raids of the Moors.
In the Easter of 536 however, a large-scale military revolt broke out, caused by dissatisfaction of the soldiers with Solomon. Solomon, together with Procopius
, who worked as his secretary, was able to escape to Sicily
, which had just been conquered by Belisarius. Solomon's lieutenants Martinus and Theodore were left behind, the first to try to reach the troops at Numidia, and the second to hold Carthage. Upon hearing about the mutiny, Belisarius, with Solomon and 100 picked men, set sail for Africa. Carthage was being besieged by 9,000 rebels, including many Vandals, under a certain Stotzas
. Theodore was contemplating capitulation, when Belisarius appeared. The news of the famous general's arrival were sufficient for the rebels to abandon the siege and withdraw westwards. Belisarius, although able to muster only 2,000 men, immediately gave pursuit and caught up and defeated the rebel forces at Membresa. The bulk of the rebels however was able to flee, and continued to march towards Numidia, where the local troops decided to join them. Belisarius himself was forced to return to Italy, and Justinian appointed his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis.
Germanus managed to win over many of the rebels to his side by appearing conciliatory and paying their arrears. Eventually, in the spring of 537, the two armies clashed at Scalae Veteres, resulting in a hard-won victory for Germanus. Stotzas fled to the tribesmen of Mauretania, and Germanus spent the next two years in re-establishing discipline in the army. Finally, Justinian judged the situation to have been stabilized enough, and in 539 Germanus was replaced by Solomon. Solomon carried on Germanus' work by pruning out of the army those of suspect loyalties and strengthening the network of fortifications. This careful organization enabled him to strike successfully against the Aurasii, evicting them from their mountain strongholds, and firmly establish Roman rule in Numidia and Mauretania Sitifensis.
ca. 542, during which the people of the province suffered greatly. At the same time, the arrogant behaviour of some Roman governors alienated the Mauri leaders, such as Antalas at Byzacena, and provoked them to rise up and raid Roman territory. So it was that during a battle with the Mauri at Cillium in Byzacena in 544, the Romans were defeated and Solomon himself killed. Solomon was succeeded by his nephew, Sergius, who as dux of Tripolitania had been largely responsible for the Moorish uprising. Sergius was both unpopular and of limited abilities, while the Mauri, joined by the renegade Stotzas, gathered together under the leadership of Antalas. The Moors, aided by Stotzas, were able to enter and sack the coastal city of Hadrumetum
by trickery. A priest named Paulus was able to retake the city with a small force without help from Sergius, who refused to march forth against the Moors. Despite this setback, the rebels roamed the provinces at will, while the rural population fled to the fortified cities and to Sicily.
Justinian then sent Areobindus, a man of senatorial rank and husband to his niece Praejecta
, but otherwise undistinguished, with a few men to Africa, not to replace Sergius, but to share command with him. Sergius was entrusted with the war in Numidia, while Areobindus undertook to subdue Byzacena. Areobindus sent out a force under the able general John against Antalas and Stotzas. Because Sergius did not come to their aid as requested, the Romans were routed at Thacia, but not before John mortally wounded Stotzas in single combat. The effects of this disaster at least forced Justinian to recall Sergius and restore unity of command in the hands of Areobindus. Soon after, in March 546, Areobindus was overthrown and murdered by Guntharic, the dux Numidiae, who had come into negotiations with the Moors and intended to set himself up as an independent king. Guntharic himself was overthrown by loyal troops under the Armenian Artabanes
in early May. Artabanes was elevated to the office of magister militum Africae, but was soon recalled to Constantinople.
The man Justinian sent to replace him was the talented general John Troglita
, whose exploits are celebrated in the epic poem Iohannis, written by Flavius Cresconius Corippus
. Troglita had already served in Africa under Belisarius and Solomon, and had a distinguished career in the East, where he had been appointed dux Mesopotamiae. Despite his numerically weak forces, he managed to win over several Moorish tribes, and in early 547 he decisively defeated Antalas and his allies, and drove them from Byzacena. As Procopius recounts:
A few months later, however, the tribe of the Leuathae, in Tripolitania, rose up, and inflicted a severe defeat upon the imperial forces in the plain of Gallica. The Leuathae were joined by Antalas, and the Moors once again raided freely as far as Carthage. Early in the next year John mustered his forces, and together by several allied Moorish tribes, including the former rebel Cutzinas, utterly defeated the Moors at the battle of the Fields of Cato, killing seventeen of their leaders and putting an end to the revolt that had plagued Africa for almost 15 years.
. The loyalty of these dependent princes of the various Moorish tribes was secured by means of annual pensions and gifts, and the peace was kept by a strong network of fortifications, many of which still survive to the present day.
The only interruption to the province's tranquility was a brief Moorish revolt of 563. It was caused by the unwarranted murder of the aged tribal leader Cutzinas, when he came to Carthage to receive his annual pension, by the magister militum, John Rogathinus. His sons and dependents rose up, until an expeditionary force under the tribune Marcian, nephew of the Emperor, succeeded in restoring the peace.
During the reign of Justin II
(565–578), great care was shown to Africa. Under the prefect Thomas, during the period 565–570 the network of fortifications was further strengthened and expanded, the administration reformed and decentralized, and largely successful efforts were made to proselytize the Garamantes of the Fezzan
and the Gaetuli, living to the south of Mauretania Caesariensis. At the same time, Africa was one of the more tranquil regions of the Empire, which was being assaulted on all sides, which allowed for troops to be transferred from the province to the East.
, like the chieftain Masties at Arris, or, in the case of king Masuna of Altava (modern Ouled Mimoun, Algeria
), rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum. By the early 530s, an autonomous Roman-Moorish "kingdom" had been established by Garmules, with its capital at Altava. When Belisarius defeated the Vandals, he too had acknowledged Roman suzerainty, but soon, taking advantage of the Moorish revolts, he renounced it. In the late 560s, he launched raids into Roman territory, and although he failed to take any significant town, three successive generals (the praetorian prefect Theodore and the magister militum Theoctistus in 570, and Theoctistus' successor Amabilis in 571) are recorded by John of Biclaro
to have been killed by Garmules' forces. His activities, especially when regarded together with the simultaneous Visigoth attacks in Spania
, presented a clear threat to the province's authorities; Garmules was not the leader of a mere semi-nomadic tribe, but of a fully-fledged barbarian kingdom, with a standing army. Thus the new emperor, Tiberius II Constantine
, re-appointed Thomas as praetorian prefect, and the able general Gennadius
was posted as magister militum with the clear aim of reducing Garmules' kingdom. Preparations were lengthy and careful, but the campaign itself, launched in 577–78, was brief and effective, with Gennadius utilizing terror tactics against Garmul's subjects. Garmules was defeated and killed, and the coastal corridor between Tingitana and Caesariensis secured.
established the exarchate in the late 580s, uniting civil and military authority in his hands. The exarchate extended over North Africa, the imperial possessions in Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Corsica. It prospered greatly, and under Heraclius
, African forces overthrew the tyrant Phocas
in 610. The exarchate was a practically autonomous entity from the 640s on, and survived until the fall of Carthage to the Arabs
in 698.
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
in 533-534 by emperor Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
. It continued to exist until the late 580s, when it was replaced by the Exarchate of Africa
Exarchate of Africa
The Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital, was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions on the Western Mediterranean, ruled by an exarch, or viceroy...
.
Establishment
In 533, the Roman army under BelisariusBelisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
defeated and destroyed the Vandal Kingdom
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
that had existed in the former Roman territories of Northern Africa. Immediately after the victory, in April 534, the emperor Justinian published a law concerning the administrative organization of the newly acquired territories. The old provinces of the Roman Diocese of Africa
Diocese of Africa
The Diocese of Africa was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of North Africa, except Mauretania Tingitana. Its seat was at Carthage, and it was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of Italy....
had been mostly preserved by the Vandals, but large parts, including all of Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The province extended from the northern peninsula, opposite Gibraltar, to Chellah and Volubilis to the south, and as far east as the Oued Laou river. Its...
, much of Mauretania Caesariensis
Mauretania Caesariensis
Mauretania Caesariensis was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa. It was the easternmost of the North African Roman provinces, mainly in present Algeria, with its capital at Caesarea , now Cherchell.-Historical background:In the first century AD, Roman...
and large parts of the interior of Numidia
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
and Byzacena
Byzacena
Byzacena was a Roman province in what is now Tunisia.At the end of the third century AD, the Emperor Diocletian divided the great Roman province of Africa Proconsularis into three smaller provinces: Zeugitana in the north, still governed by a proconsul and referred to as Proconsularis, Byzacena,...
, had been lost to the inroads of the Amazigh tribes, collectively called the Mauri (Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
). Nevertheless, Justinian restored the old administrative division, but raised the overall governor at Carthage to the supreme administrative rank of praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
.
Indeed, Justinian's intent was to, in the words of the historian J.B. Bury, "wipe out all traces of the Vandal conquest, as if it had never been". The churches were restored to the Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian describes churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon of how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus Christ...
clergy, and the remaining Arians
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
suffered persecution. Even the land ownership was reverted to the status prior to the Vandalic conquest, but the scarcity of valid property titles after 100 years of Vandal rule created an administrative and judicial chaos. The military administration was headed by the new post of magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Africae, with a subordinate magister peditum and four regional frontier commands (Tripolitania, Byzacena, Numidia, and Mauretania) under duces
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
. This organization was only gradually established, as the Romans pushed the Mauri back and regained these territories.
The Moorish Wars
When the Romans landed in Africa, the Moors maintained a neutral stance, but after the quick Roman victories, most of their tribes pledged loyalty to the Empire. The most significant tribes were the Leuathae in Tripolitania, and the Frexi in Byzacena. The Frexi and their allies were led by Antalas, while other tribes in the area followed Cutzinas. The Aurasii (the tribes of the Aurès MountainsAurès Mountains
The Aurès , or Aurea, refers to an Amazigh language-speaking region in East Algeria, as well as an extension of the Atlas mountain range that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in eastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia...
) in Numidia were ruled by Iaudas, and the Mauretanian Moors were led by Mastigas
Mastigas
Mastigas or Mastinas was the ruler of the Moors in Mauretania Caesariensis in the 530s. According to the Byzantine historian Procopius , who is the only source on him, Mastigas was an independent ruler who controlled the entire former Roman province except for the capital, Caesarea, which was...
and Masuna.
First Moorish uprising
After Belisarius departed for Constantinople, he was succeeded as magister militumMagister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Africae by his domesticus
Domesticus (Roman Empire)
A domesticus was a member of the protectores domestici, an elite guard unit of the Late Roman army, who served as bodyguards and staff officers to the emperor. As its name testifies, these were troops considered as belonging to the household of the emperor...
(senior aide), the eunuch Solomon
Solomon (Byzantine general)
Solomon was an East Roman general from northern Mesopotamia, who distinguished himself as a commander in the Vandalic War and the reconquest of North Africa in 533–534. He spent most of the next decade in Africa as its governor general, combining the military post of magister militum with the...
from Dara
Dara (Mesopotamia)
Dara or Daras was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conflicts of the 6th century, with the famous Battle of Dara taking place before its walls...
. The tribes of Mauri living in Byzacena
Byzacena
Byzacena was a Roman province in what is now Tunisia.At the end of the third century AD, the Emperor Diocletian divided the great Roman province of Africa Proconsularis into three smaller provinces: Zeugitana in the north, still governed by a proconsul and referred to as Proconsularis, Byzacena,...
and Numidia
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
almost immediately rose up, and Solomon set out with his forces, which included allied Moorish tribes, against them. The situation was so critical that Solomon was also entrusted with civil authority, replacing the first prefect, Archelaus, in the autumn of 534. Solomon was able to defeat the Mauri of Byzacena at Mamma, and again, decisively, at the battle of Mt. Bourgaon in early 535. In the summer, he campaigned against Iabdas and the Aurasii, who were ravaging Numidia, but failed to achieve any result. Solomon then set about erecting forts along the borders and the main roads, hoping to contain the raids of the Moors.
Military mutiny
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
, who worked as his secretary, was able to escape to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, which had just been conquered by Belisarius. Solomon's lieutenants Martinus and Theodore were left behind, the first to try to reach the troops at Numidia, and the second to hold Carthage. Upon hearing about the mutiny, Belisarius, with Solomon and 100 picked men, set sail for Africa. Carthage was being besieged by 9,000 rebels, including many Vandals, under a certain Stotzas
Stotzas
Stotzas , also Stutias, was an East Roman soldier and leader of a military rebellion in the Praetorian prefecture of Africa.-Life:...
. Theodore was contemplating capitulation, when Belisarius appeared. The news of the famous general's arrival were sufficient for the rebels to abandon the siege and withdraw westwards. Belisarius, although able to muster only 2,000 men, immediately gave pursuit and caught up and defeated the rebel forces at Membresa. The bulk of the rebels however was able to flee, and continued to march towards Numidia, where the local troops decided to join them. Belisarius himself was forced to return to Italy, and Justinian appointed his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis.
Germanus managed to win over many of the rebels to his side by appearing conciliatory and paying their arrears. Eventually, in the spring of 537, the two armies clashed at Scalae Veteres, resulting in a hard-won victory for Germanus. Stotzas fled to the tribesmen of Mauretania, and Germanus spent the next two years in re-establishing discipline in the army. Finally, Justinian judged the situation to have been stabilized enough, and in 539 Germanus was replaced by Solomon. Solomon carried on Germanus' work by pruning out of the army those of suspect loyalties and strengthening the network of fortifications. This careful organization enabled him to strike successfully against the Aurasii, evicting them from their mountain strongholds, and firmly establish Roman rule in Numidia and Mauretania Sitifensis.
Second Moorish uprising and the revolt of Guntharic
Africa enjoyed peace and prosperity for the next few years, until the arrival of the great plaguePlague of Justinian
The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire , including its capital Constantinople, in 541–542 AD. It was one of the greatest plagues in history. The most commonly accepted cause of the pandemic is bubonic plague, which later became infamous for either causing or...
ca. 542, during which the people of the province suffered greatly. At the same time, the arrogant behaviour of some Roman governors alienated the Mauri leaders, such as Antalas at Byzacena, and provoked them to rise up and raid Roman territory. So it was that during a battle with the Mauri at Cillium in Byzacena in 544, the Romans were defeated and Solomon himself killed. Solomon was succeeded by his nephew, Sergius, who as dux of Tripolitania had been largely responsible for the Moorish uprising. Sergius was both unpopular and of limited abilities, while the Mauri, joined by the renegade Stotzas, gathered together under the leadership of Antalas. The Moors, aided by Stotzas, were able to enter and sack the coastal city of Hadrumetum
Hadrumetum
Hadrumetum was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage and stood on the site of modern-day Sousse, Tunisia.-Ancient history:...
by trickery. A priest named Paulus was able to retake the city with a small force without help from Sergius, who refused to march forth against the Moors. Despite this setback, the rebels roamed the provinces at will, while the rural population fled to the fortified cities and to Sicily.
Justinian then sent Areobindus, a man of senatorial rank and husband to his niece Praejecta
Praejecta
Praejecta or Praiecta was a niece to Byzantine emperor Justinian I by blood and of his empress Theodora by marriage.She was a daughter of Vigilantia and Dulcidio , respectively the sister and brother-in-law of Justinian. She was also a sister of later emperor Justin II Praejecta or Praiecta was a...
, but otherwise undistinguished, with a few men to Africa, not to replace Sergius, but to share command with him. Sergius was entrusted with the war in Numidia, while Areobindus undertook to subdue Byzacena. Areobindus sent out a force under the able general John against Antalas and Stotzas. Because Sergius did not come to their aid as requested, the Romans were routed at Thacia, but not before John mortally wounded Stotzas in single combat. The effects of this disaster at least forced Justinian to recall Sergius and restore unity of command in the hands of Areobindus. Soon after, in March 546, Areobindus was overthrown and murdered by Guntharic, the dux Numidiae, who had come into negotiations with the Moors and intended to set himself up as an independent king. Guntharic himself was overthrown by loyal troops under the Armenian Artabanes
Artabanes (general)
Artabanes was an East Roman general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I . Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fled to the Sassanid Persians but soon returned to Byzantine allegiance. He served in Africa, where he won great fame by killing the rebel general Guntharic and...
in early May. Artabanes was elevated to the office of magister militum Africae, but was soon recalled to Constantinople.
The man Justinian sent to replace him was the talented general John Troglita
John Troglita
John Troglita was a 6th-century Byzantine general. His exploits against the Sassanid Persians in the East and especially against the Moorish rebels in North Africa are the subject of the last Latin epic poem of Antiquity, the Iohannis or de Bellis Libycis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus.- Origins...
, whose exploits are celebrated in the epic poem Iohannis, written by Flavius Cresconius Corippus
Flavius Cresconius Corippus
Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem Johannis and the panegyric In laudem Justini minoris...
. Troglita had already served in Africa under Belisarius and Solomon, and had a distinguished career in the East, where he had been appointed dux Mesopotamiae. Despite his numerically weak forces, he managed to win over several Moorish tribes, and in early 547 he decisively defeated Antalas and his allies, and drove them from Byzacena. As Procopius recounts:
A few months later, however, the tribe of the Leuathae, in Tripolitania, rose up, and inflicted a severe defeat upon the imperial forces in the plain of Gallica. The Leuathae were joined by Antalas, and the Moors once again raided freely as far as Carthage. Early in the next year John mustered his forces, and together by several allied Moorish tribes, including the former rebel Cutzinas, utterly defeated the Moors at the battle of the Fields of Cato, killing seventeen of their leaders and putting an end to the revolt that had plagued Africa for almost 15 years.
Peace restored
For the next decades, Africa remained tranquil, allowing it to recover. Peace might not have lasted as long, had not Troglita perceived that the complete eviction of the Mauri from the interior of the provinces, and the complete restoration of the province to its ancient bounds was impossible. Instead, he opted to accommodate himself with the Moors, promising them autonomy in exchange for becoming the Empire's foederatiFoederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
. The loyalty of these dependent princes of the various Moorish tribes was secured by means of annual pensions and gifts, and the peace was kept by a strong network of fortifications, many of which still survive to the present day.
The only interruption to the province's tranquility was a brief Moorish revolt of 563. It was caused by the unwarranted murder of the aged tribal leader Cutzinas, when he came to Carthage to receive his annual pension, by the magister militum, John Rogathinus. His sons and dependents rose up, until an expeditionary force under the tribune Marcian, nephew of the Emperor, succeeded in restoring the peace.
During the reign of Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
(565–578), great care was shown to Africa. Under the prefect Thomas, during the period 565–570 the network of fortifications was further strengthened and expanded, the administration reformed and decentralized, and largely successful efforts were made to proselytize the Garamantes of the Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
and the Gaetuli, living to the south of Mauretania Caesariensis. At the same time, Africa was one of the more tranquil regions of the Empire, which was being assaulted on all sides, which allowed for troops to be transferred from the province to the East.
Conflict with the kingdom of Garmules
In Mauretania, between the Roman outpost of Septum and the province of Caesariensis, various small Moorish kingdoms, which also ruled over Romanized urban populations, had been established ever since the arrival of the Vandals. Little information exists about them, but these were never subdued by the Vandals, and claimed continuity from the Roman Empire, their leaders styling themselves with titles such as imperatorImperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
, like the chieftain Masties at Arris, or, in the case of king Masuna of Altava (modern Ouled Mimoun, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
), rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum. By the early 530s, an autonomous Roman-Moorish "kingdom" had been established by Garmules, with its capital at Altava. When Belisarius defeated the Vandals, he too had acknowledged Roman suzerainty, but soon, taking advantage of the Moorish revolts, he renounced it. In the late 560s, he launched raids into Roman territory, and although he failed to take any significant town, three successive generals (the praetorian prefect Theodore and the magister militum Theoctistus in 570, and Theoctistus' successor Amabilis in 571) are recorded by John of Biclaro
John of Biclaro
John of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum , also Iohannes Biclarensis, was a Visigoth chronicler, born in Lusitania, in the city of Scallabis , who must have been from a Catholic family, to judge from his name...
to have been killed by Garmules' forces. His activities, especially when regarded together with the simultaneous Visigoth attacks in Spania
Spania
Spania was a province of the Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was a part of the conquests of Roman Emperor Justinian I in an effort to restore the western half of the Empire....
, presented a clear threat to the province's authorities; Garmules was not the leader of a mere semi-nomadic tribe, but of a fully-fledged barbarian kingdom, with a standing army. Thus the new emperor, Tiberius II Constantine
Tiberius II Constantine
Tiberius II Constantine was Byzantine Emperor from 574 to 582.During his reign, Tiberius II Constantine gave away 7,200 pounds of gold each year for four years....
, re-appointed Thomas as praetorian prefect, and the able general Gennadius
Gennadius (6th century)
Gennadius was an East Roman general and the first exarch of Africa.He was appointed as magister militum Africae in ca. 578, and quickly defeated the Romano-Moorish kingdom of Garmul in Mauretania. He held this post until named exarch by Emperor Maurice sometime between 585 and 591...
was posted as magister militum with the clear aim of reducing Garmules' kingdom. Preparations were lengthy and careful, but the campaign itself, launched in 577–78, was brief and effective, with Gennadius utilizing terror tactics against Garmul's subjects. Garmules was defeated and killed, and the coastal corridor between Tingitana and Caesariensis secured.
Establishment of the Exarchate
Gennadius remained in Africa as magister militum for a long time (until the early 590s), and it was he who became the first exarchus of Africa, when emperor MauriceMaurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
established the exarchate in the late 580s, uniting civil and military authority in his hands. The exarchate extended over North Africa, the imperial possessions in Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Corsica. It prospered greatly, and under Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
, African forces overthrew the tyrant Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
in 610. The exarchate was a practically autonomous entity from the 640s on, and survived until the fall of Carthage to the Arabs
Umayyad conquest of North Africa
The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad caliphate....
in 698.
List of known praefecti praetorio Africae
- Archelaus (534)
- SolomonSolomon (Byzantine general)Solomon was an East Roman general from northern Mesopotamia, who distinguished himself as a commander in the Vandalic War and the reconquest of North Africa in 533–534. He spent most of the next decade in Africa as its governor general, combining the military post of magister militum with the...
(1st time, 534-536) - Symmachus (536-539)
- SolomonSolomon (Byzantine general)Solomon was an East Roman general from northern Mesopotamia, who distinguished himself as a commander in the Vandalic War and the reconquest of North Africa in 533–534. He spent most of the next decade in Africa as its governor general, combining the military post of magister militum with the...
(2nd time, 539-544) - Sergius (544-545)
- Athanasius (545-548, perhaps up to 550)
- Paulus (ca. 552)
- Ioannes (ca. 558)
- Ioannes Rogathinus (ca. 563)
- Thomas (1st time, 563-565)
- Theodorus (ca. 570)
- Thomas (2nd time, 574-578)
- Theodorus (ca. 582)
Sources
- ProcopiusProcopiusProcopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
, De Bello Vandalico (BV), Volume II.