Tzazo
Encyclopedia
Tzazo was the brother to King Gelimer
(530–534), the last Vandal ruler of the North Africa
. Tzazo died on 15 December 533 during the Battle of Tricamarum, which finally brought to an end the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa.
Tzazo had not been involved in the earlier Battle of Ad Decimum
because Goddas
, instigated by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, had declared the Vandal province on the island of Sardinia
independent from Carthage
. King Gelimer had been unaware of the approaching Byzantines and sent Zano to repress the rebellion, which he did.
After his defeat at Ad Decimum, Gelimer knew that in his current state he would not be able to face Belisarius
's forces, so he sent messengers to Tzazo to return from Sardinia with his expeditionary force of over 120 ships and 5,000 Vandals. Tzazo and his army joined Gelimer early in December, at which point Gelimer felt his forces were strong enough to take the offensive.
Their joined forces immediately marched on Carthage
, pausing on the way to demolish the great aqueduct on which the capital chiefly depended for its water supply. Belisarius had spent the weeks since the Battle of Ad Decimum strengthening the city defences; he did not want to face a siege and he was beginning to grow suspicious of the loyalty of the Huns
and other barbarians under his command, knowing some of his army was being approached by agents of Gelimer. He gave the order to march to meet the Vandals in battle putting the Huns and barbarians in the rear of his force.
The Battle of Tricamarum took place on December 15, 533 between the armies of the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer and his brother Tzazo, and the Byzantines commanded by Belisarius. The two forces met some 30 miles outside Carthage and the Roman cavalry immediately charged the Vandal lines, reforming and attacking two more times. In the third charge, Tzazo was cut down in front of Gelimer, who lost heart and fled to the mountains of Numidia
. Gelimer soon realised that his position was hopeless and eventually gave himself up to the Emperor.
Gelimer
Gelimer , King of the Vandals and Alans , was the last ruler of the North African Kingdom of the Vandals...
(530–534), the last Vandal ruler of the North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Tzazo died on 15 December 533 during the Battle of Tricamarum, which finally brought to an end the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa.
Tzazo had not been involved in the earlier Battle of Ad Decimum
Battle of Ad Decimum
The Battle of Ad Decimum took place on September 13, 533 between the armies of the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, and the Eastern Roman Empire , under the command of general Belisarius. This event and events in the following year are sometimes jointly referred to as the Battle of Carthage, one...
because Goddas
Goddas
Goddas or Godas was a Gothic nobleman of the Vandal kingdom in Africa. King Gelimer of the Vandals made him governor of the Vandalic province of Sardinia, but Goddas stopped forwarding the taxes he collected and declared himself ruler of Sardinia.In 533, he began communicating with Justinian I,...
, instigated by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, had declared the Vandal province on the island of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
independent from Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. King Gelimer had been unaware of the approaching Byzantines and sent Zano to repress the rebellion, which he did.
After his defeat at Ad Decimum, Gelimer knew that in his current state he would not be able to face Belisarius
Belisarius
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....
's forces, so he sent messengers to Tzazo to return from Sardinia with his expeditionary force of over 120 ships and 5,000 Vandals. Tzazo and his army joined Gelimer early in December, at which point Gelimer felt his forces were strong enough to take the offensive.
Their joined forces immediately marched on Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, pausing on the way to demolish the great aqueduct on which the capital chiefly depended for its water supply. Belisarius had spent the weeks since the Battle of Ad Decimum strengthening the city defences; he did not want to face a siege and he was beginning to grow suspicious of the loyalty of the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
and other barbarians under his command, knowing some of his army was being approached by agents of Gelimer. He gave the order to march to meet the Vandals in battle putting the Huns and barbarians in the rear of his force.
The Battle of Tricamarum took place on December 15, 533 between the armies of the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer and his brother Tzazo, and the Byzantines commanded by Belisarius. The two forces met some 30 miles outside Carthage and the Roman cavalry immediately charged the Vandal lines, reforming and attacking two more times. In the third charge, Tzazo was cut down in front of Gelimer, who lost heart and fled to the mountains 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...
. Gelimer soon realised that his position was hopeless and eventually gave himself up to the Emperor.