CARTHAGE UNDER THE ROMANS: RECOVERY OF AFRICA FROM THE VANDALS
The Vandalic settlement of Africa (in Imperial nomenclature the name was
officially reserved to the north-west portion of that continent) was
more keenly resented by the Romans than the barbaric occupation of any
other province of the Western Empire. In other instances disintegration
had been gradual and the territory had been resigned to the new
possessors with a sense of political inability to retain them, whilst a
semblance of fealty to the Eastern Emperor indulged his pretensions to
supremacy; but Africa had been snatched away by a sudden conquest, and
became a hostile centre from which depredations against the opposite
shores of Europe were for long the avowed object of its ruler.
Subsequent kings of the Vandals found the means to cement an alliance
with the Empire, and Justinian himself was in amicable relationship with
the contemporary member of the dynasty. Internal dissensions, however,
had recently effected the abrupt overthrow of his ally and the Emperor
vainly intervened on his behalf. A rupture of diplomatic relations
followed, smouldering enmities were rekindled, and the question of
despatching a military force for the reconquest of Africa was seriously
mooted at Constantinople. Justinian felt strongly impelled to the
execution of the project, and brought the subject up for discussion in
his Consistorium. There his proposals were received with tacit
disfavour, the remembrance of a former expedition, which had ended in
disaster, weighed on the minds of the nobles in attendance, and the army
contemplated with dread the idea of a campaign of which a long sea
voyage and naval warfare seemed to constitute the essential features,
whilst the Counts of the Treasury trembled at the prospect of an
expenditure which their funds might be inadequate to meet. But none
dared to appear in open conflict with the manifest wishes of the
Emperor, until at length John of Cappadocia rose and delivered a
definitely adverse opinion. Interlarding his discourse with much that
was deferential to Justinian and laudatory of his political capacity in
general, he urged with bold logic the most obvious objections. The
journey would occupy more than four months, wherefore news as to the
progress of the war could not reach the capital in less than a year
after the start. Should the announcement of victory at last break the
suspense, it must at once be felt that the distant province could not be
held in permanent subjection owing to Italy and Sicily being under
foreign domination. On the other hand, should ill success attend the
operations, the enmity of a powerful kingdom would have been provoked,
and the limits of the Empire would have to be defended against hostile
reprisals.[375]
Justinian assented to these arguments, and for the time smothered his
resentful ambition to punish the offending power, but after no long
delay the question was finally determined by a point of religion. The
Vandals were odious in the eyes of the ecclesiastics of the East, Arian
heretics who had gained the upper hand over an orthodox Christian
population; and a fanatical bishop, indignant at the failure of the
deliberations, hurried from his see in Asia Minor to the Imperial Court.
There he represented to the Emperor that in a divine vision he had been
ordered to reprimand him for being deterred by vain fears from his
righteous purpose of upholding the Church. God had spoken to him in
definite language, and said, "Tell the Emperor that I will be with him
and will reduce Africa under his dominion." Justinian was convinced
immutably, and made all haste with his preparations so that the
expedition might be ready to start in the proximate summer (533).[376]
The country which Justinian was now about to invade, a vast and fertile
region sufficiently spacious to form a separate empire, has always
within the historic period been the seat of a prosperous, though
fluctuating civilization, yet never of indigenous growth. Successively
Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Mohammedan, and French, during the
long tract of three thousand years, the numerous native population has
invariably been a subsidiary and more or less disorderly element of the
political entity.[377] At one of the most picturesque moments of
antiquity we are presented with the scene of Caius Marius sitting as an
exile amid the ruins of Carthage.[378] That incident occurred more than
half a century after the destruction of the city (146 B.C.) owing to the
subjugating animosity of Rome, but about thirty years previously a
decree for the colonization of the deserted site had passed the Senate,
and one of the Gracchi had actually conducted a party of six thousand
settlers to rebuild and re-people the Punic capital.[379] Official
sanction, however, was shortly withdrawn from the enterprise owing to a
recrudescence of superstition, or rather, perhaps, to a shift of
political power, and for nearly a century the district was abandoned to
decay before an earnest effort was made to restore it to affluence and
order. The actual rebuilding of Carthage was due to the initiative of
Julius Caesar and the action of Augustus;[380] and the resuscitated city
rose to importance so rapidly that in the time of the elder Severus it
was regarded as second only to Rome.[381] A Proconsul, the only deputy
of that rank in the Western Empire, governed the province in which it
was situated, and was held to be a magistrate of superior
consequence[382] to the Vicar of Africa, under whom five lesser
governors controlled the country, with the exception of the westernmost
district, which was in administrative conjunction with Spain.[383] The
seven provinces of Africa thus constituted extended for fifteen hundred
miles in a straight line along the basin of the Mediterranean and
included the modern divisions of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.
Southwards, the uncertain delimitations of the Atlas mountains and the
Libyan desert allowed the Romanized region a breadth which varied from
fifty to two hundred miles.[384]
Carthage was situated on the shore of a small bay, and faced to the
east, over against the Hermaean promontory,[385] looking towards Sicily
from a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles. Being essentially
a maritime capital it was distinguished by the extent of the
accommodation it offered to shipping; and for more than a mile along its
seaward aspect was bounded by a line of quays protected by a series of
breakwaters from the violence of the waves.[386] On the south an inner
harbour, called the Mandracium, artificially constructed, was entered by
a narrow channel defended by the usual device of a chain.[387] Still
lower down a natural expanse of water, land-locked and of considerable
area, known as the Stagnum, was capable of receiving a vast congregation
of vessels.[388] The Mandracium was circular in form, and contained in
its centre a small island of the same shape. The annular channel thus
formed was bordered all round on both sides by colonnades which extended
into the water. A double ring of covered docks was thus constituted, the
space between each pair of adjacent columns being adapted for giving
shelter to a single vessel.[389] The palace of the Praefect in charge of
the navigating interests rose from an elevated spot in the centre of the
island, and was used as a post of observation from whence he could
survey the activities of the port.[390] From the northern extremity of
the line of quays a stairway of great width and proportions, bounded and
divided by ornamental balustrades, ascended by more than a hundred
steps, and formed a grand approach to the city proper, which was built
on ground somewhat raised above the sea level.[391] A broad marble-paved
terrace, from which the inhabitants could overlook the quay and the
water, formed the marine limit of the city at this higher altitude.[392]
It was called the New Plaza.[393] Roman Carthage was adorned with all
the usual components of a great capital in this age; a spacious forum
lined with porticoes,[394] colonnaded streets, and public buildings
suited to the needs of the governing class. The latter occupied the
citadel, a lofty mound centrally situated, the transformed Punic
Byrsa.[395] As special features the main thoroughfares were shaded by
rows of trees,[396] and a remarkable street was devoted solely to the
trade of the money-changers and silversmiths.[397] Spacious halls
for the accommodation of professors of the liberal arts and
philosophers,[398] churches, public baths, theatres, a hippodrome,[399]
and a substantially constructed aqueduct more than fifty miles
long,[400] completed the equipment of the African capital. A remnant of
jealous apprehension, inherited by successive generations of Romans,
decreed that Carthage should remain without walls, and only in the first
quarter of the fifth century was the defect supplied by the younger
Theodosius.[401] Soon after the establishment of the Empire Africa
became the granary of Italy, and, as later Constantinople was dependent
on Alexandria, the arrival in the Tiber of the corn fleets from Carthage
was a matter of vital importance at Rome.[402]
The character of the Africans has been painted in the blackest colours
by more than one writer of this age, and it appears to be indisputable
that for the extremes of luxury, vice, and perfidy they were justly
censured by their fellow subjects. It was possible, we are told, that,
owing to the populousness of the country, a few virtuous citizens might
be found;[403] but the most obvious impression was that all without
exception were addicted to drunkenness and immorality of the vilest
form.[404] The prostitution of both sexes had attained to a degree
elsewhere unknown; and the streets of Carthage were thronged with males,
who unsexed themselves habitually by adopting the manners and costume of
the opposite sex.[405] Ethnologically it is certain that the population
was extremely mixed, and the Semitic factor was well represented for
many centuries after the Roman conquest.[406] Hence the Latin language
had not displaced the Punic tongue, even among the higher classes, as
late as the reign of the Antonines.[407] Again, the native races, known
as the Moors, Kabyles, or Berbers,[408] were more prone to live by war
and rapine than to bow to the Roman sovereignty. On several occasions,
therefore, the African provinces had been the scene of serious revolts
which had to be suppressed with all the force of the Imperial arms.[409]
Christianity spread rapidly among this heterogeneous and hot-blooded
population and, as might have been anticipated, assumed a very
contentious character. Thus the fiercest schismatics and sectarians who
arose in the West, the Donatists and the Novatians, had their origin
exclusively or mainly at Carthage.[410] A fair proportion of the eminent
men by whom the Latin half of the Empire was distinguished were Africans
by birth, and, perhaps, by blood. Among the Pagans we find the
incomparable dramatist Terence, who flourished during the time of the
Republic; the last of the great soldiers who ruled the Empire integrally
before it began to succumb to the barbarians, the Emperor Septimius
Severus; and the elegant writer Apuleius, whose apologue of Cupid and
Psyche has secured a place in the literature of all modern languages.
The Christian Africans also produced perhaps the most notable of the
advocates and authors who illustrated the early centuries of the Church;
the vehement Tertullian, whose fierce style would lead us to suspect him
of kinship with the restless autochthons of the land; the scarcely less
ardent Cyprian, the masterful champion of episcopal vigour, who suffered
martyrdom under Valerian; and the diligent Augustine, devout, mild, and
imaginative, to whom the theology of the West owes its distinctive
character.
The romantic story of the loss of Africa, the veiled rivalry of Aetius
and Bonifacius, and the treachery of the former, so fraught with evil to
his country, is an oft-read tale to which a passing allusion will
suffice for this page. The Count of Africa, being led to believe by his
insidious friend that the Empress Placidia meditated his ruin, attempted
to secure himself by inviting Genseric,[411] king of the Vandals in
Spain, to share with him the sovereignty of the seven provinces (429).
Bonifacius discovered the deception, but too late to retrieve his error;
the barbarian monarch had made good his footing in the country, and the
Roman general, having failed to arrest his progress in battle, was
ultimately driven out of Africa.[412] During ten years Genseric worked
his way to the east, gradually possessing himself of the provinces, and
in 439 crowned the success of his adventure by the capture of
Carthage.[413] A score of years later the Emperor Majorian fitted out an
expedition for the expulsion of the Vandals; but the treason of his own
officers brought about the destruction of his fleet in the bay of
Carthagena, and the enterprise collapsed.[414] A decade elapsed and
Genseric was again threatened by the eastern Emperor Leo, who massed
together ships and troops at an immense expenditure for the reconquest
of Africa. Owing to the incapacity or, perhaps, the perfidy of the
commander, Basiliscus, the brother-in-law of the Emperor, this
expedition also resulted in a disastrous failure.[415] During his long
reign of nearly forty years Genseric was the terror of the
Mediterranean, and in 455, incited by another unpatriotic invitation,
invaded Italy and sacked Rome at the instance of the ex-Empress
Eudoxia.[416] The orthodox Christians suffered much from the persecution
of their Arian conquerors,[417] but under the mild rule of Hilderic, who
succeeded in 523, the peace of the Church throughout the Vandalic
dominions at length became assured.[418] At their advent into Africa the
simple barbarians were revolted by the manners of the inhabitants; and,
as soon as they had secured themselves in their conquest, proceeded to
assimilate everything to their native ideas of chastity and temperance.
Within the first decade of their supremacy they had worked a general
reformation at Carthage; exterminated the androgynous males, suppressed
the brothels, and settled all the courtesans in a state of legitimate
nuptials.[419] This ideal dispensation was, however, by no means
permanent, and later generations of Vandals gradually became dissolved
in the luxury, and yielded to the sexual allurements which had been
abolished by their stern forefathers. Thus by the beginning of the sixth
century the rude nomads had been transformed into untiring votaries of
the theatre, the circus, and the chase, into revellers clad in silken
vestments, who had planted themselves gardens and orchards, where they
consumed their days in feasting and abandonment to sexual
gratifications.[420]
Between Hilderic and Justinian a firm and friendly pact had been
cemented during the lifetime of Justin, and the alliance was maintained
from year to year by a liberal interchange of costly presents.[421] The
unwarlike character, however, of the Vandal king and the defeat of his
deputy by the Moors, had rendered him unpopular among his subjects, a
circumstance which was taken advantage of by his cousin Gelimer, a
grand-nephew of Genseric, and heir presumptive of the crown. He began by
assuming an arrogant state, as if he had already succeeded; and, having
reduced the authority of Hilderic to a nullity, in the seventh year of
his reign persuaded the Vandal nobles to elect him king in his stead.
Soon the deposed monarch, with his immediate supporters, was consigned
to a prison, whilst the Byzantine alliance was repudiated as being
hostile to the succession of Gelimer. On hearing of this revolution,
Justinian despatched a letter of remonstrance to the usurper, urging him
to allow Hilderic the nominal occupation of the throne, and to content
himself for the present with the realities of kingly power. Hilderic, he
reminded him, was advanced in years, so that his legitimate succession
could not be long delayed. The reply of Gelimer was curt and insolent:
"he had not seized on the crown, but had been duly elected by the
accredited chiefs of the Vandal nation: the wisest monarchs were those
who attended assiduously to their own affairs and refrained from
interference with those of other people." At the same time he imposed a
stricter durance on Hilderic, and blinded his nephew Hoamer, who had
been his principal minister. Justinian was now deeply offended and
burned with the desire to coerce Gelimer by force of arms. How the
question was debated at Constantinople, and the Emperor's wishes were
shaped to a reality has already been related circumstantially.
On the midsummer's day of 533 the Byzantine fleet was assembled in the
harbour of the Palace, in readiness to start on its voyage to the
African coast. Belisarius, the commander-in-chief, accompanied by his
wife Antonina and his secretary Procopius, was in occupation of the
admiral's ship. As an auspicious rite a Christian proselyte, fresh from
the baptismal font, was received on board at the hands of the Patriarch,
who invoked the blessings of heaven on the expedition. The Emperor
directed the departure from the shore, and the whole fleet, following in
the wake of the admiral's ship, made sail for Heraclea in Thrace. There
they remained several days in order to complete the supply of horses,
which were delivered to them from the Imperial herds pastured in that
country. The transport service consisted of five hundred ships, in which
were carried the effective force of the expedition, ten thousand foot
and five thousand horse. Twenty thousand sailors manned the vessels,
and, in view of naval warfare, they were convoyed by ninety-two roofed
dromons, served by two thousand rowers.[422] On putting out from
Heraclea the voyage was fully entered on; and by the judicious use of
sails and oars, according to the exigences of weather and locality, the
fleet moved onwards to its destination. Belisarius and his staff were
accommodated in three ships, which chose the course and led the way for
all the rest to follow. Red sails by day and lights borne on lofty poles
at night rendered them conspicuous objects on the water. They anchored
at several places on their route, and the signal for leaving port was
given by the blowing of trumpets. The city of Abydos, in the Hellespont,
the promontory of Sigeum on the coast near Troy, Cape Malea in Laconia,
the point of Taenarum, the town of Methone in Messenia, and the island
of Zacynthus, marked stages of their voyage until they arrived in a
deserted bay of Sicily at the foot of Mount Aetna.[423] At Methone a
lengthened stay was necessitated by the incidence of a calamity which
resulted from the criminal parsimony of the Praetorian Praefect John. In
his eagerness to save the cost of labour and fuel he had stocked the
commissariat with imperfectly baked biscuit. After the lapse of two or
three weeks this unsuitable provision fell into a state of poisonous
decay, so that the troops who partook of it were seized with intestinal
inflammation. Before the cause could be recognized five hundred had
perished, and the spread of the disease was tardily checked by
Belisarius, who procured a supply of proper bread from the shore. As
soon as the Emperor had cognizance of the disaster he commended the
conduct of the general, but took no steps to punish the guilty minister.
While in the Sicilian harbour a wave of doubt and depression swept over
the minds of the Romans. They feared that an engagement might be
imminent with a strange and formidable foe. "Where were now the Vandals,
and what was their method of fighting?" was asked on every side. "Were
they lying in wait to attack the expedition before it could arrive on
the African coast?" The Byzantine military were scared at the prospect
of a naval battle, and made no secret of their intention to avoid such a
contingency by a precipitate flight. More enlightenment as to the task
before them was, therefore, imperatively needed; and Belisarius decided
to despatch Procopius on a mission of inquiry to Syracuse. Fortune was
propitious to the messenger at the outset; meeting with an old friend
who was connected with the shipping trade, he found that one of his
slaves present had left Carthage only three days previously. The man was
produced and proved to be well informed as to the position in the Vandal
kingdom. Gelimer was totally oblivious as to the approaching invasion,
and had retired to his country house at Hermione, a distance of four
days' journey from the coast, whilst the flower of his army had just
departed for Sardinia with the object of quelling a revolt in that
island against the Vandal authority. Elated by this gratifying news,
Procopius hastened back to the fleet, which in the meantime had moved
down the coast to Caucana, within twenty-five miles of Syracuse.
Confidence was at once restored by his favourable report, and without
further delay Belisarius made sail for the African coast. They were now
well provisioned, unusual facilities for the purpose having been granted
to them in Sicily by Amalasuntha, the Queen-Regent of Italy, with whom
Justinian had entered into amicable relations. Halting on the way at
Melita, they arrived at Caputvada in the province of Byzacium just three
months after they had set out from Constantinople. Carthage lay almost
due north of their position, distant by land about one hundred and
thirty miles.
A council of war was now held in order to decide as to the most
advisable method of conducting the campaign. The question for discussion
was whether Carthage should be approached by land or by sea. Archelaus,
one of the lieutenant-generals, argued that they should sail along the
coast with the object of entering the Stagnum, in whose ample space the
whole fleet would be effectively sheltered from wind and waves. From
thence the capital could be assaulted with facility, and, in view of the
unprepared state of the enemy, its speedy capture might be expected.
Belisarius, however, pointed out that should a storm arise in the
meantime, they must either perish on the coast or be driven far away
from it; whilst in any case the delay which must ensue would give the
enemy time to collect his forces. He also dwelt on the fact that his men
had already asserted their determination to fly rather than fight a
naval battle. He counselled, therefore, that they should forthwith
disembark, with all their arms and horses, and fortify themselves in a
camp on the shore. The advice of Belisarius was unanimously approved and
immediately acted upon. At the outset their spirits were raised by a
fortunate occurrence which they regarded as a typical omen of their
future progress. In digging the trenches they struck a copious supply of
water, a phenomenal circumstance in Byzacium, which was an exceptionally
arid region.[424] As to the fleet, a small complement of each ship's
company was left on board, just sufficient to navigate the vessels or to
repel a hostile attack.
The next step of Belisarius was to take possession of Syllectum, a
seaport which lay about thirty miles to the north. The town, like all
others in Africa except Carthage, was unwalled in accordance with the
policy adopted by Genseric, who had rased all fortifications throughout
the country.[425] The capture, therefore, was facile, and was
accomplished without bloodshed. Here the general produced letters from
Justinian explanatory of the invasion, and caused reports to be
circulated which were likely to enlist the support of the inhabitants.
To the Vandals he said that they had come merely to vindicate the rights
of their legitimate king, who had been dethroned by a usurper; to the
Romans, upon whose racial and religious affinities he counted, that the
army would pay its way and no forcible seizure of private stores would
be made. A favourable impression was at once created, and the procurator
of the public posts handed over to Belisarius all the horses at his
disposal.
The march towards Carthage was now begun at the rate of ten miles a day,
with a methodical disposition of the troops. Two miles in front they
were preceded by an advance guard of three hundred horse under John the
Armenian. On the left six hundred Huns, all mounted archers, at an equal
distance, kept watch against a surprise. To the right their safety was
assured by the proximity of the sea; and on that side the fleet was
ordered to follow the movements of the army as they advanced along the
coast. Each night a camp was formed or quarters were taken up in such
towns as were conveniently situated on the route. Proceeding in this
manner they passed through Leptis and Hadrumetum, and arrived at Grasse,
which lay within forty miles of the capital. Here they found a palace of
the Vandal kings, in the orchard of which they encamped amid trees laden
with fruit in such profusion, that after the soldiers had regaled
themselves there was no perceptible diminution of the supply.
In the meantime Gelimer had news of the invasion, whereupon he sent an
order to his brother Ammatas at Carthage to slay Hilderic with all those
affiliated to him, whilst he himself was to levy an army of the best
attainable materials at Decimum, a suburb less than ten miles out from
the city. Simultaneously the usurper started from Hermione with all his
available forces in pursuit of the Romans, of whom he happened to be in
the rear.
On the evening of his halt at Grasse scouts sent out by Belisarius
collided with parties of Vandals on a similar errand, and thus did he
first become cognizant that the enemy were active at his heels. The
Byzantines continued their forward march, and in four days came to a
stand in sight of Decimum. For a short time previously they had been out
of touch with the fleet, as the coast had become broken and precipitous,
whilst now their ways were divergent; but Archelaus, who was in command,
had been instructed to round the Hermaean promontory and come to anchor
in a position not less than twenty miles off Carthage.
At this juncture the Romans were beset by three divisions of the Vandal
forces, but, owing to a want of concerted action, the combination
failed. Ammatas sallied forth from Carthage, his troops straggling after
him in detachments, and was unexpectedly brought up by the advance guard
of three hundred. A sharp skirmish ensued; the Vandal leader was slain,
his men fled, communicating their panic to those who were following on,
and thus all returned to take refuge in the city. On the left
Gibamundus, a nephew of Gelimer, at the head of two thousand cavalry,
fell in with the Hunnish horse, who charged them incontinently and put
them to flight with great slaughter. The Vandals were, in fact, stricken
nerveless at the sudden appearance of these warriors, whom they had
never encountered, but who were known to them by reputation. Before the
news of these engagements could reach him Belisarius had gathered all
his cavalry about him, and advanced from the camp in expectation of
meeting the enemy. He ordered a considerable part of his forces to
explore in front, and these, after no long march, found themselves in
sight of a great concourse of horse commanded by the Vandal king in
person. A desultory conflict, in a region diversified by low hills,
followed; the barbarians attacked with skill and bravery, and in the
result the Byzantines were routed, nor did they relax their flight until
they succeeded in rejoining Belisarius. At this moment the Vandals might
have been victorious had they been led by a general who knew how to
conquer. But Gelimer, neglecting his advantage, abandoned himself to
lamentations for the death of his brother, of which information was just
then brought to him, whilst the Roman general rallied his troops and
bore down upon his adversaries with irresistible vigour. The Vandal
leader, with all his forces, now fled indiscriminately, and, solicitous
only for immediate safety, chose the unfrequented road to Numidia
instead of retiring strategically on the capital.
Belisarius was now master of the situation, though himself unaware of
the full extent of his success. Within Carthage, in fact, owing to the
great preponderance of the Roman element, a bloodless revolution had
already taken place. The gates had been thrown open on the Vandal defeat
becoming known, and, at the sight of the fleet in the offing, the chain
of the harbour had been withdrawn, whilst the bulk of the citizens
awaited with joyful expectation the moment when they might fraternize
with the victors. The Vandal officials fled into hiding or sanctuary;
the gaoler of the prison on the citadel unbolted the doors and gave exit
to all the political suspects whom the distrust of Gelimer had
incarcerated; and even the Arian clergy abandoned their churches to the
possession of the Orthodox bishops. Next day the Roman general broke up
his camp, and, still keeping his line of battle, advanced with
considerable caution to the capital, where at length he realized how
completely he had won the day. A portion of the fleet was already moored
in the Mandracium, the patency of which had been discovered accidentally
through the temerity and disobedience of one of the subordinate
officers.[426] The soldiers were received into quarters throughout the
town, while Belisarius, with his staff, ascended the Byrsa and
established himself in the royal palace.[427] The same evening a banquet
was spread for the Romans by the servants of Gelimer, when the
victorious general occupied the throne of the defeated king.
Belisarius now applied himself energetically to restoring the
fortifications of Carthage, which had fallen into a ruinous condition,
as he felt assured that before long he would have to defend his conquest
against a siege. In an incredibly short time he repaired all the
breaches in the walls, and surrounded the city with a fosse protected by
a stout palisade. His foresight was amply justified, and it was soon
found that the outlying districts were beset by the adherents of Gelimer
to such an extent that no Byzantines could venture outside the city
without the certainty of being cut off by some hostile band.
In a few weeks the Vandal king had collected a force which he deemed
sufficient for the recovery of his capital; and, moreover, he attacked
the city insidiously by means of secret emissaries whom he employed to
seduce the allegiance of the Arian barbarians, who were numerous in the
Roman army. His camp was situated at Bulla on the Numidian frontier,
about one hundred miles to the west of Carthage. Here he awaited his
brother Tzazo, the leader of the Sardinian expedition, whom he had
summoned to take part in the war against the invaders. His approach was
signalled, and, as soon as a landing was effected, the impulsive
barbarians threw themselves into each other's arms and bewailed with
tears and lamentations the sudden misfortunes which had overtaken their
race.[428]
The siege of Carthage was now begun, and Gelimer's first hostile act was
to cut off the main water supply by making a breach in the aqueduct. No
military assault was attempted, nor did the Vandals raid the country, as
they looked on everything as their own property. A passive
beleaguerment, by isolating the inhabitants from the outside world,
seemed to them to be sufficient to bring about the submission of the
capital. Belisarius on his side at first maintained an equal quietude,
deferring active measures until the walls had been fully consolidated.
He was also distrustful of the Huns under his command, whose murmurs
against their protracted absence from home augured ill for their loyal
bearing in the event of a battle.
After the lapse of a few weeks the fortifications were rendered secure,
and then the Byzantine general marched out with all his forces to seek
the enemy. Gelimer's encampment was soon discovered to be at Tricamerum,
seventeen miles beyond the city. Belisarius hastened to the spot with
all his cavalry, which on his arrival he disposed in three divisions
opposite the hostile camp, he himself occupying the centre with his
standard-bearer. The Huns drew themselves up apart, according to their
custom, and in this instance meditated treachery should the fortune of
the day prove adverse to the Byzantines. The infantry were halted at
some distance in the rear. A rivulet now separated the two armies, and
on the following morning the Vandals ranged themselves in order of
battle on the opposite bank. Tzazo, with the veterans from Sardinia, led
the van, whilst Gelimer rode along the line exhorting his troops to rely
solely on their swords. First of all the Armenian John, with a small
band, dashed across the stream against the Vandal centre, but was
repulsed. He returned to the charge with a larger following, and was
again repulsed. For the third onslaught Belisarius undertook the attack
in person; the Romans sent up a great war-shout, and the Imperial
standard was swept along as the whole centre drove down impetuously on
the barbarians. A powerful impact resulted; the Vandals made a strenuous
defence, but Tzazo was soon slain, whereupon they desisted and betook
themselves to flight. All the Roman horse now put themselves into
motion, including the vacillating Huns, and the enemy were hotly
pursued, until they saved themselves by plunging into their camp. This
victory cost the Byzantines only fifty men, but of the Vandals eight
hundred fell.
On the evening of the same day Belisarius advanced with both horse and
foot to assault the enemy's camp. On arriving he found, however, that
Gelimer had hurried away secretly with a few friends, intent on hiding
himself in the recesses of Numidia, and that the Vandal host, on
perceiving themselves to be deserted by their King, had dispersed, eager
only to preserve their lives. Thus the derelict camp, with its whole
contents, became the immediate prize of the victors. It was found to be
replete with wealth, the accumulated treasures of the Vandal nation,
which had been amassed during the raids of Genseric on every part of the
Roman dominions. Such an immense hoard of money, it seemed, could never
before have been brought together into one repository. Pillage now
became the sole object of the Byzantine soldiery, all discipline was
ignored, and the army was only discernible in the form of numerous pairs
of companions who overran the district engaged in rapine. This
abandonment continued throughout the night, and at dawn Belisarius, with
great difficulty, collected his men, when all returned to Carthage laden
with immense booty. Besides valuables, the seizures comprised women and
boys, all men who seemed to belong to the hostile nation being
butchered. It was now the middle of December, and just three months
since the Byzantines had entered the African capital.
To secure the person of Gelimer was a matter of prime importance, and
John, the Armenian, with a company of two hundred, had been despatched
in pursuit of the fugitive. For five days they hurried after him on his
track, and then, by a deplorable mischance, the leader was transfixed
and mortally wounded by an arrow discharged from the hand of one of his
own men. Belisarius was at once informed, and hastened to the locality,
but the unavoidable delay enabled the flying King to make good his
escape. On inquiry, it was elicited that he had taken refuge among the
Moors of Pappua, a rugged and almost inaccessible mountain in a remote
corner of Numidia. Belisarius followed on, and, having made a survey of
the stronghold, decided that it was impregnable to an attack. He
therefore appointed one of his officers, Pharas, a Herule, to blockade
the outlets and cut off supplies to the refugees. He himself returned to
Carthage by way of Hippo Regius, where he had the good fortune to
capture the reserve treasures of the Vandal King in a weather-bound
ship, which had failed to convey them to the custody of Gelimer's ally,
the King of the Visigoths in Spain. Belisarius now sent a legate to
Sardinia and Corsica, who displayed the head of Tzazo, and secured the
submission of those islands to the suzerainty of Justinian. Wherever the
Vandals had ruled missions were despatched to announce the circumstances
of the conquest, and thus the whole of North Africa, together with the
islands of Ebusa, Majorca, and Minorca, were transferred to the dominion
of the Eastern Emperor.
In the meantime the blockade of Pappua had been rigorously maintained,
and Gelimer had been reduced to the greatest straits for the want of
proper provisions. At length Pharas expostulated with him on his
obduracy, and tempting proposals were made to him should he surrender
himself to the clemency of Justinian; the rank of a Roman patrician
fortified with a liberal endowment of lands and money. Gelimer replied
that he would never accept a favour from one who had conquered him in an
unjust war, and implored the officer not to aggravate his sufferings by
the repetition of such offers. His letter concluded with the words, "I
beg of you, my dear Pharas, to send me a lyre, a loaf of bread, and a
sponge." At a loss to understand this seemingly strange request, Pharas
interrogated the messenger, who explained that the musical instrument
was required in order to accompany a dirge in which the Vandal King
bewailed his misfortunes; that the hard fare of the Moors did not
include such a luxury as baked bread; and that the sponge was intended
to bathe the eyes of the sufferer, which had become inflamed by weeping.
The officer compassionately acceded to the prayer, but maintained his
guard as strictly as before. After the lapse of three months the pride
and resentment of Gelimer became subdued, chiefly through his being a
spectator of the hardships entailed on those who had attended him to his
comfortless retreat; and he signified his willingness to resign himself
to the custody of Belisarius. He was conducted to Carthage, and shortly
afterwards the Byzantine leader, with his principal captives and all the
spoils of the war, set sail for Constantinople. Belisarius was, in fact,
glad that the time had come for him to take his departure, as envy and
slander had lately begun to be rife about him; and it was insinuated at
Court that he had assumed a regal state, as if he contemplated an
independent sovereignty, a line of conduct which was wholly foreign to
his temperament and aspirations.[429]
On an appointed day in the autumn of the same year a scene was enacted
in the Imperial capital which recalled the triumphs of former ages, but
so modified as to exalt the glory of the Emperor far above that of his
most conspicuous subject. Belisarius, accompanied by the deposed King,
his relatives and nobles, moved through the city, on foot, at the head
of a procession in which were displayed all the precious resources and
costly appurtenances which illustrated the recent magnificence of the
Vandal Kingdom, and were now become the prize of the conqueror. Golden
chairs, state carriages, a profusion of sparkling gems, cups of gold,
all the appointments of the royal banquets, myriads of silver talents,
and the heirlooms of plate which had adorned the palace, were borne
along the streets to the Hippodrome, in the area of which they were
accumulated to make a dazzling exhibition. Among them were the spoils of
Jerusalem, translated to Rome by Vespasian and Titus,[430] and
afterwards pillaged from thence by the insatiable Genseric, who carried
them off to Carthage. Justinian sat aloft upon his throne, and Gelimer,
still invested with the insignia of a King, was conducted to his feet.
There he was stripped of his purple robe and forced to kiss the ground
before the triumphant monarch. After his illustrious captive the
victorious general rendered a similar homage to his Imperial master.
Throughout the ceremony the Vandal King maintained a dignified
composure, but he repeated aloud continually the words of Scripture,
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Subsequently ample estates in
Galatia were conferred on him, but the patriciate was withheld, as he
declined to abjure his Arian faith. All the scions of Vandal royalty had
been transported to Constantinople, and among them were the daughters of
Hilderic, who in the female line were the direct descendants of the last
Emperors of the West. These princesses were consigned to the care of
Theodora, and the ultimate representatives of the dynasty founded by the
great Theodosius became the pensioners of the fortunate prostitute.[431]
As for the treasures of the extinct Hebrew nationality, a Jewish
spectator of the pageantry inferred, within the hearing of Justinian,
that the retention of these sacred relics had brought destruction to
Rome, and determined the doom of Carthage, whence he foreboded that the
Byzantine capital would fall under the ban of the Almighty should they
remain inside its walls. No resting-place, he asserted, would be found
for them unless where Solomon had consecrated them to the worship of
Jehovah. The Emperor was struck by the admonition, and decided to divest
himself of these fateful valuables by sending them to be deposited in
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at Jerusalem. In the following January
Belisarius was honoured with the Consulship of the year (535), and a
large amount of the booty, which had fallen to his lot at Carthage, was
distributed as largess among the populace. His reputation had now risen
to such a height that he seemed to be too great to remain in the
position of a subject; and the Imperial couple thought it prudent to
extract from his complaisance a solemn pledge that he would never aim at
the sovereignty during the lifetime of Justinian.[432]
When it was reported to the Emperor that the Kingdom of the Vandals was
overthrown, he at once drew up a scheme for the local government of this
accession to his dominions. A third Praetorian Praefect, with a salary
of 100 lb. of gold (£4,000), was created to administer the Diocese of
Africa, as it was now denominated. His official seat was at Carthage,
and under him seven Rectors were nominated to rule the minor divisions
of the country.[433] The island of Sardinia was included in this
disposition, and formed a separate province.[434] The civil and military
powers were kept apart, and a Master of Soldiers, with five local Dukes,
was appointed to command the army corps required for the protection of
the Diocese.[435] The Roman system of taxation had been suppressed by
Genseric, and under the Vandal supremacy the inhabitants had been almost
relieved from the burden of the imposts; but on the restoration a pair
of logothetes were commissioned to survey the country, and assess the
population for the benefit of the treasury. Much displeasure was felt by
the Africans at this recurrence to the old methods of exaction, which
they had become oblivious of during their remission for nearly a
century.[436]
Although the Vandal power in Africa was annihilated by the victories of
Belisarius, the peaceful settlement of the Diocese was deferred for more
than ten years owing to the insubordination of the army of occupation
and the unwillingness of the Moors to submit to the Byzantine yoke. In
two instances leaders of the rebellious soldiery promoted a mutiny with
such effect that for the time being the recent conquest was virtually
severed from the Empire. The episodes of Stotzas and Gontharis may be
briefly recounted.
1. In the first sedition three distinct parties were conjoined, who,
through circumstances peculiar to each one, were inspired with animosity
against the government. A large number of the Roman military found
fortune in Africa by the capture of wives and daughters of Vandals who
were either slaughtered at the time or expelled from their possessions.
The newcomers married these women, and installed themselves in the lands
and dwellings previously held by their male relatives. By Imperial
decree, however, the estates of the conquered were confiscated to the
crown; and thus the impromptu settlers in a short time found themselves
exposed to summary ejection. Such was the most considerable complement
of the malcontents. To these were added the Arian barbarians, numbering
about a thousand, who had taken part in the expedition. The fanaticism
of the latter was inflamed by the dispossessed Vandal clergy, to whom
the practice of Christianity according to their heretical rites was now
interdicted. The third contingent consisted of a remnant of the Vandal
army, which had taken refuge in the Aurasian mountains on the south of
Numidia.[437] This party was made up almost wholly of fugitive prisoners
of war who had been transported to Constantinople, whence it was decided
to distribute them among the garrison towns of the East. They were
despatched by sea to their destination, but on arriving at Lesbos about
four hundred of them seized the ships in which they had been embarked
and made good their escape to the African coast. Communication and
conjuration between the first two sections was established at Carthage,
and it was agreed that on Easter Sunday (536) Solomon, the Master of the
Forces, who had replaced Belisarius, should be assassinated in church.
The rebels would then seize the reins of government. The secret of the
conspiracy was well kept, for even the unaffiliated reserved their
suspicions, being privately elated at the prospect of rapine; but the
assassins elect shrunk from perpetrating the murder on the first, and
even on a subsequent occasion. Noisy recriminations in the public places
followed, and it became evident to everyone that there was a plot. The
conspirators now threw off all disguise, having discovered that they
were in a majority, and applied themselves to looting the city and
suburbs. Solomon, with Procopius as his companion, under cover of night
fled to the coast and made sail for Syracuse, where Belisarius was known
to be engaged on a mission. The three returned with the utmost speed,
and found that the rebels to the number of eight thousand, including the
fugitive Vandals, had massed themselves on the plain of Bulla. They had
chosen as their leader a guardsman of vigorous character named Stotzas.
A march on Carthage was contemplated, but Belisarius, having levied as
many loyal troops as possible, intercepted the project and forced them
to give battle. Although his forces were quadrupled by those of the
enemy, the prestige of his name, their indecision, and an adverse wind
which blew in their faces, enabled him to win a victory. The sedition,
however, was merely demulced for a time and Belisarius had to return
immediately to Sicily. Later on Justinian despatched his nephew Germanus
to Africa, and this general, by tact and blandishments, succeeded in
winning back nearly half of the supporters of Stotzas. A battle was
fought in which the rebel leader was utterly defeated and his followers
scattered, with the loss of all the valuables they had collected in
their camp. Stotzas himself fled to Mauritania, where he settled down
with a daughter of one of the petty princes as his wife; but a few years
afterwards (545) he reappeared in arms, fighting on the side of the
Moors. In an encounter he was slain tragically by the Roman general
opposed to him, who pierced him with one of his arrows, but was himself
struck down forthwith by a mortal wound. The two antagonists expired
almost in sight of one another, each one expressing his welcome
acceptance of death in view of the gratification afforded by that of his
rival.[438]
2. About this time Areobindus, the husband of Justinian's niece
Prejecta, was appointed to be Master of the Forces in Africa. He was a
man of a timid disposition, and totally unversed in war, to such an
extent that he had never been present at the most trivial engagement.
Under this inefficient hegemony, Gontharis, Duke of Numidia, aspired to
be a despot with the aid of the factious soldiery and the Moorish
insurgents. By a league with Antalas, the most potent of the native
chiefs, he agreed to surrender to him the province of Byzacium and half
the treasures of Areobindus as the price of his support in making
himself king over the rest of the country. At first he proceeded
insidiously and associated amicably with the Master of Soldiers at
Carthage, where he simulated a capture of the city by the Moors in the
hope of so terrifying Areobindus that he would see nothing left but to
escape by flight to Constantinople. This project was just baulked by the
sudden rise of a tempest, which arrested the departing general. Shortly
afterwards the designs of Gontharis were fully penetrated, and he
thought it wisest to proclaim himself boldly as the head of the
government. An attack on the usurper was then organized, and the hostile
bands met in the precincts of the palace; but at the sight of the first
blood drawn Areobindus lost his nerve and fled to a fortified monastery
near the harbour. Gontharis was now supreme, and received the submission
of all the officials in the capital from the Praetorian Prefect
downwards. The late commander-in-chief was lured from his retreat by
threats and a promise of safe dismissal to Constantinople with his
household and property. He presented himself to the despot in the dress
of a private citizen, leaning on the bishop as he held forth a Gospel,
and made an abject profession of his acquiescence in the situation.
Gontharis treated him deferentially, and retained him to supper the same
evening. After the meal, however, he went out and sent in the captain of
his guard, who slew him, regardless of his pitiable appeals for mercy.
Africa was now to all appearances restored to independence as completely
as if the conquest had never been achieved by Belisarius. The tyrant
next attempted to substantiate his position by forming an alliance with
Prejecta, whom he induced to send letters to the Emperor, in which the
murder of Areobindus was represented as the wanton act of an insolent
subordinate. But the foundations of his authority were insecure, and a
counter-conspiracy was soon formed by the adherents of the Imperial
government, whose allegiance was a mere pretence resorted to under the
pressure of expediency. Among those who affected to support him
cordially was Artabanes, the commander of an Armenian regiment, and a
deserter from the Persian service, in which he had risen to some
distinction. He and his associates were ambitious of recovering Africa
for Justinian, and they concerted a plot for the assassination of
Gontharis during a banquet. Artabanes had been invited by the usurper,
and he entered the dining hall attended by two or three of his guards,
whose customary duty it was to stand behind their master's couch during
a meal. A number of their fellows he desired to loiter about the
approaches, mixing with the guards of the palace, as if waiting on his
orders. The soldiers in the city, when not equipped for war, were
forbidden to wear defensive armour, and allowed to carry only a sword.
To obviate this difficulty, Artabanes instructed his men to make a
pretence of playing with the shields of those on guard in the vestibule,
as they lay ready for use, but to snatch them away altogether should
they hear any commotion within. It had been agreed that Artasires, one
of the guards in waiting at the couches, should strike the first blow;
and he ingeniously protected his left arm by fastening the halves of a
split arrow-shaft inside the sleeve of his tunic. At a certain moment it
was judged that Gontharis was obfuscated by his potations, signs passed,
and then Artasires, sidling towards him with his drawn sword hidden
under his arm, aimed a sudden stroke at his head. An instant
counter-stroke by the contiguous guard of the despot was parried by his
shielded arm, and the man was laid low by a return thrust.
Simultaneously Artabanes had sprung up and finished Gontharis with a
stroke of his sword as he attempted to rise from his couch. A general
clash of arms ensued, and many not in the plot joined the liberators.
The rebel guards without, deprived of their shields as planned, were
massacred, and soon a cry of "Justinian the Victor" was sent up. A raid
on the adherents of the usurper was then undertaken, and they were
exterminated in every part of the city. The tyranny of Gontharis had
lasted only thirty-six days. Artabanes won great renown by this exploit,
a splendid donation in money was bestowed on him by Prejecta, and
shortly afterwards the Emperor's commission arrived, creating him Master
of the Forces in Africa. To his immediate petition, however, Justinian
conceded him the equivalent of his rank at Court, and he left the
country without delay. He was, in fact, enamoured of the young princess
(she is referred to as a girl), or, at least, of her Imperial
connection, and he eagerly followed her when she returned to
Constantinople.[439]
For fifteen years after the conquest of the Vandals continual uprisings
of the Moorish clans troubled the settlement of Africa, and a fitful
warfare, sometimes furious, was waged between them and the Empire.
Swarms of these nomads often appeared in the field, but their jealousy
and distrust of each other was so inveterate that their forces could on
no occasion be mustered to act in combination. Their internecine feuds
were never allayed, and during most of their revolts great hosts of them
elected to fight as allies of the Byzantines in order to suppress the
efforts of their own kin. On each side more than one hundred thousand
often appeared in arms simultaneously, but to the disciplined and
mail-clad soldiers of the Empire their martial equipment always seemed
contemptible. Notwithstanding their contiguity to the Romans for so many
centuries, they had not profited by their observation and experience to
imitate the methods of warfare which had invariably proved effectual
against themselves. A burnous of white linen enveloped their head and
body, leaving the legs and arms bare; a small leather shield formed
their sole defensive armour; and their only weapons of attack were a
short sword and a couple of javelins.[440] When at war all the members
of a tribe, accompanied by their flocks and herds, marched in
conjunction to the battle-field. To the women was entrusted the duty of
tending the cattle, sharpening the weapons, building huts, and
entrenching the camp. A great circle was enclosed by a living rampart
consisting of the domestic animals. Externally ranks of camels, linked
together twelve deep, formed the main defence; within were ranged the
oxen, sheep, and goats. Women, children, and old men, in charge of
whatever valuables they possessed, were congregrated in the central
space.[441] At the approach of an enemy the Moorish infantry packed
themselves in the interstices of the camels' limbs, whilst the cavalry
took advantage of whatever cover was afforded by the adjacent woods and
hills. On the arrival of the hostile troops javelins were hurled from
the entrenchments, the warriors on horseback poured down on each side to
assail the enemy's flanks, and the women flung stones, balls of lead,
and lighted torches from the interior of the camp. Horses were repelled
by the sight and scent of the camels, and refused to carry their riders
forward to the attack. Under the circumstances the only expedient was to
dismount the cavalry and assault the men and animals determinedly on
foot. On one occasion Solomon, by the slaughter of about two hundred
camels, cut his way into the camp, whereupon the Moors fled
precipitately in all directions.[442] On another, the enemy had posted
themselves in immense numbers on the level top of Mount Burgaon, but the
Romans climbed the sides during the night, and at break of day suddenly
appeared above the crest on both sides of the horde. A panic ensued, and
a wild rush was made in the direction of a proximate summit. But the
fugitives were intercepted by an unsuspected gulch, into which all
dashed headlong, urged by the irresistible pressure from behind. Men and
horses rolled down until the gap was filled to the level of the opposite
side. The rest then saved themselves by passing over the bodies of those
who had perished in this manner, to the number, it was estimated, of
50,000.[443] After such victories all the occupants, contents, and
constituents of the camp became the prize of the conquerors; and the
slave market for Moorish captives at Carthage was so overstocked that a
youth could be purchased for the same price as a sheep.[444] The final
pacification of Africa was due to John Troglita, the successor of
Artabanes, who, in several campaigns extending over three years,
inflicted many defeats on the Moors, and drove the most turbulent tribes
beyond the Roman frontier.[445] His deeds of valour provoked so much
admiration among the Africans, and were of such signal benefit to the
country, that one of their number, Cresconius Corippus, was impelled to
celebrate his career in an epic poem designed to place him in the same
niche of glory as the heroes immortalized by Homer, Virgil, and
Claudian.[446]
As a result of his conquest of Africa, Justinian came into collision
with the Visigoths of Spain, an event which led to a permanent
occupation of a portion of the south-east coast of that peninsula by the
Byzantines. The castle of Septem, on the headland to the south of the
Straits of Gades, was in the hands of these barbarians, wherefore a
brigade was sent by Belisarius to capture it.[447] Shortly after they
had succeeded in doing so, Theudias, King of the Visigoths, despatched a
counter expedition against the Byzantines, but this force was soon
destroyed through being attacked unexpectedly on a Sunday.[448] Nearly a
score of years afterwards (554) a religious war broke out in Spain
through the Arian King, Agila, wishing to coerce his Catholic subjects,
whom he besieged in their principal stronghold of Cordova. The leader of
the rebels was a noble[449] named Athanagild, and, as the Roman prestige
was now supreme in the West, as well as because of the religious
affinity, he applied to the Emperor for aid against the Arian
persecutors.[450] Justinian responded, and sent Liberius,[451] a general
who was then engaged in the reduction of Sicily,[452] with the result
that Agila suffered a crushing defeat at Seville.[453] He fled to
Merida, hoping to find a refuge among faithful subjects, but the fallen
king had become an object of contempt and fell a victim to a plot which
was speedily hatched for his assassination. The Visigoths then
surrendered to the prestige of his rival and elected Athanagild as
king,[454] whereupon a compact of tolerance was ratified between the two
parties.[455] They now wished to dispense with the services of the
Byzantines, whose proceedings struck them with alarm, as, instead of
preparing to evacuate the country, they seemed to have settled
themselves permanently in those fortresses to which they had gained
admittance through their alliance with the Catholics. A summons to
depart having been disregarded, a petty war ensued; and, although the
King gained some battles, he was ultimately obliged to acquiesce in the
Byzantine occupation of several notable cities[456] in the south-east,
among which were Cordova, Carthagena, and Malaga.[457] Such are the
facts, so far as they are known, relating to this campaign, which is
sometimes dignified by the title of "Justinian's conquest of Spain."[458]
[375] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., i, 10.
[376] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., i, 10. The only authority for the Vandal
war is Procopius, whom later chroniclers abridge and generally refer
back to.
[377] See recent French works on Algeria by Vignon, Wahl, etc.
[378] Plutarch, Marius.
[379] Plutarch, Caius Gracchus. The name was changed to Junonia, lest
its proper designation should be ill-omened.
[380] Appian, Hist. Rom., viii, 136; Solinus, 27, etc.
[381] Strabo, XVII, iii, 15; Herodian, vii, 6; Ausonius, De Clar. Urb.,
etc. Scarcely second to CP., according to the latter. Salvian (_c._ 450)
calls it "the Rome of Africa"; De Gub. Dei, vii, 16.
[382] "A Consul in power and prestige," says Salvian (_loc. cit._),
"though only a Pro in name."
[383] Notitia Occid.
[384] Named consecutively from east to west the seven provinces were
Tripolis, Byzacium, Zeugitana ("Proconsular Africa," cap. Carthage; now
Tunisia), Mauritania Sitifensis, M. Caesariensis (these two constitute
the modern Algeria), and Tingitana (now Morocco). All lay along the
irregular coast.
[385] Cape Bon (Ras Addar).
[386] The remains of these works are still to be seen under water. They
were so considerable in Bruce's time that he fancied most of Carthage
must have been submerged; Travels, etc., 1790, i, p. xxi. The best
compendious guide to the existing ruins of Carthage is Babelon's
_Carthage_, Paris, 1896. He was one of the excavators, and gives a large
map which indicates everything remaining on the site.
[387] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., i, 20, etc.
[388] _Ibid._, 15, etc. Now the Lake or Lagoon of Tunis. Carthage was
at the north-west corner, Tunis diagonally at the opposite one. About
two miles long, one and a half wide.
[389] See Appian's description of the Punic harbours, the Cothon, etc.;
viii, 96. The entrance at this time was probably that artificially
excavated by the Carthaginians after Scipio had blocked that in previous
use. The harbour was most likely restored by the Romans to very much its
former state. Rambaud has adopted this view in his archaeological
restoration of Carthage (_c._ 690), which he put into novelistic form;
L'Empereur de Carthage, Paris, 1904. Dureau de la Malle argues from
texts that Carthage was not "rased to the ground," as the formal
expression is, but merely dismantled; Topog. de Carthage, Paris, 1835,
p. 103, _et seq._ Certain ponds now in existence seem to represent the
inland ports, but an opposition view has been taken; C. Torr, Classical
Rev., 1891.
[390] The island apparently is still there, but no remains of buildings
have been uncovered so far. For what has been done see Babelon, _op.
cit._
[391] Some ruins still remain and sufficient of the structure to present
an imposing appearance existed well into the last century. Being
quarried for later purposes, the relic has gradually lost its
distinctive form; see Beulé, Fouilles à Carthage, Paris, 1861, p. 29.
[392] Victor Vit., De Persec. Vand., ii, 5 (written _c._ 487, and proves
the existence of the stairway, etc., in the fifth century).
[393] _Ibid._, _Platea Nova_.
[394] Appian, viii, 133 (from Diod. Sic., xi, 26).
[395] Inferred from Tacitus, Hist., iv, 38, and Procopius, De Bel.
Vand., i, 20; see Dureau de la Malle, _op. cit._
[396] Expos. Tot. Mund. (Müller).
[397] _Ibid._ (two versions); Augustine, Confes., vi, 9.
[398] Apuleius, Florid., 18.
[399] Generally see Salvian, _op. cit._, vii, 16. The remains of the
Circus are still in evidence; see Babelon, _op. cit._
[400] Much of it still remains; figured in Babelon (_op. cit._) and
Davis's Carthage, etc., London, 1868, with other Roman ruins of the
region. The populousness of Africa is indicated by the amphitheatre of
Tipdrus (100 miles south of Carthage), capital of Byzacium, which still
exists in great part. It was second only to the Coliseum.
[401] Prosper Tiro, Chron. (424). Diocletian, however, carried out
extensive works here, part of which may have been protective; Aurel.
Victor, _in Vita_.
[402] Tacitus, Hist., iv, 38, etc. In the time of Vespasian it was
feared that a revolt in Africa would lead to the capital being starved
out.
[403] Tot. Orb. Descript. (Müller).
[404] Salvian (_op. cit._, vii, 13) is copious in his condemnation of
the Africans and concedes them no merit whatever. "The Goths are
perfidious, but continent; the Alani incontinent, but less perfidious;
the Franks are liars, but hospitable; the Saxons are cruel and
barbarous, but wonderfully chaste. In almost all Africans I know naught
but evil. If inhumanity is blamable, they are inhuman; if drunkenness,
they are drunken; if falsity, they are most false; if dishonesty, they
are most fraudulent; if avarice, they are most avaricious; if perfidy,
they are most perfidious. But they are immoral beyond the measure of all
these taken together." In his own Aquitain the complaint is that the
nobles have their houses full of maidservants whom they use as
concubines.
[405] _Ibid._, 17, 18, 19.
[406] When Mithradates attempted to overthrow the Roman power in the
East (88 B.C.) they were considerable enough to send him an embassy
proffering their aid; Athenaeus, v, 50.
[407] Thus the son-in-law of Apuleius at the age of twenty could speak
only Punic; Apology; cf. Procopius, De Bel. Vand., ii, 10. There were in
Numidia, he says, two white columns on which was inscribed, "We are
those who fled before the face of the robber, Joshua, the son of Nun."
Some notion of the dress of the Carthaginians under the Empire may be
formed from mosaics unearthed of late years and preserved in French
museums. There was nothing very characteristic, but I may quote the
following summary of what is to be seen. "Hommes en longue dalmatique
verte ou blanche ornée de larges bandes de broderies, avec le manteau
triangulaire de laine brune enveloppant le buste, et l'orarium passé
autour du cou; femmes en étroites robes collantes brodées au cou et au
poignet, serrées à la taille par un ceinture rouge et que recouvre une
ample tunique aux larges manches de couleur éclatante, avec les bijoux
sur la poitrine, l'écharpe claire flottant sur les épaules et parfois
encadrant le visage; enfants en culottes collantes alternées de jaune et
de rouge, ou courtes tuniques blanches à bandes de couleur"; Diehl,
L'Afrique Byzant., Paris, 1896, p. 392. A mosaic found in Numidia shows
a Roman mansion with horses, etc., and might pass for a view of an
English manor-house; Tissot, Géog. Comp. d'Afrique Rom., Paris, 1884, p.
360.
[408] An exhaustive treatise has been devoted to the manners and customs
of this people by Hanotaux and Letourneux, La Kabylée, 3 vols., Paris,
1892.
[409] One of the most important revolts was suppressed by Theodosius,
father of the first emperor of that name; another by Stilicho, the
famous general and father-in-law of Honorius; Claudian, De Bel.
Gildonico.
[410] They are dealt with at length in all church histories; the sources
are chiefly Optatus Mil. and Cyprian's Epistles.
[411] The story is told most fully by Procopius, De Bel. Vand., i, 3;
cf. Jordanes, De Reb. Get., 33. Boniface was a friend of Augustine, who
reproaches him for his conduct (Epist. 220). The name of the Vandal king
is found variously as Genseric, Gizeric, and Gaiseric.
[412] The sequel to the story seems to be historical. After his return
the Count of Africa met Aetius in battle, but, though victorious with
his troops, received a mortal wound from his rival's lance.
[413] Procopius, _loc. cit._; Marcellinus Com., Chron., an. 439, etc.
[414] Procopius, _loc. cit._, 7.
[415] _Ibid._, 6. He gives the cost of the expedition as 130,000 pounds
of gold (£5,200,000).
[416] _Ibid._, 4, 5; cf. Jordanes, _op. cit._, 45. She was the daughter
of Theodosius II and widow of Valentinian III, her cousin. She was
incensed with Maximus, who assassinated her husband, usurped the purple,
and paid her unwelcome attentions. Genseric married Eudocia, one of her
daughters, to his son Huneric.
[417] A special ecclesiastical account of this by Victor, Bishop of
Vita; De Persec. Vand.
[418] Procopius, _loc. cit._, 9.
[419] Salvian, _op. cit._, vii, 22.
[420] Procopius, _op. cit._, ii, 6.
[421] _Ibid._, i, 9.
[422] Procopius, _loc. cit._, 11.
[423] The rate of movement through the water may be calculated from the
statement that sixteen days were occupied by the voyage from Zacynthus
to Sicily, a distance of three hundred miles; Procopius, _loc. cit._,
13.
[424] Procopius again refers to this miracle, as he seems to think it,
many years after; De Aedif., vi, 6.
[425] Procopius, _loc. cit._, 5, 15; cf. De Aedif., vi, 5.
[426] The sailors refused to hold off as Belisarius had directed,
asserting that a "Cyprian" was imminent (an easterly gale). Hence
Archelaus reluctantly steered for the Stagnum, but a lieutenant, on his
own responsibility, made a bold dash for the Mandracium; Procopius,
_loc. cit._, 20.
[427] The gaol, as usual, formed part of the palace, and both were on a
lofty site, which can scarcely have been other than the Byrsa. The
position is clearly indicated by some of the details. Thus the gaoler
came to the prisoners and said, "What will you give me if I release
you?" All promised, according to their utmost ability. "I ask nothing,"
said he, "but that you promise to befriend me should you hereafter see
me in danger." Thereupon he unbarred an outlet and showed them the Roman
fleet crossing the bay. Forthwith he opened the prison, and all went off
together; _ibid._
[428] With this incident Procopius ends the first book of his Vandalic
War.
[429] The good fortune which attended Belisarius, and the fortuitous
character of most of his success in this campaign will be evident to the
most superficial reader. The Byzantines themselves seem to have been
fully alive to the fact, and Procopius (_op. cit._, i, 18; ii, 7)
indulges in some reflections which may be exactly represented by the
words of Hamlet (v, 2):
"Rashly,
And praised be rashness for it, let us know,
Our indiscretions sometimes serve us well,
When our deep plots do pall: and that should teach us,
There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."
To the credit of the Roman General it must be remembered that his
heterogeneous and ill-disciplined army fell far short of being an
efficient fighting machine; but he seems to have incurred needless risk
both at Decimum and Tricamerum by drawing his cavalry away from his
infantry, whilst his being unaware for many days that he was surrounded
by the enemy's troops on the march from Caputvada seems wholly
inexcusable. But the incapacity of Gelimer to lead an army with skill
and determination, his want of foresight and unpreparedness, neutralized
the gravest errors. The water was left open for the enemy's fleet at a
time when the semblance even of an attack by sea would have dispersed
them for good. He failed to push his splendid success at Decimum, and on
the night after Tricamerum, when a muster of the Vandal troops might
have annihilated the Roman forces in detail, he had deserted the scene
of action. Again, the task of Belisarius was much lightened by the
timely revolt of Sardinia and by a simultaneous rising in Tripoli,
whereby the resources of his adversary were considerably diminished.
Though of little moment after the land successes, the preservation of
the Byzantine fleet was due, perhaps, to its making for port, in
opposition to the injunctions of Belisarius, instead of remaining
exposed on the incommodious coast. For an exhaustive critique of the
campaign, see Pflugk-Hartung, Belisars Vandalkrieg, Hist. Zeitschrift,
Munich, 1889.
[430] 70 A.D.; Tacitus, Hist., v; Josephus, Bel. Jud., v, vi, etc. The
objects were figured on the Arch of Titus, the most conspicuous being
the seven-branched candlestick.
[431] See p. 500. Their mother was Eudocia, daughter of Valentinian III
and Eudoxia, the former the grandson, the latter the great
grand-daughter, of Theodosius I.
[432] Procopius, De Bel. Goth., ii, 29.
[433] Cod., I, xxvii, 1.
[434] The two Mauritanias were conjoined.
[435] Cod. I, xxvii, 2. This is an elaborate act descriptive of the new
administration, and dealing with the duties and pay of its several
members. The Praetorian Praefect and the Master of Soldiers are often
mentioned by Procopius in the second book of his Vandalic War. For long
the government of Africa was practically a military despotism, and the
civil chief was merely the first secretary of the general in power.
[436] Procopius, _op. cit._, ii, 8.
[437] "The Aurasian mountains," says Procopius "resemble no other place
on earth. They have a girth of three days' journey, and on all sides the
ascent is precipitous. On the top is a level plain easily traversed,
diversified by flowery meadows, gardens planted with trees, thickets of
aromatic shrubs, fountains gushing from rocks, and rivers rolling
noisily into still lakes. The fertility is admirable, luxuriant crops
and trees laden with fruit are produced here in an abundance unknown in
any other part of Africa"; De Aedif., vi, 7; De Bel. Vand., ii, 13.
[438] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., ii, 14-17, 24.
[439] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., ii, 25-28.
[440] _Ibid._, 11.
[441] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., i, 8; ii, 11.
[442] _Ibid._, ii, 11.
[443] _Ibid._, 12.
[444] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., ii, 12.
[445] _Ibid._, 28; De Bel. Goth., iv, 17. Among the innumerable Johns of
this age he is distinguished by Procopius as "the brother of Pappus,"
and by Jordanes (De Reg. Suc.) as "Troglita."
[446] The Johannis, in eight books, but the latter part is lost. It
contains much information respecting the Moors and their mode of
fighting, but exactitude is generally sacrificed to the necessary
vaguity of poetical description. Important works by Cagnat (Paris, 1892)
and Pallu de Lessert (Paris, 1896) on Roman Africa terminate at the
Vandal conquest.
[447] Procopius, De Bel. Vand., ii, 5.
[448] Isidore of Seville, Hist. Goth. (Mommsen, Chron. Minora, 1877, p.
284; Mon. Hist. German, xi, 1894).
[449] Venantius Fortunatus, VI, i, 124.
[450] Isidore Sev., _loc. cit._, pp. 286, 475. "Through A. the Roman
soldier set his foot in Spain."
[451] Jordanes, De Reb. Get., 58.
[452] Procopius, De Bel. Goth., iii, 40, etc.
[453] Isidore Sev., _loc. cit._
[454] _Ibid._ A gloss says that "A. was secretly a Catholic," but the
storm and stress of fanaticism was past and, after a few flickers
breathed by the irreconcilables, the Visigothic Kingdom became wholly
Catholic in 587, just twenty years after the death of A. A. was the
father of that Brunechilda who, by her marriage with Sighebert, King of
Austrasia (N.E. France and Belgium etc.), afterwards played a prominent
part in Frankish affairs. She became the rival of the infamous and
successful Fredegonda (harlot first and always, ultimately queen) and,
after many vicissitudes, ultimately perished, lashed, like an early
Mazeppa, to a wild horse (614). She, however, outlived her female
antagonist by nearly a score of years.
[455] Isidore Sev., _loc. cit._
[456] _Ibid._; Gregory of Tours, iv, 8.
[457] See H. Gelzer _ad_ George (properly Gregory) of Cyprus (Teubner),
p. xxxii, _et seq._ Surmise rather than fact.
[458] It will be seen from the references given that none of the
Byzantine historians, not Procopius, nor Jn. Lydus, nor Agathias, seems
to have harboured a suspicion that Justinian ever "conquered" Spain. The
last, however, names Spain incidentally among the places where troops
were stationed (v, 13). Such as it was, the conquest lasted no more than
eighteen years for, at the end of that period, Leovigild (_c._ 572,
Johannes Biclar) expelled the Byzantines from Cordova, their only
important stronghold. For another century or so they probably languished
on the coast till the coming of the Mohammedans (_c._ 709) who in the
course of a decade made an actual conquest of Spain to the Frankish
border, which endured for nearly eight centuries. Through Egypt, after
wresting Syria from the Byzantines, they wound their path of victory
westwards along the African seaboard until the inviting proximity of
Ceuta to the northern mainland determined their entry into Europe.
Simultaneously the Arabs achieved the extinction of Christianity in all
these regions, where, after the lapse of more than a thousand years, a
renewal of Western civilization now seems to be steadily progressive.
Generally on the subject of this section see F. Dahn, Die Könige der
Germanen, v, p. 123 _et seq._ (Würz., 1870); Dict. Christ. Biog.
(Smith), _sb._ Leovigild; and Gibbon (Bury), v, p. 471 _et seq._; also
the Spanish and French historians.