June 21, 533 AD– A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under the command of general Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. In the late summer of 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa and landed near Caput Vada (near Chebba on the coast of Tunisia). He ordered his fleet not to lose sight of the army, then marched along the coastal highway toward the Vandal capital of Carthage. He did this to prevent supplies from being cut off, and to avoid a great defeat such as occurred during Basiliscus first attempt to retake northern Africa 65 years before, which had ended in the Roman disaster at the Battle of Cap Bon in 468. Ten miles from Carthage, the forces of Gelimer (who had just executed Hilderic) and Belisarius finally met at the Battle of Ad Decimum on September 13, 533. It nearly turned into a defeat for the Romans. Gelimer had chosen his position well and had some success along the main road. The Romans, however, seemed dominant on both sides of the main road to Carthage. At the height of the battle, Gelimer became distraught upon learning of the death of his brother in battle. This gave Belisarius a chance to regroup, and he went on to win the battle and capture Carthage. A second victory at the Battle of Tricamarum on December 15 of the same year resulted in Gelimers surrender early in 534 at Mount Papua, restoring the lost Roman provinces of north Africa to the empire. For this achievement, Belisarius was granted a Roman triumph (the last ever given) when he returned to Constantinople. According to Procopius in the procession were paraded the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem (the Vandal treasure, including many objects looted from Rome 80 years earlier, the imperial regalia and the menorah of the Second Temple among them) which had been recovered from the Vandal capital along with Gelimer himself before he was sent into peaceful exile. Medals were stamped in his honor with the inscription Gloria Romanorum, though none seem to have survived to modern times. Belisarius was also made sole Consul in 535, being one of the last persons ever to hold this office, which originated in the ancient Roman Republic. Nevertheless, the recovery of Africa was not complete; army mutinies and revolts by the native Berbers would plague the new praetorian prefecture of Africa for almost 15 years. photos, 1. Vandalic War campaign map 2. Bélisaire, by François-André Vincent (1776). Belisarius, blinded, a beggar, is recognised by one of his former soldiers 3. Belisarius may be this bearded figure on the right of Emperor Justinian I in the mosaic in the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, which celebrates the reconquest of Italy by the Byzantine army. Compare Lillington-Martin (2009) page 16. 4. The enlargement of the Roman Empire possessions between the rise to power of Justinian (red, 527) and his and Belisarius death (orange, 565). Belisarius contributed greatly to the expansion of the empire.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 14:21:12 +0000
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