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| Battle of Cartagena | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFall of the Roman Empire andRoman–Germanic Wars | |||||||
 Although the battle took place on the coast of the provinceCarthaginensis (green), it was not in the provincial capital Cartagena itself, but 40 nautical miles away in Portus Ilicitanus (Santa Pola) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Vandals | Western Roman Empire | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 300 ships[5][6][7][4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
TheBattle of Cartagena occurred on May 13[citation needed], 460[1][5][2][6][7][3][8] or 461[4] and was part of the wars ofMajorian. Although many sources call itbattle of Cartagena, the battle did not take place atCartagena but on the coast of RomanCarthaginensis province atPortus Ilicitanus (todaySanta Pola)[1][2][4] in the bay ofAlicante.[7] Since Portus Ilicitanus was the port ofElche (Ilici), the battle is sometimes referred asbattle of Elche.[1][3]
460: Eo anno captae sunt naves a Vandalis adElecem juxta Carthaginem Spartariam.
— Marius Aventicensis, Chronica de obispo de Aventicum
In 457, the Roman generalMajorian succeeded to the throne of theWestern Roman Empire. He immediately set about restoring the empire to its former boundaries. Majorian then began to assemble a fleet at Portus Ilicitanus (nearIlici),[1][2][3][8][4] with which he intended to invade theVandal Kingdom in North Africa.
By spring 460[1][5][2][6][7][3][8] (or 461[4]), Majorian had 300[5][6][7][4] ships already built and he would have had another few more ready by the autumn. The Vandals decided to strike before the Roman navy became unbeatable. On May 13, a fleet of Vandal ships under the command of KingGaiseric[1][5][7] surprised the Roman fleet. Many of the Roman captains had been bribed to switch sides. The Roman navy was totally destroyed, ending any hope of reconqueringNorth Africa.
Mense Maio Majorianus Hispanias ingreditur imperator: quoCarthaginiensem provinciam pertendente, aliquantas naves quas sibi ad transitum adversum Wandalos praeparabat, de littore Carthaginiensi commoniti Wandali per proditores abripiunt. Majorianus ita sua ordinatione frustratus ad Italiam revertitur.
— Hydatius, Chronicon