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| Exarchate of Africa | |||||||||||||
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| Exarchate of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||||||
| 591–698 | |||||||||||||
 Map of the Exarchate of Africa within theByzantine Empire in AD 600. | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Carthage | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity to Early Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• Foundation of Exarchate | 591 | ||||||||||||
• Loss of last outposts in the Iberian Peninsula by the Visigoths | 624 | ||||||||||||
• First Arab invasion | 647 | ||||||||||||
| 698 | |||||||||||||
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Modern times |
TheExarchate of Africa was a division of theByzantine Empire aroundCarthage that encompassed itspossessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by anexarch (viceroy), it was established by theEmperor Maurice in 591 and lasted until theMuslim conquest of the Maghreb in the late 7th century. It was, along with theExarchate of Ravenna, one of two exarchates established following the reconquests of the western territories byEmperor Justinian I
In theVandalic War of 533, Byzantine forces underBelisarius reconquered theMaghreb along withCorsica and Sardinia and theBalearic Islands. Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) organized the recovered territories as thePraetorian prefecture of Africa, which included theprovinces ofAfrica Proconsularis,Byzacena,Tripolitania,Numidia,Mauretania Caesariensis andMauretania Sitifensis, and was centered at Carthage. In the 550s, a Roman expedition succeeded in regaining parts of southern Spain, which were administered as the new province ofSpania.
After the death of Justinian in 565, the Eastern Roman Empire came increasingly under attack on all fronts, and emperors often left the more remote provinces to themselves to cope as best they could for extended periods, although military officers, such asHeraclius the Elder (Exarchc. 598–610), continued to rotate between the eastern provinces and Africa. By the 640s and 650s, Byzantium had lost itsprovince of Mesopotamia to the Muslims, who also extinguished the Byzantines' rival, theSassanian Empire (651). Constantinople thereby lost an important source of experienced officers seasoned by constant border warfare with the Persians. TheHeraclian dynasty (610-711) did continue to appoint some competent eastern officers to African posts, such as the Armenian Narseh, who commanded Tripoli, and John, thedux ofTigisis.Walter Kaegi speculates that some Armenian officers might have asked to transfer back to the east to defend their homes as the Muslims advanced into Armenia, but the sources are silent. Yet the officers who continued to arrive from the east after the loss of Mesopotamia would have been more accustomed to defeats like theBattle of Yarmouk (636) than the previously winning strategies used against the Sassanians, and new tactics and strategies developed slowly.[1]: 100–104
The late Roman administrative system, as established byDiocletian, provided for a clear distinction between civil and military offices, primarily to lessen the possibility of rebellion by over-powerful provincial governors. Under Justinian I, the process was partially reversed for provinces that were judged to be especially vulnerable or in internal disorder. Capitalizing upon this precedent and taking it one step further, the emperor Maurice sometime between 585 and 590 created the office of exarch, which combined the supreme civil authority of apraetorian prefect and the military authority of amagister militum, and enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. Two exarchates were established, one in Italy, with its seat atRavenna (hence known as theExarchate of Ravenna), and one in Africa, based in Carthage and including all imperial possessions in the western Mediterranean. The first African exarch was thepatriciusGennadius.[2]: 273
Among the provincial changes, Tripolitania was detached from the province of Africa and placed under the province of Egypt,[3]: 120 Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Sitifensis were merged to form the new province of "Mauretania Prima", while Mauretania Tingitana, effectively reduced to the city of Septum (Ceuta), was combined with the citadels of the Spanish coast (Spania) and theBalearic Islands to form "Mauretania Secunda".[2]: 273
TheVisigothic Kingdom was a continuous threat to the exarchate. The African exarch was in possession of Mauretania II, which was little more than a tiny outpost in southern Spain. The conflict continued until the final conquest of the last Spanish strongholds in c. 624 by the Visigoths. The Byzantines retained only the fort of Septum (modernCeuta), across theStrait of Gibraltar.[citation needed]
During the successful revolt of the exarch of Carthage,Heraclius the Elder, and his namesake sonHeraclius in 608, theBerbers comprised a large portion[citation needed] of the fleet that transported Heraclius to Constantinople. Due to religious and political ambitions, the ExarchGregory the Patrician (who was related by blood to the imperial family, through the emperor's cousinNicetas) declared himself independent of Constantinople in 647. At this time the influence and power of the exarchate was exemplified in the forces gathered by Gregory in thebattle of Sufetula also in that year where more than 100,000 men of Amazigh origin fought for Gregory.[citation needed]
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In 647, the first Islamic expeditions began with an initiative from Egypt under the emirAmr ibn al-As and his nephewUqba ibn Nafi. Sensing Roman weakness they conqueredBarca, inCyrenaica, then moved on toTripolitania, where they encountered resistance.
Due to the unrest caused by theological disputes concerningMonothelitism andMonoenergism, the exarchate underGregory the Patrician distanced itself from the empire in open revolt. The flood of refugees from Egypt (especiallyMelkites), Palestine, and Syria exacerbated religious tensions in Carthage and further raised the alarm to Gregory of the approaching Arab threat.
Sensing that the more immediate danger came from the Muslim forces, Gregory gathered his allies and confronted the Muslims, but was defeated at theBattle of Sufetula, the new capital of the exarchate, since Gregory had moved to the interior for a better defense against Roman attacks from the sea.
Afterwards, the exarchate became a semi-client state under a new exarch calledGennadius. Attempting to maintain tributary status with Constantinople and Damascus strained the resources of the exarchate and caused unrest amongst the population.
The exarchate scored a major victory over the forces ofUqba ibn Nafi at theBattle of Vescera in 682, aided by theBerber king,Kusaila. This victory forced the Muslim forces to retreat to Egypt, giving the exarchate a decade's respite. However, the repeated confrontations took their toll on the dwindling and ever-divided resources of the exarchate.
In 698, the Muslim commanderHasan ibn al-Nu'man and a force of 40,000 mencrushed Carthage. Many of its defenders were Visigoths sent to defend the exarchate byWittiza, who also feared Muslim expansion. Many Visigoths fought to the death; in the ensuing battle Carthage was again reduced to rubble, as it had been centuries earlier by the Romans.
The loss of the mainland African exarchate was an enormous blow to the Byzantine Empire in the Western Mediterranean, because Carthage and Egypt were Constantinople's main sources of manpower and grain. The Byzantines never recovered their territories in Africa.
| Tenure | Name | Latin | Greek | Arabic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 591–598 | Gennadius (I) | Gennadius | Γεννάδιος (Gennadios) | n/a | Lastmagister militum per Africam and first Exarch, victor over theRomano-Berber realm ofGarmul. |
| 598–611 | Heraclius the Elder | Heraclius | Ἡράκλειος (Herakleios) | n/a | Father of the emperorHeraclius |
| 611–629 | Niketas | Nicetas | Νικήτας (Nikētas) | n/a | A cousin of the emperor Heraclius, named as apatrikios in connection with Africa, may have been ade facto exarch, exercising gubernatorial power in the 610s and 20s, possibly as late as 629.[nb 1] His daughter Gregoria was married to Heraclius's eldest son. The elder brother of the emperor was ahypostrategos under the exarch at this time, who is not explicitly named.[1]: 94–5 Not to be confused withNicetas the Patrician. |
| 629–647 | Gregory the Patrician | Flavius Gregorius | Γρηγόριος,Φλάβιος Γρηγόριος (Grēgorios,Flabios Grēgorios) | جرجير, (Ĵarĵīr) | Led a revolt against the Emperor Constans II. He was the son of Heraclius' cousinNiketas.[6][7] |
| 647–665 | Gennadius (II) | Gennadius | Γεννάδιος (Gennádios) | n/a | Remained loyal to Constans II, overthrown in the military revolt against Constans that ended in the latter's assassination |
| 665–695 | Eleutherios the Younger | Eleutherius | Ελευθέριος (Eleuthérios) | al-At'riyūn[citation needed] | Possibly Exarch of Africa. The Arabic al-At'riyūn is commonly read as Eleutherios. He overthrew Gennadios. |
| 695–698 | John the Patrician | Ioannes | Ἰωάννης | يوحنا البطريق (Yuhanna Al-Batriq) | Exarch of Africa untilthe coming of the Arabs in 698.[8] |
| 698–709 | Julian, Count of Ceuta | (? Iulianus) | (? Iουλιανός) | يليان,بليان (Yulyan,Bilyan)[nb 2] | "Commander ofSeptem". According to some scholars, possibly last Exarch of Africa.[according to whom?] Historicity disputed by others. |
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