| Praetorian Prefecture of Africa Praefectura Praetorio Africae | |||||||||
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| Praet. Prefecture of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||
| 534–591 | |||||||||
 The province of Africa after the Fall of the Vandalic Kingdom | |||||||||
| Capital | Carthage | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||
• Conquest of Vandal Kingdom | 534 | ||||||||
• Moorish revolt defeated | 548 | ||||||||
• Reorganization into the Exarchate | 591 | ||||||||
| Political subdivisions | Zeugitana Byzacena Numidia Mauretania Sitifensis Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Tingitana Sardinia Tripolitania | ||||||||
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ThePraetorian Prefecture of Africa (Latin:praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of theByzantine Empire in theMaghreb. With its seat atCarthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from theVandals in 533–534 by the Byzantine EmperorJustinian I. It continued to exist until 591, when it was replaced by theExarchate of Africa.
In 533, theEastern Roman army underBelisarius defeated and destroyed theVandal Kingdom that had existed in the former Roman territories of Northern Africa. Immediately after the victory, in April 534, the emperor Justinian published a law concerning the administrative organization of the recovered territories. The old provinces of the RomanDiocese of Africa had been mostly preserved by the Vandals, but large parts, including almost all ofMauretania Tingitana, much ofMauretania Caesariensis andMauretania Sitifensis and large parts of the interior ofNumidia andByzacena, had been lost to the inlandBerber tribes, collectively called theMauri (Moors). Nevertheless, Justinian restored the old administrative division, but raised the overall governor atCarthage to the supreme administrative rank ofPraetorian Prefect, thereby ending the Diocese of Africa's traditional subordination to thePrefecture of Italy (then still under the rule of theOstrogothic Kingdom). Seven provinces – four consular, threepraesides – were designated:
From the aforesaid city, with the aid of God, seven provinces with their judges shall be controlled, of which Tingi, Carthage, Byzacium, and Tripoli, formerly under the jurisdiction ofproconsuls, shall haveconsular rulers; while the others, that is to say, Numidia, Mauritania, and Sardinia shall, with the aid of God, be subject togovernors.
— Codex Iustinianus, I.XXVII
It should be assumed that Mauretania Tingitana, traditionally part of theDiocese of Spain (then under the rule of theVisigothic Kingdom), was temporarily extinguished as a separate province in Justinian's arrangement and merged with Mauretania Caesariensis to form the province ruled fromTingi, and that "Mauretania" refers to Mauretania Sitifensis.[1] It is also noteworthy that the island ofSardinia switched to being part ofAfrican section in terms of Byzantine provincial administration, rather thanItalian section likeclassical Roman times.
Justinian's intent was to, in the words of the historianJ.B. Bury, "wipe out all traces of the Vandal conquest, as if it had never been".[2] The churches were restored to theChalcedonian clergy, and the remainingArians suffered persecution. Even the land ownership was reverted to the status prior to the Vandalic conquest, but the scarcity of valid property titles after 100 years of Vandal rule created an administrative and judicial chaos.
The military administration was headed by the new post ofmagister militum Africae, with a subordinatemagister peditum and four regional frontier commands (Leptis Magna for Tripolitania,Capsa orThelepte for Byzacena,Cirta for Numidia, andCaesarea for Mauretania[3]) underduces. This organization was only gradually established, as the Romans pushed the Mauri back and regained these territories.[4]
When the Romans landed in Africa, the Moors maintained a neutral stance, but after the quick Roman victories, most of their tribes pledged loyalty to the Empire. The most significant tribes were the Leuathae in Tripolitania, and the Frexi in Byzacena. The Frexi and their allies were led byAntalas, while other tribes in the area followedCutzinas. The Aurasii (the tribes of theAurès Mountains) in Numidia were ruled byIaudas, and the Mauretanian Moors were led byMastigas andMasuna.[5]
After Belisarius departed for Constantinople, he was succeeded asmagister militum Africae by hisdomesticus (senior aide), the eunuchSolomon fromDara. The tribes of Mauri living inByzacena andNumidia almost immediately rose up, and Solomon set out with his forces, which included allied Moorish tribes, against them. The situation was so critical that Solomon was also entrusted with civil authority, replacing the first prefect, Archelaus, in the autumn of 534. Solomon was ableto defeat the Mauri of Byzacena at Mamma, and again, decisively, at theMt. Bourgaon in early 535. In the summer, he campaigned against Iaudas and the Aurasii, who were ravaging Numidia, but failed to achieve any result. Solomon then set about erectingforts along the borders and the main roads, hoping to contain the raids of the Moors.
In the Easter of 536 however, a large-scale military revolt broke out, caused by dissatisfaction of the soldiers with Solomon. Solomon, together withProcopius, who worked as his secretary, was able to escape toSicily, which hadjust been conquered by Belisarius. Solomon's lieutenants Martinus and Theodore were left behind, the first to try to reach the troops at Numidia, and the second to hold Carthage.[6] Upon hearing about the mutiny, Belisarius, with Solomon and 100 picked men, set sail for Africa. Carthage was being besieged by 9,000 rebels, including many Vandals, under a certainStotzas. Theodore was contemplating capitulation, when Belisarius appeared. The news of the famous general's arrival were sufficient for the rebels to abandon the siege and withdraw westwards. Belisarius, although able to muster only 2,000 men, immediately gave pursuit and caught up and defeated the rebel forces at Membresa. The bulk of the rebels however was able to flee, and continued to march towards Numidia, where the local troops decided to join them.[7] Belisarius himself was forced to return to Italy, and Justinian appointed his cousinGermanus asmagister militum to deal with the crisis.
Germanus managed to win over many of the rebels to his side by appearing conciliatory and paying their arrears. Eventually, in the spring of 537, the two armies clashed at Scalae Veteres, resulting in a hard-won victory for Germanus. Stotzas fled to the tribesmen of Mauretania, and Germanus spent the next two years in re-establishing discipline in the army. Finally, Justinian judged the situation to have been stabilized enough, and in 539 Germanus was replaced by Solomon. Solomon carried on Germanus' work by pruning out of the army those of suspect loyalties and strengthening the network of fortifications. This careful organization enabled him to strike successfully against the Aurasii, evicting them from their mountain strongholds, and firmly establish Roman rule in Numidia andMauretania Sitifensis.[8]
Africa enjoyed peace and prosperity for the next few years, until the arrival of thegreat plague c. 542. At the same time, the arrogant behaviour of some Roman governors alienated the Mauri leaders, such as Antalas at Byzacena, and provoked them to rise up and raid Roman territory. So it was that during a battle with the Mauri at Cillium in Byzacena in 544, the Romans were defeated and Solomon himself killed.[9][10] Solomon was succeeded by his nephew,Sergius, who asdux of Tripolitania had been largely responsible for the Moorish uprising. Sergius was both unpopular and of limited abilities, while the Mauri, joined by the renegade Stotzas, gathered together under the leadership of Antalas.[11] The Moors, aided by Stotzas, were able to enter and sack the coastal city ofHadrumetum by trickery. A priest named Paulus was able to retake the city with a small force without help from Sergius, who refused to march forth against the Moors. Despite this setback, the rebels roamed the provinces at will, while the rural population fled to the fortified cities and to Sicily.[12]
Justinian then sentAreobindus, a man of senatorial rank and husband to his niecePraejecta, but otherwise undistinguished, with a few men to Africa, not to replace Sergius, but to share command with him. Sergius was entrusted with the war in Numidia, while Areobindus undertook to subdue Byzacena. Areobindus sent out a force under the able general John against Antalas and Stotzas. Because Sergius did not come to their aid as requested, the Romans were routed atThacia, but not before John mortally wounded Stotzas insingle combat. The effects of this disaster at least forced Justinian to recall Sergius and restore unity of command in the hands of Areobindus.[13] Soon after, in March 546, Areobindus was overthrown and murdered byGuntharic, thedux Numidiae, who had come into negotiations with the Moors and intended to set himself up as an independent king. Guntharic himself was overthrown by loyal troops under the ArmenianArtabanes in early May. Artabanes was elevated to the office ofmagister militum Africae, but was soon recalled to Constantinople.[14]
The man Justinian sent to replace him was the talented generalJohn Troglita, whose exploits are celebrated in the epic poemIohannis, written byFlavius Cresconius Corippus. Troglita had already served in Africa under Belisarius and Solomon, and had a distinguished career in the East, where he had been appointeddux Mesopotamiae. Despite his numerically weak forces, he managed to win over several Moorish tribes, and in early 547 he decisively defeated Antalas and his allies, and drove them from Byzacena. As Procopius recounts:
And this John, immediately upon arriving in Libya, had an engagement with Antalas and the Moors in Byzacium, and conquering them in battle, slew many; and he wrested from these barbarians all the standards of Solomon, and sent them to the emperor—standards which they had previously secured as plunder, when Solomon had been taken from the world.
— Procopius,De Bello Vandalico II.XXVIII
A few months later, however, the tribe of theLeuathae, in Tripolitania, rose up, and inflicted a severe defeat upon the imperial forces in the plain of Gallica. The Leuathae were joined by Antalas, and the Moors once again raided freely as far as Carthage.[15] Early in the next year John mustered his forces, and together by several allied Moorish tribes, including the former rebel Cutzinas, utterly defeated the Moors at the battle of the Fields of Cato, killing seventeen of their leaders and putting an end to the revolt that had plagued Africa for almost 15 years.
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For the next decades, Africa remained tranquil, allowing it to recover. Peace might not have lasted as long, had not Troglita perceived that the complete eviction of the Mauri from the interior of the provinces, and the complete restoration of the province to its pre-Vandal bounds was impossible. Instead, he opted to accommodate himself with the Moors, promising them autonomy in exchange for becoming the Empire'sfoederati.[16] The loyalty of these dependent princes of the various Moorish tribes was secured by means of annual pensions and gifts, and the peace was kept by a strong network of fortifications, many of which still survive to the present day.
The only interruption to the province's tranquility was a brief Moorish revolt of 563. It was caused by the unwarranted murder of the aged tribal leader Cutzinas, when he came to Carthage to receive his annual pension, by themagister militum, John Rogathinus. His sons and dependants rose up, until an expeditionary force under the tribune Marcian, nephew of the Emperor, succeeded in restoring the peace.[17]
During the reign ofJustin II (565–578), great care was shown to Africa. Under the prefect Thomas, during the period 565–570 the network of fortifications was further strengthened and expanded, the administration reformed and decentralized, and largely successful efforts were made to proselytize theGaramantes of theFezzan and theGaetuli, living to the south of Mauretania Caesariensis.[18] At the same time, Africa was one of the more tranquil regions of the Empire – which was being assaulted on all sides – and this allowed for troops to be transferred from the province to the East.[19]
In Mauretania, between the Roman outpost ofSeptem and the province of Caesariensis, various small Moorish kingdoms, which also ruled over Romanized urban populations, had been established ever since the arrival of the Vandals. Little information exists about them, but these were never subdued by the Vandals, and claimed continuity from the Roman Empire, their leaders styling themselves with titles such asimperator, like the chieftainMasties atArris (in theAures) in the late 5th century, or, in the case of kingMasuna ofAltava (modernOuled Mimoun, northwestAlgeria),rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum in the early 6th century.[20]
When Belisarius defeated the Vandals, the Romano-Moorish kings had apparently acknowledged Roman suzerainty (at least nominally), but soon, taking advantage of the Moorish revolts, renounced it. In the late 560s, the Moorish kingGarmul (probably a successor of the aforementioned Masuna of Altava) launched raids into Roman territory, and although he failed to take any significant town, three successive generals (the praetorian prefect Theodore and themagister militum Theoctistus in 570, and Theoctistus' successor Amabilis in 571) are recorded byJohn of Biclaro to have been killed by Garmul's forces.[21] His activities, especially when regarded together with the simultaneousVisigoth attacks inSpania, presented a clear threat to the province's authorities. Garmul was not the leader of a mere semi-nomadic tribe, but of a fully-fledgedbarbarian kingdom, with a standing army. Thus the new emperor,Tiberius II Constantine, re-appointed Thomas as praetorian prefect, and the able generalGennadius was posted asmagister militum with the clear aim of reducing Garmul's kingdom. Preparations were lengthy and careful, but the campaign itself, launched in 577–78, was brief and effective, with Gennadius utilizing terror tactics against Garmul's subjects. Garmul was defeated and killed by 579, and the coastal corridor between Tingitana and Caesariensis secured.[22]
Gennadius remained in Africa asmagister militum for a long time (until the early 590s), and it was he who became the firstexarchus of Africa,[23][24] when EmperorMaurice established the exarchate in the late 580s, uniting civil and military authority in his hands. The exarchate extended over North Africa, thepossessions in Spain at bay, theBalearic Islands, Sardinia, and Corsica. It prospered greatly, and underHeraclius, African forces overthrew the tyrantPhocas in 610. The exarchate was de facto a semi-autonomous entity from the 640s on, and survived until thefall of Carthage to theMuslims in 698.
