The Siege of Carthage occurred around Easter of 536,[1][2] when dissatisfied Byzantine soldiers revolted against Solomon, the ruler of the Praetorian prefecture of Africa, because he refused to share with the soldiers the wealth that had been plundered from the Vandal Kingdom, which had been defeated two years prior in 534.[1][3] A sizeable number of these soldiers were also Arian Christians, and were disgruntled because Emperor Justinian had banned Arians from practicing their religion.[2][4] Solomon, as well as his secretary, Procopius, fled to Sicily, where they informed Belisarius, who had just recently conquered the island, about the revolt.[1][2][5] Carthage was being besieged by 9,000 rebels, 1,000 of which were Vandals.[1] The rebels were being led by Stotzas, a former soldier in the Byzantine Army.[6][7] After being made aware of the revolt by Solomon, Belisarius prepared for an invasion of Carthage to crush the revolt.[8][9] He, along with Solomon, prepared an invasion force of 100 elite troops and around 2,000 regular troops, as well as one warship to blockade the city.[1][2] By the time Belisarius arrived in c. June – August, the defenders of Carthage were considering surrendering to Stotzas and the rebels.[1] Belisarius was significantly outnumbered, as he had about 2,100 troops compared to Stotzas's 9,000. However, he still presented a significant threat to the rebels, who lifted their siege of Carthage, and subsequently withdrew.[1] Belisarius pursued the withdrawing rebels, and the two sides clashed at the Battle of Membresa, also known as the Battle of the Bagradas River.[1] The battle ended in Stotzas's troops being defeated by those of Belisarius, and the former subsequently retreated, despite having suffered low casualties.[1][7] Belisarius's troops then looted the abandoned rebel camp, where large amounts of gold and female slaves were found, which the rebels had seized during the siege.[1] Stotzas would continue his to rebel against the Byzantines until his death in 545.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Papathanassiou, Manolis. "Byzantine Battles: Battle of Membresa". ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΟΝ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΟΝ. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ a b c d Evans, James Allan (2011-10-20). The Power Game in Byzantium: Antonina and the Empress Theodora. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-7252-5.
- ^ Jarus, Owen (2022-08-30). "Who were the Vandals, the 'barbarians' who sacked Rome?". livescience.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ "The Code of Justinian : Book 1 ( Scott )". droitromain.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ "Byzantine Sicily". www.italiaoutdoors.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Germa'nus". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ a b c MacDowall, Simon (2016-07-31). The Vandals. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-8022-1.
- ^ Stafford, Nathan. "Battle of Ad Decimum". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ Whitby, Michael (2021-10-31). The Wars of Justinian I. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-6089-0.