Belisarius: The Last Roman General (16 page)

What is clear is Procopius’ dislike for Antonina, and this should be remembered when reading his account of her; throughout
Anekdota
she is ridiculed, especially concerning her nature, her reckless personal life, and her origins. For her grandfather and father were charioteers at the Hippodrome. Although as such they could be famous, and possibly relatively well-off, they would not be acceptable in polite society. Her mother, Thessalonica, was equally low-born, and was probably brought up as an actress – although Procopius refers to her as ‘a prostitute in the theatre’ (Proc,
Anekdota,
1.11).

Born around the year 484, and therefore up to twenty years older than Belisarius, she appears in her early life to have come into contact with the unsavoury type of individual common around the races at the Hippodrome, and so acquired a rather sordid reputation which was eagerly recounted by Procopius.

Procopius claims that she had many children before she married Belisarius. We know of only two for certain: Photius, a son by a previous marriage, and an unnamed daughter who married Ildiger, a high-ranking military commander who served under Belisarius in Africa and Italy.

Belisarius and Antonina had only one child, a daughter named Joannina who in 548 married Theodora’s grandson Anastasius at Theodora’s insistence, although she was under age. Following Theodora’s death eight months after the marriage, Antonina separated the couple, much against their wishes, as they appear to have actually been in love.

Despite Procopius’ dislike, Antonina would play a major part in Belisarius’ career, especially since she was closely linked to the Empress Theodora. Yet, according to Procopius, there was a level of distrust and for this reason Antonina would accompany Belisarius on his greatest campaign (Proc,
Wars,
III.xii.2).

Chapter 6

The Invasion of Africa

Vandal History

When Gaiseric seized Carthage in 439 he originated a kingdom unlike any other contemporary Germanic state. The Vandal approach to occupying Roman territory was different to that of all of the other Germanic nations that arose on imperial soil: they eschewed all ideas of fitting into the existing Roman political, social and religious infrastructures in Africa. Leading tenants were sent into exile and their lands appropriated for Vandal warriors. Whilst other Germanic kingdoms of this time produced coins with the head of the ruling Roman emperor, the Vandals rejected this idea. Yet it is in the area of religion that the Vandals became the major exception. The Germanic tribes who had been converted to Christianity had not become Catholics like the majority of the empire, but had taken to Arianism. The teachings of Arius differed from the traditional Catholic faith concerning the nature of God. In Catholicism we find the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all parts of one God. In Arianism, the Father created the Son, who in turn created the world and later appeared on earth. In this theory the Son is not ‘eternal’, as he came after the Father, but is rather an instrument of Creation – a secondary god. Obviously, Arians were classed as heretics by the Catholic faith and the two religions could not be reconciled.

Other Germanic tribes lived with the fact that they were a religious minority and allowed the native population to continue to worship unmolested as Catholics. But Gaiseric’s son and successor, Huneric (ruled 477-184), began a major persecution of the Catholics in Africa. This continued through the reign of Gundamund (ruled 484-496), only ending with the accession of Thrasamund in 496. Thrasamund ended the persecution, desiring instead to have Catholics converted willingly to Arianism by debate rather than by force. Hilderic (ruled 523-530) continued the policy, but by this time it was too late; the Catholics in Africa had too many martyrs to remember to enable them to forgive and forget.

Politically, things began well for the Vandals. Under Gaiseric they dominated the waters of the western Mediterranean, even sacking Rome in 455, so earning fear and respect from their neighbours. When the Ostrogoth Theoderic came to power in Italy, he accepted that the Vandals were a major political force and married his sister Amalafrida to the Vandal king, Thrasamund. She was
accompanied by 1,000 Goths as a bodyguard. When Hilderic came to the throne, Amalafrida fled and gained sanctuary with the Berbers. She was later captured and imprisoned and her bodyguard were destroyed, charged with revolutionary designs against the throne (Proc,
Wars,
III.ix.3-4.). She died in captivity, probably in 525 or 526. This ended the alliance with Theoderic, but Theoderic decided to make no move since the Vandals were powerful and Hilderic had a personal friendship with Justinian. Justinian at that time was serving his uncle, Emperor Justin. The Goths did not have the power to face both the Vandals and the Empire.

Yet the Vandals were no longer the military force that had served Gaiseric in the initial invasions of Africa. In a war against the native Moors, Thrasamund’s army had suffered a disastrous defeat, losing many troops. A renewal of the conflict under Hilderic also ended in a disastrous military defeat for the Vandals. Consequent to the military reverses and the loss of the Gothic alliance, Vandal political and military influence was in a steep decline. Hilderic responded by drawing closer to Justinian and appointing his cousin Gelimer, who had a high military reputation, as commander of the army. This was to prove a mistake.

Gelimer

Gelimer was a great-grandson of Gaiseric, and, as the second-eldest male descendant of Gaiseric, he was nominally next in line to the throne after Hilderic: Geiseric had arranged matters so that his eldest male descendant would ascend the throne in order to avoid the troubles that plagued direct succession, such as minorities and guardianships.

Following his appointment by Hilderic as commander of the army, Gelimer defeated the Moors in battle and then opened negotiations for an alliance. However, Gelimer was worried by the political course that Hilderic was following. He believed that Hilderic’s apparent subservience to the emperor might result in his losing his standing as next in line to the throne. After his victory had enhanced his military reputation and increased his power base, he increasingly opposed the policies followed by Hilderic. Eventually, he began to claim that Hilderic was too weak and unwarlike to rule the nation and, almost inevitably, in May 530 Gelimer revolted with the general support of the Vandal nobles. Hilderic and his principal followers were imprisoned and Gelimer assumed power.

Upon coming to power, Gelimer attempted to establish positive political relations with his neighbours. He sent gifts to Justinian, who refused to accept them or to recognise Gelimer. Gelimer may also have attempted to open negotiations with the Goths in Italy, but this was anticipated by Justinian, who sent word to Ravenna advising that they not recognise Gelimer. At this time, not long after King Theoderic’s death, King Athalaric was a minor and his mother, Amalasuintha, was acting as regent. Niece of the murdered
Amalafrida, she was also keen to secure Justinian’s support for herself and her son. Any embassies from Gelimer were rebuffed.

Justinian now sent two embassies to Gelimer. In the first, he criticised Gelimer for rebelling, in the second he threatened war if Gelimer did not release Hilderic and other captives and allow them to travel to Constantinople. However, the chances of Gelimer releasing Hilderic were practically non-existent; it would destabilise his position if the ‘true’ king was in exile and available to return to cast out the usurper. Hilderic was retained in prison. At no point would Gelimer have seriously contemplated that the Empire would launch an attack upon Africa.

With his political overtures rejected, internal affairs now began to go awry for Gelimer. Although he had the reputation of an outstanding military leader, he was seen by many of his contemporaries as clever and unscrupulous. If Gelimer had remained above reproach in his personal dealings, he may have survived. Unfortunately, he quickly gained a reputation for greed, employing Bonifatius, a native from Byzacium, as a secretary. Perhaps with a background in Roman law, Bonifatius was used by Gelimer to seize the property of his enemies. Furthermore, Gelimer was now alleged to have executed many of the nobility. Support for Gelimer began to weaken, and it is in this context that the rebellions in Tripolitania and Sardinia took place.

The rebellions that occurred within the Vandal kingdom immediately prior to the Byzantine attack are generally perceived as a series of unconnected events that coincidentally conspired in Justinian’s favour. In Tripoli, a citizen named Pudentius began an insurrection against Vandal rule and requested imperial assistance. Furthermore, Gelimer had given control of Sardinia to a man named Godas, said by Procopius to be a personal slave. Godas was ambitious enough to assume the role of an independent commander, but astute enough to realise that he needed outside support to maintain his independence. He quickly began negotiations with Justinian for aid.

Some aspects of the story need examination. That two important areas under Vandal control should rebel within a short space of time of each other is reasonable; after all, they had a king that had taken control by force, who was unlikely to be welcomed by everyone and who quickly obtained a reputation for unscrupulous behaviour. Yet these events occurred long after Gelimer assumed power and almost simultaneously with Justinian’s planned invasion. The timing needs explanation.

It is reasonable to assume that both parties had been in touch with Justinian prior to their rebellion in an attempt to secure Byzantine support. It is likely that they both waited until Justinian was prepared to send aid before acting, since on their own they would be overwhelmed by Gelimer’s response. Justinian would not be in a position to send assistance until 533. First he had to arrange peace on the eastern front in order to release the troops needed for
the assault on Vandal Africa, and then he had to suppress the Nika revolt in Constantinople.

With such a long lapse of time, the evidence points to the timing of the rebellions being orchestrated from Constantinople: in short, Justinian was exercising his diplomatic talents and pulling the strings behind the scenes. This was due to the fact that once Gelimer had refused his demands to release Hilderic, Justinian had been busy politically. Recognising the Vandals’ political isolation, Justinian realised that there was a chance to attack the Vandals before Gelimer could consolidate his position. Furthermore, it is likely that by this time he had received messengers from Godas in Sardinia and Pudentius in Tripolitania asking for his support in their prospective rebellions.

Justinian began to make the necessary diplomatic moves. He needed the support of the Goths, since they ruled the territories between Constantinople and Africa. Without them, Sicily would not be available as a base and the expedition would find it difficult to assault Africa with the necessary logistical support. However, it would be relatively easy to gain their assistance. As was noted earlier, the regent Amalasuintha had a personal enmity with the Vandals and was keen to cultivate the friendship of Justinian. She now gave her consent to the expedition landing in Sicily, further agreeing to establish a market in Syracuse where the Byzantines could buy provisions and horses.

With the western routes to Africa secure, the other major concern was the Persian frontier. It would be almost impossible to fight a war on two fronts. At war since 527, Justinian looked to his generals to act decisively. When Belisarius won the Battle of Dara in 530, Justinian must have hoped that peace could be achieved. Unfortunately, the loss at Callinicum in 531 postponed hopes of a secure frontier, but the death of Kavadh and the accession of Khusrow altered the balance of power. After extensive negotiations and threats, Kavadh signed the ‘Endless Peace’ in 532, Justinian agreeing to withdraw the headquarters of the
dux Mesopotamiae
from Dara to Constantina, and pay 11,000 pounds of gold, amongst other conditions. Seen by some as an expensive peace, it nevertheless freed troops and reduced pressure on the eastern front. Justinian was now free to act against the Vandal usurper.

Throughout the existence of the Vandal kingdom there had been pleas for help from the native Catholics. Justinian could now use their pleas for help as a further justification for action, alongside his determination to punish the Vandal king that had defied him. With his clear grounds for attack, coupled with the Vandals’ untrustworthy behaviour, Justinian had gained the support or neutrality of the kingdoms surrounding the Vandals. With the ‘Endless Peace’ in place he now had troops free with which to mount the attack. With his support there would be rebellion within the Vandal kingdom. The time had arrived for action.

It is notable that few indications are given by Procopius of any of these diplomatic manoeuvres. This is not a surprise. To safeguard the individuals plotting rebellion, details of the negotiations would be restricted to the few individuals who were involved in the plots. To ensure that the Vandals were unaware of the proposed landings in Africa, the diplomatic talks would need to remain as secretive as possible. It is not surprising that Procopius does not mention any of the diplomatic activity; he would certainly not have been privileged with such information. As a further point, with his intense dislike and contempt for Justinian – as revealed in
Anekdota -
it is improbable that he would have believed the emperor capable of such subtle political manoeuvring.

When Justinian revealed his purpose in council, the expedition was not greeted with enthusiasm by the emperor’s advisors. Mindful of the disasters which had befallen the two previous attempts by the Empire to regain Africa, and frightened by the military prestige still attached to the Vandals, none of the military commanders wanted to be the one ordered across the ocean to Africa, the leader of the expedition not yet having been announced. Furthermore, John the Cappadocian and other financial advisors advised Justinian that the war would be too costly for the empire’s now-limited resources. According to Procopius, at this point the emperor himself began to waver in his resolve, but a bishop reported a dream in which God had promised to help Justinian in the capture of Africa. Upon hearing this, Justinian regained his enthusiasm and announced the leader of the expedition (Proc,
Wars,
III.x.1-22).