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121-511: The region's administrative structure was initially in line with the typical late Roman administrative structures that had been existing for the past 300 years. Civil powers were thus in the hands of a Praetorian prefect , the head of the supreme civil administrative authority in the Late Roman Empire . The military powers, however, were incumbent on a Magister militum per Africam. These powers were merged into single office from 591 at

242-644: A Lateran synod headed by Pope Martin I . In the Maghreb, as early as the last phase of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, Donatism (named after Donatus Magnus , 315 to 355 primate of the Donatists) split off from the Western Church in the 4th and 5th centuries. This split, which had developed its own ecclesiology, remained limited to north-west Africa. The Donatist communities were

363-607: A few years after the death of Geiseric, the Berber tribes living there had renounced the Vandal Kingdom, with their chief Masties proclaiming himself the "Emperor" of a Roman-Berber Empire. His successor Iaudas could not prevent Solomon building a Byzantine fortress in Timgad in the summer of 539 including a resettlement of this city. In the years 539/540 he finally lost despite a sensational ambush using irrigation canals after

484-507: A joint response with the eastern court, with large numbers of Roman troops sent to defend the island from Gaiseric. Hunnic invasions forced the government to abandon this defense and transfer the troops to the Danube. In 442, Aetius and Valentinian were compelled to acknowledge the Vandal conquests of Proconsular Africa, western Numidia, and Byzacena , in exchange for which Rome was returned

605-500: A law on 14 July 444, ending bureaucrats' exemption from the recruitment tax. In that year, two additional taxes were issued in Valentinian's name, one a sales tax of around four percent and another on the senatorial class, specifically to recruit and supply new troops. Senators of illustrious rank were required to contribute the money for maintaining three soldiers, senators of the second class money for one soldier, and senators of

726-642: A peace with Gaiseric, whereby the Vandals kept all their possessions in North Africa in return for a payment of tribute to the empire, while the Huns were granted new territory in Pannonia Savia to occupy. Galla Placidia's regency came to an end in 437 when Valentinian travelled to Constantinople to marry his fiancée, Licinia Eudoxia . On his return to Rome, he was nominally the emperor, but in truth

847-484: A rapid rate of turnover in the imperial succession. The praetorians thus came to destabilize the Roman state, contrary to their purpose. The praetorian prefect became a major administrative figure in the later empire, when the post combined in one individual the duties of an imperial chief of staff with direct command over the guard also. Diocletian greatly reduced the power of these prefects as part of his sweeping reform of

968-520: A swarm of bees descended on the corpse of Valentinian and sucked up his blood. The day after the assassination Petronius Maximus had himself proclaimed emperor by the remnants of the Western Roman army after paying a large donative. He was not as prepared as he thought to take over and stabilize the depleted empire, however; after a reign of only 11 weeks, Maximus was stoned to death by a Roman mob. King Gaiseric and his Vandals captured Rome

1089-544: A threat to the Eastern Roman power in the entire western Mediterranean area. Tiberius II Constantine called – either still in his function as Caesar or already as emperor – Thomas again in the office of praetorian prefect and the capable general Gennadius to magister militum to put an end to the campaigns of Garmules. Here, the Emperor Gennadius transferred some civil powers, which he anticipated parts of

1210-422: A victory for Aetius, who sought to retain his position by allowing Attila and a significant number of his troops to escape. Attila regrouped, and, in 452, invaded Italy. He sacked and destroyed Aquileia and took Verona and Vincentia ( Vicenza ) as well. Aetius was shadowing the Huns but did not have the troops to attack, so the road to Rome was open. Although Ravenna was Valentinian's usual residence, he and

1331-614: Is already unclear for the pre-Islamic period to what extent the Maghreb Jews were of Berber or Israelite descent. In particular, the legend arose that the confederacy of Kāhina was Jewish. In contrast, the existence of a Judeo-Berber language is certain. Similar to Donatists and Arians – the latter after the conquest of the Vandal Kingdom by the Eastern Romans, the Jews were also subjected to oppression, especially with regard to

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1452-528: Is that the preparations were long and thorough, the campaign began in late 577, and Garmules lost battle and life in 578 or 579. So far it has not been clarified whether the Altava area or at least the coastal strip was subsequently incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire. Only the expansion of Byzantine fortresses by Gennadius is discussed, but not their locations. In any case, the question of

1573-470: The Battle of Ad Decimum and the Battle of Tricamarum , its territories – and thus the economically strongest province of the former Western Roman Empire – became re-incorporated into the Roman Empire without major war-related destruction. Justinian restored the old administrative division, but raised the overall governor at Carthage to the supreme administrative rank of Praetorian Prefect , thereby ending

1694-516: The Battle of Bourgaon in 535. For their part, the formerly Vandal provinces not only had to be secured against the Berbers and – insofar as they were overrun by them during the Vandal War – conquered, but were also initially the scene of uprisings by the remaining Vandals. Some of these joined forces with dissatisfied East Roman soldiers under Stotzas , who probably made up up to two-thirds of

1815-628: The Diocese of Africa 's traditional subordination to the Prefecture of Italy (then still under the rule of the Ostrogothic Kingdom ). Seven provinces – four consular, three praesides – 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 of proconsuls , shall have consular rulers; while

1936-469: The Gothic War (535–554) . Many Vandals were resettled east and used as soldiers there. The Berbers, on the other hand, who had been won over by Belisarius as allies, did not see the empire as an ally, according to their traditions, but Belisarius as a person, which is why they immediately attacked the remaining East Roman troops after Belisarius left Africa, for example in the Battle of Mammes in 534 and

2057-576: The Kingdom of Altava . Of these regions reconquered and reincorporated from the Roman-Berber petty kings, Numidia in particular was to be the base of the mobile Byzantine troops in Africa until shortly before the end of Byzantine rule, not least because of its location on the middle section of the border. Even if the directive of Justinian I was not fully implemented and large parts of the interior of

2178-482: The Plague of Justinian reached the cities of Egypt by sea and spread through the trade routes within the province. Those Berbers who kept their traditional way of life were spared. To the extent that they were hostile to the Eastern Roman Empire, they waited for the epidemic to subside and then rose up. This was accompanied by a series of revolts by Berbers belonging to the empire, led by their leader Antalas , fueled by

2299-577: The Rhine and entered the Belgic provinces, capturing Divodurum Mediomatricum ( Metz ) on 7 April. Aetius gathered together a coalition of forces, including Visigoths and Burgundians, and raced to prevent Attila from taking the city of Aurelianum ( Orléans ), successfully forcing the Huns to retreat. The Roman-Germanic forces met Hunnic forces at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , resulting in

2420-576: The Valentinianic dynasty . As a grandson of Theodosius I ( r.  379–395 ), Valentinian was also a member of the Theodosian dynasty , to which his wife, Licinia Eudoxia , also belonged. A year before assuming the rank of augustus , Valentinian was given the imperial rank of caesar by his half-cousin and co-emperor Theodosius II ( r.  402–450 ). The augusta Galla Placidia had great influence during her son's rule, as did

2541-536: The 5-year-old Valentinian caesar (heir-apparent) for the West in 23 October 424. Theodosius also betrothed his daughter Licinia Eudoxia to Valentinian, who would eventually marry her in 437 when he was 18. On 23 October 425, after Joannes had been defeated in a combined naval and land campaign, Helion , the eastern patricius et magister officiorum , installed Valentinian as augustus in Rome . Given his minority ,

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2662-508: The African provinces between themselves. Concerned by this turn of events and determined to hold onto the African provinces at all costs, the court at Ravenna sought reconciliation with Bonifatius, who agreed in 430 to affirm his allegiance to Valentinian III and stop the Vandal king Gaiseric . In 431, Bonifatius was crushed and fled to Italy, abandoning western North Africa. The imperial court, and especially Galla Placidia, worried about

2783-693: The Avars and Slavs in the Balkans and again since 572 of the Persian Sassanids in Asia Minor, Armenia and Syria was also exposed to some threats in his heartland. Securing the eastern provinces, which were richer, and much more directly connected to security of Constantinople itself, had to take precedence over holding the western possessions. Under these conditions, Maurice created the exarchates of Carthage and Ravenna in order to grant his governors

2904-561: The Balkan Peninsula in the comparable period. In addition, dramatic statements in the sources are limited to individual periods of the approximately 170-year epoch, of which a significant period of crises falls in the early period of the Praetorian Prefecture of Africa. At this point in time, like the other provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, Africa was organized as a praetorian prefecture and initially included

3025-481: The East Roman garrison in Africa. The reason for this was, on the one hand, Justinian I's agenda to restore the detailed status quo ante in Africa. This included a law from April 534 that gave the descendants of dispossessed Roman landowners the right to claim restitution from the Vandals within five years. In addition, because of this law, many Eastern Roman soldiers were encouraged by their Vandal wives to settle in

3146-536: The Eastern Roman Empire at the expense of the other small states. At this point it comprised mostly the Mauretania Caesariensis with the exception of the Byzantine coastal strip to the east, making it the most important and largest of the Roman-Berber states. The causes of this confrontation with the Eastern Roman Empire after more than 30 years of rather peaceful relations are not known. Possibly

3267-476: The Gallic provinces, having allegedly been bribed by the Vandal king Gaiseric to attack Gaul's population of Visigoths. Valentinian was furious over the invasion. The man who had carried Honoria's message to Attila was tortured to reveal all the details of the arrangement and then beheaded, and the emperor spared Honoria herself only after a great deal of persuasion from Galla Placidia. In early 451, Attila crossed

3388-658: The Italian possessions of the Byzantine Empire and the resulting lower dependence of the Byzantine Maghreb, this even led to secession. The Greek monk Maximus Confessor , who stayed in the Maghreb between 628 and 645 and became the mouthpiece of the African church, played a special role here and perceived the new doctrine as an unthinkable compromise with the Monophysites and condemned monotheletism in

3509-634: The Maghreb came into being, because Jewish traders may have settled there when the Phoenicians , who were also Semitic , established trading posts. At the latest since the Hadrianic founding of the city of Aelia Capitolina and the province of Palaestina, the Jews finally dispersed as a regionally tangible and cohesive people. Migrating into their diaspora , Jews also settled in the Roman Maghreb. Since Berbers subsequently converted to Judaism, it

3630-507: The Maghreb had developed an aversion to any deviation from the ecumenical councils. As far as Byzantine emperors tried to reach an agreement with oriental faiths through compromises such as the three-chapter dispute or monotheletism, this was rejected in the Maghreb much in the same way as in Italy and thus burdened the cohesion of the empire. Together with the considerably more significant spatial expansion, population and economic power compared to

3751-526: The Mauretania Tingitana is not known, mainly because the retention of Roman culture and Latin language does not allow any compelling conclusions to be drawn about an Eastern Roman reconquest. The possession of Tingis, today's Tangier, can be considered reasonably certain. More important than seizing the western outpost was to bring Numidia under control, particularly the Aurès mountain region and

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3872-522: The Nicene Roman population and the Vandals, who were Romanized but adhered to the Arian faith of Christianity. In addition, they had considerable difficulties in defending the national borders against the Berbers or in keeping the Berbers under Vandal rule under control. This situation prompted large landowners and smallholders alike to fortify their farms. However, contrary to older opinions, the time of

3993-582: The Suebi extended their control. By 444 the Spanish provinces of Lusitania and Hispania Baetica had been lost, and Roman authority in Hispania Tarraconensis was challenged by continued Bagaudic uprisings. This loss of territory caused severe financial problems, with the Roman state openly acknowledging that there was insufficient revenue to meet its military needs. The emperor issued

4114-860: The Thubursicu Bure Fortress in 565–569 and possibly the Thignica Fortress at the same time. The years 565-569 were also shaped by the expansion of diplomatic relations with the Garamantes in Fezzan , who were converting to Christianity, and the Maccurites (probably in Mauretania). The years of peace ended in 569/570 when there was a conflict with the Kingdom of Altava – which had previously probably expanded together with

4235-504: The Vandal Kingdom was not an era of serious economic decline, rather trade relations continued, although probably limited by the independence of the Vandal Kingdom and its aggressive foreign policy, especially under Geiseric. In the years following 439, Numidia and the provinces of ancient Mauritania initially remained under Western Roman rule . Here, the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III approved

4356-519: The Vandal War in 533, which also enabled him to divert attention from the after-effects of the Nika riots of the previous year. He sent an army led by Belisarius and 15,000 infantry and cavalry to Carthage and a smaller army to support Prudentius in Tripolitania. These troops were able to conquer most of the Vandals' domain within nine months – a circumstance that was possibly additionally favored by

4477-537: The Vandal domiciles instead of fighting the Berbers. With a religious law that came into force on April 1, 535, Justinian decreed the return of all Arian church property to the Chalcedonian Church and prohibited Arians, Jews and Donatists from practicing religion and holding public offices, although a council convened in Carthage in 535 dealt with the questions of the reincorporation of apostate clergy and

4598-477: The Vandals as well as under the Eastern Romans. During the Byzantine era, their trace disappeared. The extent to which Donatists were also persecuted in the Roman-Berber petty kingdoms has not been researched, but given the evidence of religious tolerance at the time of the Vandals and the lack of any information on suppression afterwards, persecution can probably be denied. The conquest by the Arian Vandals

4719-537: The Vandals met resistance from Catholic Christians as well as Donatists and ended with the Eastern Roman reconquest. From then on, the Arians were also an oppressed minority. From then until the conquest by the Arabs, there were parallel Latin-Nicene, Greek(Byzantine)-Nicene and Homoean-non-Nicene (Arian) and probably also Donatist Christians in North Africa and Sardinia. It is unclear when the first Jewish communities in

4840-570: The West. French Algeria (19th–20th centuries) Algerian War (1954–1962) 1990s– 2000s 2010s to present The rapid establishment of Eastern Roman rule in today's Maghreb was the result of the increasing political vacuum in the African provinces of the former Western Empire and the Germanic successor state of the Vandals , which was primarily characterized by the dissolution of regional power and administrative structures. With

4961-579: The administration. Thus, the coastal areas of Mauretania Caesarensis and Mauretania Sitifensis were combined to form a province of Mauretania Prima, whereas the Eastern Roman possessions in Mauretania Tingitana were combined with the Balearic Islands and possibly also Spania to form the province of Mauretania Secunda. The areas inland of the Mauretania Sitifensis, on the other hand, were probably added to Numidia in 553/555. In 543,

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5082-422: The appearance of the Arabs, around half a century before the definitive end of Byzantine rule on the African continent. In the province of Africa, the separation of civil and military powers was repeatedly broken due to warlike events during Justinian I's lifetime, especially in the case of Solomon as praetorian prefect and Gennadius as magister militum . In this respect, the founding of the exarchates by Maurice

5203-457: The areas bordering to the north. With its mountain ridge, this province played a special role in defense as early as in classical Roman times and at the same time represented the outer edge of the agriculturally usable area opposite the Sahara, its south-western edge representing a natural border. This was to be the task of the praetorian prefect Solomon, who was called back to Africa in 539. In 484,

5324-476: The areas that had previously remained in Vandal hands: Subsequently, the following regions were recaptured: For a time, southern Spain and the Balearic Islands were also included. Shortly after Belisarius' victory, Carthage once again became the capital of the newly founded Praetorian Prefecture of Africa. Belisarius used the region he conquered in 535 as a base to attack Gothic Sicily, which began

5445-410: The assassination of his brother and his removal from the Byzantine payroll. The climax of this uprising was a sensational Byzantine defeat in the spring of 544 at Cilium (today Kasserine ), which cost the life of the praetorian prefect and general Solomon. The result was further uprisings by Berbers and Vandals under Guntarith , a Vandal nobleman who had previously also been in Byzantine service. Neither

5566-404: The background. The tetrarchy reform of Diocletian ( c.  296 ) multiplied the office: there was a praetorian prefect as chief of staff (military and administrative)—rather than commander of the guard—for each of the two Augusti, but not for the two Caesars. Each praetorian prefect oversaw one of the four quarters created by Diocletian, which became regional praetorian prefectures for

5687-406: The ban on practicing religion, which experienced a first climax under Justinian I and in 632 under Heraclius with an edict for forced conversion across the empire also affected Byzantine North Africa. It is possible that before this Christianization policy, Jews had moved to the parts of Maurentania Tingitana that were not under Byzantine rule. In more recent research, however, it is pointed out that

5808-520: The battle of Babosis and Zerboule against the Eastern Romans under Solomon and had to flee to the adjacent Mauretania Caesariensis. However, individual remnant areas of this Roman-Berber empire south of the Aurès mountain ridge survived until the Arab conquest in 701. At an unspecified date (541?) the regions north of the Chott el Hodna followed, especially around the city Setifis , possibly in conjunction with

5929-474: The causes were similar to the previous Berber wars and/or a certain amount of power that the kingdom of Altava had at that time. The persecution of Donatists and other religious minorities in the Eastern Roman Empire cannot be completely dismissed in view of the Donatist strongholds in western Mauritania and the associated influence on the Kingdom of Altava, although there are sources of increased persecution from

6050-607: The coastal areas of the Mauritanian provinces were immediately conquered by the Vandals, but after the death of the Vandal king Huneric in 484, some seceded from the Vandal Kingdom. Roman-Berber areas persisted throughout the Mauritanian provinces, above all a Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum with the capital Altava, whose importance continued to increase until the 570s. The exclusively Berber character of these areas, which were predominantly not under Vandal rule and were formerly Western Roman, has now been completely refuted. In particular,

6171-441: The concrete implementation of the edict throughout the empire is very questionable and the background to the measure was probably of an eschatological nature; it was hoped that this would stabilize the state at a time of religious unrest. Ultimately, however, the imperial strategy failed, and Judaism in the Maghreb remained strong After Belisarius had annihilated the Vandal Kingdom with his unexpectedly quick victories over Gelimer at

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6292-414: The conquest of Carthage by the Vandals under their king Geiseric , a de facto independent empire ruled by predominantly Germanic warriors had been established. This Vandal Kingdom dominated the western Mediterranean region with its powerful fleet and brought Corsica and Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and the western tip of Sicily under his control. This was extremely consequential for Western Rome, as Africa

6413-528: The consequent destruction of this cultural center of the Berber clan of the Leuathae (belonging to the Zanata tribal group). Finally, in 548, the Eastern Roman troops succeeded in decisively defeating and subjugating the Berbers under Antalas on the "Fields of Cato". After this victory of John Troglita, there are no records of battles in Africa until well after his death (552). The praetorian prefecture of Africa

6534-541: The court moved back to Rome as Attila approached. Valentinian sent Pope Leo I and two leading senators to negotiate with Attila. This embassy, combined with a plague among Attila's troops, the threat of famine, and news that the Eastern Emperor Marcian had launched an attack on Hun homelands along the Danube, forced Attila to turn around and leave Italy. The death of Attila in Pannonia in 453 and

6655-557: The direct influence of the pope were absent for around a century. This required and established a certain degree of autonomy from local church dignitaries and religious scholars, who did not want to give them back to the Eastern Roman Emperor. The region in particular was more open to religious debates than other provinces of the Roman Empire. On the other hand, the Latino-Nicene Christian communities in

6776-634: The dominant faith in Mauretania Sitifensis and Numidia until the western Roman persecution from 411 onwards, were on par with the Latin-Nicene communities in the western regions of the Mauritanian provinces and in Tripolitania, whereas they were a strong minority in the Byzacena and represented in all other parts of Africa, whereby they seem to have been particularly widespread among the Berbers. The Donatists were also suppressed under

6897-410: The eastern Roman emperor Zeno guaranteed the Geiseric family in a treaty (foedus) in 475 ownership of the province of Africa and the islands; subsequently there were no more conflicts between the Vandal Kingdom and the Eastern Roman Empire for decades. In the 94 years of its existence, the kingdom of the Vandals was characterized by dynastic disputes over dominance and, above all, by the contrast between

7018-477: The eastern Roman heartland to combat them. The praetorian prefect Johannes Rogathinus blamed for the assassination and the unrest that accompanied it was deposed in 564 and appointed a successor named Thomas in 564 or 565. In negotiations, this successor was able to restore the loyalty of the affected Berber tribe. The death of Emperor Justinian in 565 brought changes to Byzantine North Africa, but no turning point. New fortifications are known to have been built, such as

7139-426: The emperor appointed two commanders, who shared joint leadership. Overlapping terms on the list indicate dual command. For praetorian prefects after the reformation of the office by emperor Constantine I , see: A further prefecture was established by emperor Justinian I in the 6th century: Valentinian III Valentinian III ( Latin : Placidus Valentinianus ; 2 July 419 – 16 March 455)

7260-485: The empire's administrative and military structures. In addition to his military functions, the praetorian prefect came to acquire jurisdiction over criminal affairs, which he exercised not as the delegate but as the representative of the emperor. By the time of Diocletian he had become a kind of grand-vizier as the emperor's vice-regent and 'prime minister.' Constantine removed active military command in 312. The prefect remained as chief quarter-master general responsible for

7381-399: The end of 536 through the appointment of Germanus as magister militum, who ended the revolt of Stotza in 537 and then successfully reorganized the administration. In 534, immediately after his victory over the Vandals, Belisarius had already conquered the traditional Roman legionary site of Septem, which at least at that point was no longer under Vandal rule. The extent of further conquests in

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7502-423: The establishment of the post in 2 BC by Augustus until the abolishment of the Guard in 314. The list is presumed to be incomplete due to the lack of sources documenting the exact number of persons who held the post, what their names were and what the length of their tenure was. Likewise, the Praetorians were sometimes commanded by a single prefect, as was the case with for example Sejanus or Burrus , but more often

7623-407: The fact that some Roman-Berber petty empires saw a reason for war in the fall of Hilderich in a similar way as the Eastern Roman emperor did. Christianity spread in the area of today's Maghreb during the Roman period from the 3rd century and was the dominant religion in late antiquity and probably also in the early Middle Ages. Up to three Christian faiths were represented here, which disappeared at

7744-400: The greatest possible freedom of action in these areas, which were now largely left to themselves. In doing so, he granted them the powers of de facto viceroys . While civil and military powers had been separated since the early 4th century in the Later Roman Empire and this principle was maintained in the original – i.e. assigned to Eastern half at the time of partition – Byzantine land, until

7865-428: The heart of the western empire, since they supplied Italy with grain and generated a large part of the western empire's tax revenues. From 429 they were caught up in the political turmoil of the migration of peoples by the Vandals crossing at Septem. At the latest after the assassination of Emperor Valentinian III. In 455 no region in Africa was under Western Roman rule. In parts of western Roman North Africa in 439, with

7986-411: The highest civil office of the empire. With the fall of the western part of the Empire into the hands of warlords, these, in order to have support in their new domains, recognized the supremacy of the emperor of the eastern part, reuniting at least de iure the Empire under him, the prefectures were maintained as a way of delimiting the new viceroyalties : This recognition would be maintained until

8107-473: The highest-level administrative division of the Empire. The prefects again functioned as the chief ministers of the state, with many laws addressed to them by name. In this role, praetorian prefects continued to be appointed by the Eastern Roman Empire (and the Ostrogothic Kingdom ) until the reign of Heraclius in the 7th century AD, when wide-ranging reforms reduced their power and converted them to mere overseers of provincial administration. The last traces of

8228-399: The imperial dynasty would be the next best thing. Consequently, sometime before 446, he convinced Valentinian to agree to a marriage between his eldest daughter, Eudocia, and Gaiseric's son, Huneric. The idea came to nothing, since Huneric was already married to the daughter of the king of the Visigoths. The imperial presence in Hispania continued to diminish during the early-to-mid 440s as

8349-478: The incorporation of parts of the Kingdom of Altava into the Eastern Roman dominion has not yet been researched, which is why only arguments for or against the thesis can be used at the moment. From the period after Gennadius' campaign against the kingdom of Altava, only the explanations of Theophylactos Simokates indicate that the fighting with the weakened "Berbers" 584 had abated and that it in "all of Africa" had flared up again in 587. Due to this state of affairs,

8470-403: The latest through Islamization from the beginning of the 8th century. The majority of Christians in the Maghreb consisted consistently of Latino-Nicene Christians, who thus belonged to the faith that was the state religion of the Roman Empire. The Vandal rule with the associated suppression of the Latin-Nicene faith also had an effect in the Eastern Roman period. On the one hand, state control and

8591-450: The latest, and East Roman North Africa became the heartland of one of two exarchates, with the founding of which the East Roman Emperor Maurice (582–602) was able to counteract the consequences of imperial overstretch through bundling and decentralization. No further change in these administrative structures took place until the end of Byzantine rule. The reconquest of this region was of the greatest strategic and economic significance and

8712-539: The logistical supply of the army. The prefect was the chief financial officer whose office drew up the global imperial budget. His office drew up the state liturgical obligations laid on the richer inhabitants of the Empire. He ceased to be head of administration which had to be shared with the master of the offices attached to the palace. Constantine in 331 confirmed that from the sentence of the praetorian praefect there should be no appeal. A similar jurisdiction in civil cases

8833-537: The loyalty of its remaining provinces was impaired in consequence. The initial period of Valentinian's reign was further troubled by a power struggle among the three principal military leaders of the west – Felix , the senior magister militum praesentalis , Bonifatius , the magister militum per Africam and Aetius , the magister militum per Gallias . In 427, Felix accused Bonifatius of treason and demanded that he return to Italy. Bonifatius refused and defeated an army sent by Felix to capture him. Weakened, Felix

8954-635: The management of imperial policy in the west was in the hands of Aetius. From 436 to 439, Aetius was focused on the situation in Gaul. Serious Gothic defeats in 437 and 438 were undone by a Roman defeat in 439, which saw the status quo restored through a new truce. He also enjoyed initial success against the Franks and the Burgundians , as well as putting down a revolt by the Bagaudae by 437. In 438, peace

9075-466: The markets of the Eastern Roman Empire and later also Italy accessible again for the products of Africa. In addition, intensive trade relations with the Frankish Empire are proven by corresponding coin finds. In addition, the turbulent times, in particular revolts by Berbers belonging to the empire or invasions by foreign Berbers, did not lead to coin hoarding to the same extent as was the case on

9196-533: The merging of civil and military powers then became necessary. The defense of the conquered territories not only strained the resources of the empire in North Africa. The constant threat, much more so in Italy by the Lombards and in southern Spain by the Visigoths, forced the Eastern Romans to decentralize civil and military power in the conquered areas, especially since the old empire was defending itself against

9317-529: The mid-7th century with the introduction of theme system , this principle was now abandoned in the western possessions. This bundling of powers along with the obviously stable conditions in the economically strongest province of the former western empire led to a momentum of its own, which – favored by chaotic conditions in other parts of the empire – led to revolts against the imperial central authority in Constantinople. This development came to an end with

9438-469: The military commander Flavius Aetius , who defended the western empire against Germanic and Hunnic invasions. Attila the Hun repeatedly menaced Valentinian's domains, being repulsed by a coalition under Aetius's leadership at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains and calling off a subsequent invasion after negotiations led by Pope Leo I . The emperor later fell out with Aetius and killed him. Valentinian

9559-547: The most enduring of all conquests in the West. While the Lombard kingdom was established in parts of East Roman Italy after 568 and East Roman rule in southern Spain came to an end amidst the final and most desperate Roman-Persian war , the areas reconquered in the Maghreb remained entirely in the East Roman hands until the Islamic expansion. This made the region the most important cornerstone of Eastern Roman/Byzantine power in

9680-556: The new augustus ruled under the influence of his mother Galla Placidia, one of whose first acts was to install Felix as the magister utriusque militiae in the west. This period was marked by a vigorous imperial policy and an attempt to stabilize the western provinces as far as the stretched resources of the empire could manage. In 425, the court at Ravenna negotiated with the Huns who had accompanied Aetius to Italy in support of Joannes. The Huns agreed to leave Italy, and to evacuate

9801-491: The new praetorian prefect Sergius nor the new magister militum Areobindus were able to get the situation under control. It was only under the leadership of the magister militum John Troglita that Vandal attempts at restoration under Guntarith and Stotzas the Younger were thwarted in 546. The Eastern Roman campaigns between 544 and 547 initially led to failures in Tripolitania, but also to an advance as far as inland Ghirsa,

9922-407: The now devastated provinces of Tripolitana , Mauretania Sitifensis , Mauretania Caesariensis , and the remainder of Numidia. Gaiseric soon disregarded this arrangement and retook Mauretania Sitifensis and Mauretania Caesariensis, as well as taking Sardinia and Corsica and conducting devastating raids on Sicily . Unable to pacify Gaiseric by military means, Aetius decided that linking him to

10043-546: The other hand, not only saw himself confronted with the threat from the Berbers after the coup d'etat, but also had to send part of his army and fleet to Sardinia to put down an uprising by the noble Godas there, and at the same time he had to face another uprising of the Tripolitan governor Prudentius initially watched idly. Under these conditions, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I began

10164-523: The others, that is to say, Numidia, Mauritania, and Sardinia shall, with the aid of God, be subject to governors . Justinian now intended to reconquer the other regions that had been under Roman rule before the Vandals invaded and Roman-Berber petty kingdoms were established. The remaining areas of the defunct Western Roman Empire in modern-day Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco, which never or not anymore were under Vandal rule, were already so accustomed to their own autonomy that they did not want to recognize

10285-540: The partition of the empire in 395, all Roman areas in Africa west of the Great Syrte became part of the Western Roman Empire. Specifically, these were the provinces of Tripolitania, Byzacena, Zeugitana (also called Proconsularis provincia or Africa proconsularis), Numidia, Mauretania Sitifensis, Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana. These provinces could be considered, at least in part, to be

10406-463: The period up to 569/570 not available. In any case, the praetorian prefect Theodor was killed by Berbers from the Altava kingdom during this period. Around 570/571 the king of Altava, Garmules , succeeded in defeating and killing two magistri militiae, Theoctistus and Amabilis. His actions, combined with the attacks of the Visigoths on the province of Hispania ulterior and the invasion of the Lombards in Italy, which had already begun in 568, represented

10527-403: The post was open to senators also, and if an equestrian was appointed he was at the same time raised to the senate. Down to the time of Constantine, who deprived the office of its military character, the prefecture of the guards was regularly held by tried soldiers, often by men who had fought their way up from the ranks. In course of time the command seems to have been enlarged so as to include all

10648-419: The power being wielded by Aetius, stripped him of his command and gave it to Bonifatius. In the civil war that followed, Bonifatius defeated Aetius at the Battle of Ravenna , but died of his wounds. Aetius fled to the Huns and, with their help, was able to persuade the court to reinstate him to his old position of magister militum praesentalis in 434. As a consequence, in 435, Valentinian was forced to conclude

10769-457: The power struggle that erupted between his sons ended the Hunnic threat to the empire. With the Hun invasion thwarted, Valentinian felt secure enough to begin plotting to have Aetius killed, egged on by Petronius Maximus , a high ranking senator who bore Aetius a personal grudge, and his chamberlain, the eunuch Heraclius. Aetius, whose son had married Valentinian's youngest daughter, Placidia ,

10890-480: The prefecture disappeared in the Byzantine Empire by the 840s. The term praefectus praetorio was often abbreviated in inscriptions as "PR PR" or "PPO". Under the empire the praetorians or imperial guards were commanded by one, two, or even three praefects (praefecti praetorio), who were chosen by the emperor from among the equites and held office at his pleasure. From the time of Alexander Severus

11011-565: The province of Pannonia Valeria , which was returned to the empire. This allowed Felix and the imperial government to restructure the defences along the Danubian provinces in 427 and 428. In addition, there were significant victories over the Visigoths in Gaul in 426/7 and 430 and the Franks along the Rhine in 428 and 432. Nevertheless, there were significant problems that threatened

11132-489: The raising of private armies by large landowners because he hoped that this would lead to attacks on Vandal territory. After the assassination of Valentinian III, this warlord-like status of large landowners prompted the disintegration of these provinces into various small empires, which were perceived as Berber in the public of the rest of the Mediterranean area and especially in the region around Carthage. Numidia and

11253-468: The rape of his wife Lucina by Valentinian. The assassination occurred as Valentinian rode his horse on the Campus Martius. As the emperor dismounted to practise archery, the conspirators attacked. Optelas struck Valentinian on the side of the head, and when he turned to see who had hit him, Optelas delivered the death-blow. Meanwhile, Thraustelas slew Heraclius. Priscus reports a curious occurrence:

11374-489: The recognition of the baptisms they performed. By starting a fortress building program, the praetorian prefect Solomon created the conditions for the Eastern Roman rule to be consolidated despite the internal and external unrest. This alone was not enough to overcome the resistance sparked by Emperor Justinian I's religious and domestic policies; Rather, Carthage of all places was plundered in 535/536 by its own mutinous garrison. A certain consolidation started especially from

11495-508: The reforms of his successor. The emperor may have reinforced the eastern Roman garrison in Africa by transferring some of the 15,000 mercenaries there that had probably been recruited earlier under his rule. This is supported by the fact that the emperor had the necessary breathing space by defeating the Persians in the Battle of Melitene in 576. All that is known about the subsequent fighting

11616-399: The regions around Altava as well as Lixus and Volubilis in the extremely western Mauretania Tingitana showed continued existence of the old trade connections and Latin grave inscriptions, in some cases up to the year 655. In addition, the petty kingdoms of this region welcomed many Romans who were persecuted by the Vandals for religious and other reasons. In its final years, the Vandal Kingdom

11737-407: The restored Roman rule in Carthage. Nevertheless, the Eastern Roman dominion was consolidated on African soil and extended beyond the borders of the former Vandal Kingdom, although in particular 534 to 548 exhausting battles went hand in hand with it. Wars, religious unrest and flight are discussed in contemporary historiography, but much less attention is paid to the fact that the reconquest made all

11858-595: The rise of Justinian I , who ended the Ostrogothic and Vandal domains, but continued to recognize the Franks (as they were both Catholics) and the Visigoths (due to the lack of strength to continue the Recuperatio Imperii , but managing to establish a pro-Byzantine king, Athanagild , and the conquest of Spania ). The following is a list of all known prefects of the Praetorian Guard, from

11979-487: The target of another, this time large-scale, joint venture between the Western Empire under Anthemius and the Eastern Roman Empire under Leo I. However, this Vandal campaign failed catastrophically, mainly because the Vandal king Gaiseric succeeded in setting fire to the large Roman fleet. After Vandal raids along the coast of eastern Roman Illyricum (and possibly the failure of another, smaller Roman campaign in 470),

12100-503: The third class one-third the cost of maintaining a soldier. Valentinian himself was not exempt, sacrificing part of his reduced personal income to help the State in its financial straits. In the 440s Valentinian made the Hunnic chieftain Attila honorary magister militum of the western empire, hoping thereby to reduce the threat the Huns posed to the Danubian provinces. To the relief of

12221-408: The three Mauritanian provinces remained outside imperial control, the reconquests represented a doubling of the eastern Roman territory in the pre-Vandal Roman Africa and at the same time shortened the border, making it effective to manage. In the following period, various fortresses were built on both the border as well as within the area ruled by the Eastern Romans. Then there was a reorganization of

12342-410: The troops in Italy except the corps commanded by the city praefect ( cohortes urbanae ). The special position of the praetorians made them a power in their own right in the Roman state, and their prefect , the praefectus praetorio , soon became one of the more powerful men in this society. The emperors tried to flatter and control the praetorians, but they staged many coups d'état and contributed to

12463-477: The viability of the Roman state in the west. The Visigoths were a constant presence in south-eastern Gaul and could not be dislodged. The Vandals in Hispania continued their incursions, and, in 429, commenced an invasion of Mauretania Tingitana . The loss of these territories seriously impacted the state's ability to function. The burden of taxation became more and more intolerable as Rome's power decreased, and

12584-674: The weaponless Aetius and struck him on the head, killing him on the spot. When Valentinian later boasted that he had done well to dispose of Aetius in such a way, a counsellor famously replied "Whether well or not, I do not know. But know that you have cut off your right hand with your left." On March 16 of the following year, the emperor himself was assassinated in Rome by two Scythian followers of Aetius: Optelas and Thraustelas . According to Priscus, these men were put up to it by Petronius Maximus, whose aims of political advancement were thwarted by Heraclius. He may also have been taking revenge for

12705-410: The western court, Attila concentrated on raiding the eastern empire's provinces in the Balkans from 441 through to 449. In 449, Honoria wrote to Attila, offering him half the western empire if he would rescue her from an unwanted political marriage arranged by her brother Valentinian. Attila had been looking for a pretext to invade the West. In 450 he secured peace with the eastern court and entered

12826-472: The young sons of Constantine ca 330 A.D. From 395 there were two imperial courts, at Rome (later Ravenna ) and Constantinople , but the four prefectures remained as the highest level of administrative division, in charge of several dioceses (groups of Roman provinces ), each of which was headed by a Vicarius . Under Constantine I , the institution of the magister militum deprived the praetorian prefecture altogether of its military character but left it

12947-514: Was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful generals and the invasions of late antiquity 's Migration Period . He was the son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III , and as the great-grandson of Valentinian I ( r.  364–375 ) he was the last emperor of

13068-552: Was a high office in the Roman Empire . Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard , the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides. Under Constantine I , the office was much reduced in power and transformed into a purely civilian administrative post, while under his successors, territorially-defined praetorian prefectures emerged as

13189-412: Was a rich and heavily urbanized province; In addition to olive production, the function of the province as a granary for Western Rome, especially Italy, was of central importance. In 441 an Eastern Roman attempt to defeat the Vandal fleet and end their rule failed. Rather, the Western Roman Empire had to recognize the Vandal rule east of Numidia in a treaty in 442. In 468, the kingdom of the Vandals became

13310-529: Was accompanied by the arrival of Arianism as the third Christian faith in the Maghreb, which, as the state religion of the Vandal Kingdom, stood in contrast to the Nicene creed of the emperors of both Roman halves, but also of the majority of the population in the Maghreb. Clergymen were exiled, monasteries dissolved and believers of the Nicene Confession put under pressure. However, the persecution by

13431-463: Was acquired by him not later than the time of Septimius Severus . Hence a knowledge of law became a qualification for the post, which under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus , but especially from the time of Severus, was held by the first jurists of the age, (e.g. Papinian , Ulpian , Paulus ) and, under Justinianus , John the Cappadocian , while the military qualification fell more and more into

13552-590: Was also achieved with the Suebi in Spain, the same year Valentinian's daughter, Eudocia , was born. With Aetius occupied in Gaul, Valentinian was unable to do anything to prevent the Vandals completely overrunning the remaining western African provinces, culminating in the fall of Carthage on 19 October 439. This was a major blow because taxes and foodstuffs from these wealthy provinces supported Rome. By 440, Vandal fleets were ravaging Sicily and Aetius coordinated

13673-536: Was assassinated in turn by Aetius's bodyguards, ending a reign marked by the ongoing collapse of the western empire . Valentinian was born in Ravenna , the capital of the Western Roman Empire , as the only son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III , who briefly ruled as emperor in 421. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius ( r.  393–423 ), while his father

13794-418: Was at the time a patrician and the power behind the throne . Through his mother, Valentinian was a descendant both of Theodosius I , who was his maternal grandfather, and of Valentinian I , who was the father of his maternal grandmother . It was also through his mother's side of the family that he was the nephew of Honorius and first cousin to Theodosius II (the son of Honorius' brother Arcadius ), who

13915-551: Was drawn into the Gothic War in 552/553 by the temporary occupation of Corsica and Sardinia, but the African mainland was spared. Only in December 562 did a local revolt break out when the Berber leader Cutzinas , who had been loyal to the empire since the times of John Troglita, was murdered when he wanted to receive his reward. This led to an uprising led by his sons, which required a temporary expeditionary army to be sent from

14036-512: Was eastern emperor for most of Valentinian's life. Valentinian had a full sister, Justa Grata Honoria . His mother had previously been married to Ataulf of the Visigoths , and had borne a son, Theodosius, in Barcelona in 414; but the child had died early in the following year, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line. In either 421 or 423, Valentinian was given the title of nobilissimus by Honorius, although this title

14157-663: Was merely an institutionalization of what had already proven itself in times of crisis. The founding of the Exarchate in Africa meant that Gennadius was also given the rest of the civil powers of the Praetorian Prefect and that this office was now subordinated to the Exarch – a process that must have taken place between May 6, 585 and July 591. Praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( Latin : praefectus praetorio ; Greek : ἔπαρχος/ὕπαρχος τῶν πραιτωρίων )

14278-431: Was murdered by Valentinian on 21 September 454. The ancient historian Priscus reported that Aetius was presenting a financial statement before the Emperor when Valentinian suddenly leapt from his throne and accused him of drunken depravity. He held him responsible for the empire's tribulations and accused him of plotting to take the empire away from him. Valentinian then drew his sword and together with Heraclius, rushed at

14399-492: Was not initially recognized in the eastern court of Theodosius II. After the death of Constantius in 421, court intrigue forced Galla Placidia to flee from Honorius and move to Constantinople , where she, Valentinian and Honoria were taken in by Theodosius. In 423, Emperor Honorius died, and his primicerius notariorum Joannes took power in Rome. To counter this threat to his power, Theodosius posthumously recognised Valentinian's father as augustus (emperor) and nominated

14520-492: Was ringed with hostile Romano-Berber petty kingdoms and was under constant attacks from them. Under the penultimate Vandal king, Hilderic , who was intent on reaching a settlement with the East and turning away from Arianism, the foreign and domestic political difficulties of his empire increased considerably, with a Vandal defeat against the Berbers leading to his fall at the hands of Gelimer in 530. The last Vandal king Gelimer, on

14641-403: Was unable to resist Aetius who, with the support of Galla Placidia, replaced him as magister militum praesentalis in 429, before having him killed in 430. Bonifatius, in the meantime, had been unable to defeat Sigisvultus , whom Galla Placidia had sent to deal with the rebel. Bonifatius, therefore, entered into an agreement with the Vandals to come to his aid and, in return, they would divide

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