Stotzas ( Greek : Στότζας), also Stutias , Theophanes writes him Tzotzas (Τζότζας), was an East Roman (Byzantine) soldier and leader of a military rebellion in the Praetorian prefecture of Africa in the 530s. Stotzas attempted to establish Africa as a separate state and had been chosen by the rebelling soldiers as their leader. Nearly succeeding in taking Carthage , Stotzas was defeated at the Battle of the River Bagradas by Belisarius and fled into Numidia , where he regrouped. After another attempt at taking control of Africa, Stotzas was defeated by Germanus in 537 and fled with some of his followers into Mauretania .
19-577: In Mauretania, Stotzas would marry the daughter of a local noble and would allegedly be raised to King in 541 AD. He followed the Berber king Antalas in his rebellion against Eastern Roman rule in 544 AD. In the Battle of Thacia in autumn of 545 AD, Stotzas would be mortally wounded by the Eastern Roman general John, dying shortly thereafter. Stotzas served as a bodyguard of the general Martinus in
38-454: A large part of the rebels went over to him. Hence, Stotzas resolved to force a decision, and marched against him in spring 537. The two armies met at Scalas Veteres, and Stotzas, abandoned by many of his allies, was defeated. Stotzas was able to flee with a handful of followers to Mauretania , where he was welcomed, given the daughter of a local prince in marriage, and allegedly raised to king in 541. Kamel Mhamed Benameur In 544, however, he and
57-688: A major role in the wars of the Byzantine Empire against the Berber tribes in Africa . Antalas and his tribe, the Frexes initially served the Byzantines as allies, but after 544 switched sides. With the final Byzantine victory in his and his tribe once again became Byzantine subjects. The main sources on his life are the epic poem Iohannis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus and the Histories of
76-466: A thousand surviving Vandals and several escaped slaves. He besieged the city, which was on the point of surrendering when Belisarius suddenly arrived from Sicily . Stotzas lifted the siege and retreated to Membresa, where his army was defeated by Belisarius. The rebels fled into Numidia , where Stotzas persuaded most of the Byzantine garrison to join him, after murdering their officers; according to
95-714: The Berbers in Byzacena, and in the same year led them to a decisive victory against the Vandals. Following the Vandalic War (533–534) and the capture of the Vandalic Kingdom by the Byzantine Empire , Antalas became an ally of the empire, receiving subsidies and supplies in exchange. In 543, however, a revolt broke out among the Berbers of Byzacena, which resulted in the execution of his brother Guarizila and
114-518: The Byzantines. In the summer, however, Antalas joined the Berbers of Tripolitania (though he is not mentioned by Corippus, Procopius records his presence) and inflicted a heavy defeat on Troglita at the Battle of Marta . After their victory, the Berbers raided even to the outskirts of Carthage. In the next year, Antalas again joined the Tripolitanian Berbers, under their leader Carcasan , when they invaded Byzacena. In contrast to
133-819: The Leuathae had prompted their rebellion in the first place, was appointed governor in Africa. Stotzas , a renegade Byzantine soldier who had led an unsuccessful rebellion a few years earlier, now joined Antalas from his refuge in Mauretania . Antalas wrote to the Byzantine emperor, Justinian I , asking for Sergius' dismissal, but in vain. Justinian only dispatched the patrician Areobindus in early 545 to share command with Sergius, but both were militarily incompetent and spent their time bickering with each other. While Sergius remained inactive at Carthage , Antalas and Stotzas led their troops north and managed to trick Himerius,
152-469: The Moorish king Antalas rebelled against Byzantine rule. Stotzas and his men joined Antalas, but were attacked by the general John in autumn 545, despite being heavily outnumbered. In the ensuing Battle of Thacia , John was able to inflict a mortal wound on Stotzas, although he too fell soon after. Antalas Antalas ( Greek : Ἀντάλας ; c. 500 – after 548) was a Berber tribal leader who played
171-562: The Wars of Procopius of Caesarea . Antalas was born c. 500, and was the son of a certain Guenfan, according to Corippus . He belonged to Frexes tribe of Byzacena (modern central Tunisia ). Corippus reports that Antalas career began at the age of seventeen, stealing sheep. He soon followers around him and became a brigand, fighting against the Vandals . By 530, he had become leader of
190-481: The army under Belisarius that had conquered the Vandal kingdom in Africa in 533–534. In 536, a military mutiny broke out in the Byzantine army in Africa against its leader, Solomon . The rebels chose Stotzas to lead them, and aimed to expel the imperial loyalists and establish Africa as a separate state, ruled by themselves. Stotzas marched against the capital, Carthage , with an army of 8,000 men, joined by at least
209-534: The cessation of the subsidies by the Byzantine governor, Solomon . This treatment alienated Antalas, and when the Leuathae rebelled in Tripolitania in the next year, he and his followers joined them. The united tribes inflicted a heavy defeat on the Byzantines in the Battle of Cillium , where Solomon himself was killed. With the death of the capable Solomon, his nephew Sergius, whose arrogant treatment of
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#1732772056867228-464: The commander of Hadrumetum , into leaving the town with his troops and rendezvous with another Byzantine commander, John . Himerius fell into the trap, and while his soldiers mutinied and joined Stotzas, he was forced to betray Hadrumetum to save his life. Finally, in late 545 Areobindus ordered the reluctant John to advance and meet the joint army of Antalas and Stotzas, which was encamped at Sicca Veneria . John's troops were considerably outnumbered by
247-400: The envoys. Shortly after, he sent an emissary of his own, who placed Antalas before the choice of battle or immediate submission. Antalas refused to submit, and the two armies confronted each other near Sbeitla in Byzacena in late 546 or early 547. The battle resulted in a crushing Byzantine victory: the Berbers suffered heavy losses, and the battle-standards lost at Cillium were recovered by
266-624: The event, due to Areobindus' timidity, a battle did not take place; in March Guntharic seized Carthage and murdered Areobindus. Now master of Carthage, Guntharic refused to honour his agreement with Antalas, and the latter withdrew his men into Byzacena. There, in an effort to reconcile himself with the emperor, he contacted the dux of Byzacena, Marcentius, who had fled to an offshore island, proposing to make common cause against Guntharic. Guntharic sent an army under Cutzinas and Artabanes against Antalas and defeated him. Guntharic himself
285-525: The historian Procopius , at this point two thirds of the Byzantine army in Africa had gone over to the rebel camp. Belisarius had to return to Italy to prosecute the war against the Ostrogoths , but he was replaced by Emperor Justinian 's able cousin Germanus in late 536. Germanus's policy to win over the disaffected troops with promises of pardon and the payment of their arrears was successful, and
304-553: The impetuous Carcasan, Antalas advocated a more cautious scorched earth tactic when Troglita marched forth to meet them. Nevertheless, when the two adversaries met later in the summer in the Battle of the Fields of Cato , the result was a decisive Byzantine victory: Carcasan fell, and the Berber revolt was crushed as Antalas and the surviving leaders submitted to Troglita. Nothing further is known of him after that. Vandalic Kingdom Too Many Requests If you report this error to
323-426: The rebel forces, and in the Battle of Thacia his army was routed and he himself was killed, but not before mortally wounding Stotzas in a duel . After the defeat at Thacia , Sergius was relieved and Areobindus replaced him. At this time, the ambitious Byzantine dux of Numidia , Guntharic contacted the various Berber leaders in a bid to unseat Areobindus. Antalas was promised the rule of Byzacena , half
342-497: The treasure of Areobindus and 1,500 Byzantine troops as his command. In order to increase pressure on Areobindus, the Berbers and the renegade followers of Stotzas approached Carthage . At the same time, Areobindus himself had secret contacts with another Berber leader, Cutzinas , leader of the Numidian Berbers. Cutzinas had promised to murder Antalas once battle was joined, but Guntharic revealed this plan to Antalas. In
361-469: Was murdered soon after (May 546) by a conspiracy headed by Artabanes, and Carthage and the army returned to the Empire's allegiance. Justinian now sent an experienced soldier, John Troglita , to impose order on the troubled African provinces. Gathering his forces, Troglita marched out of Carthage into Byzacena. Antalas sent an embassy to the Byzantine general, but the latter rejected his demands and imprisoned
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