Editing Justinian I (section)

====Conquest of North Africa, 533–534====
{{Main|Vandalic War}}

The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of the [[Vandals]] in [[North Africa]]. King [[Hilderic]], who had maintained good relations with Justinian and the North African [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] clergy, had been overthrown by his cousin [[Gelimer]] in 530 AD. Imprisoned, the deposed king appealed to Justinian. Justinian protested Gelimer's actions, demanding that Gelimer return the kingdom to Hilderic. Gelimer replied, in effect, that Justinian had no authority to make these demands. Angered at this response, Justinian quickly concluded [[Iberian War|his ongoing war]] with the [[Sassanian Empire]] and prepared an expedition against the Vandals in 533.<ref name="Procopius-Dewing" />

In 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa with a fleet of 92 [[dromon]]s, escorting 500 transports carrying an army of about 15,000 men, as well as a number of barbarian troops. They landed at [[Caput Vada|Caput Vada (modern Ras Kaboudia)]] in modern [[Tunisia]]. They defeated the Vandals, who were caught completely off guard, at [[Ad Decimum]] on 14 September 533 and [[Battle of Tricamarum|Tricamarum]] in December; Belisarius took [[Carthage]]. King [[Gelimer]] fled to Mount Pappua in [[Numidia]], but surrendered the next spring. He was taken to Constantinople, where he was paraded in a [[Roman triumph|triumph]]. [[Sardinia]] and [[Corsica]], the [[Balearic Islands]], and the stronghold [[Ceuta|Septem Fratres]] near [[Mons Calpe]] (later named [[Gibraltar]]) were recovered in the same campaign.<ref>Moorhead (1994), p. 68.</ref>

[[File:Medallion of Justinian I.jpg|thumb|A golden medallion celebrating the reconquest of [[Africa]], AD 534]]

In this war, the contemporary [[Procopius]] remarks that Africa was so entirely depopulated that a person might travel several days without meeting a human being, and he adds, "it is no exaggeration to say, that in the course of the war 5,000,000 perished by the sword, and famine, and pestilence."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mavor |first=William Fordyce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uaCgjEAmUfEC&pg=RA1-PA81 |title=Universal History, Ancient and Modern: From the Earliest Records of Time, to the General Peace of 1801 |date=1802 |publisher=R. Phillips |pages=81 |language=en |access-date=9 August 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407083159/https://books.google.com/books?id=uaCgjEAmUfEC&pg=RA1-PA81 |url-status=live }}</ref> An [[Praetorian prefecture of Africa|African prefecture]], centred in Carthage, was established in April 534,<ref>Moorhead (1994), p. 70.</ref> but it would teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst warfare with the [[Moors]] and military mutinies. By the mid-540s, under a succession of Byzantine generals, the region was disrupted under civil war, plague and military campaigning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Merrills |first=Andy |date=2021 |title=The Men Who Would Be King: Moorish Political Hierarchies and Imperial Policy in By |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2020.1833575 |journal=Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean  |volume=33 |pages=16 |doi=10.1080/09503110.2020.1833575 |via=Taylor & Francis online|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The area was not completely pacified until 548,<ref>{{cite book | last = Procopius | title = De Bello Vandalico | chapter = II.XXVIII}}</ref> but remained peaceful thereafter and enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.<ref name="tulane.edu">{{cite web | url = http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Finances.htm | title = Early Medieval and Byzantine Civilization: Constantine to Crusades | publisher = Tulane | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080309095541/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Finances.htm | archive-date = 9 March 2008 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>