Aratius

Aratius ( Greek  'Αράτιος ; † 552 ) was an Armenian military commander of the 6th century. First he served the Persian Sassanids , later he deserted to the Eastern Roman Empire . He is best known for his deeds during the Iberian War and the Gothic Wars in Italy. He found his death in an ambush. Chorikios from Gaza and Prokopios from Caesarea are the main sources reporting his deeds.

biography

Aratius was born in Persarmenia . He had two brothers named Isaacius (Isaac) and Narses (not to be confused with the famous general Narses ). Chorikios of Gaza describes Aratius as of high birth, but knows nothing to report about his noble family. Today's historians suggest that he might have belonged to the Kamsarakan family, from which the general Narses came.

Iberian War

Aratius and Narses are first mentioned in 527 when they fought for the Sassanids in the Iberian War (526-532). The two brothers succeeded in defeating the Eastern Roman generals Belisarius and Sittas . The battle is briefly described by Prokopios . "And the Romans, under the leadership of Sittas and Belisarius, made an advance into Persarmenia , an area that is subject to the Persians, sacked large areas and then withdrew with a multitude of Armenian prisoners. These two young men, of which the first beard were bodyguards of Justinian , who later shared the empire with his uncle Justinus . But when the Romans made a second advance into Armenia, Narses and Aratius unexpectedly caught them and forced them into battle. A little later these two men came as Deserters to the Romans and took part in Belisarius' campaign in Italy; but in the present episode they went into battle against Sittas and Belisarius and gained an advantage over them. "

In the summer of 530 Aratius and his brother deserted to join the Eastern Roman army. They brought their mother with them. They were welcomed by the Eastern Romans and warmly received by Narses, a Pers-Armenian compatriot. At this point Narses was not a general, but a Sacellarius . Isaac soon followed his brothers too. Procopius reports: "Narses and Aratius, who, as I reported above, had fought a battle with Sittas and Belisarius in Persarmia, came together with their mother as deserters to the Romans; and the imperial administrator Narses received them (for he was himself a Persarmenier of birth) and presented them with a large amount of money. learned As the Isaac, her younger brother, he entered secretly negotiating with the Romans and gave them the fortress of Bolum, which is near Theodosiopolis is. he pointed namely the Romans to hide somewhere near the fortress and opened a secret door at night. So he went over to Byzantium. "

Palestine

Aratius next appears in the sources in 535/536 as Dux (title) Palaestinae. Chorikios wrote a panegyric for Aratius and the archon Stephanus. Stephen was the governor of Palestine. On July 1, 536, Stephen was promoted to proconsul / Anthypatos of Palestine Prima (First Palestine). The panegyric was written shortly before the promotion and contains a description of the deeds of Aratius in the years 530-36.

In the eulogy, the suppression of a religiously motivated uprising near Caesarea by Aratius is mentioned first. According to the Panegyric, he succeeded in doing this without the use of force. Then he is referred to as a Strategos who succeeded in conquering an enemy fortress that was considered impregnable. Who the enemy "barbarians" were about remains unclear; it could have been rival Arabs . Thirdly, he describes how, as the leader of a group of 20 men, he freed a passport that had been blocked by Arab attackers. He is said to have succeeded in doing this again without the use of force. It is also reported that he brought Iotabe ( Tiran Island ) back under Eastern Roman control. Aratius succeeded in locating and conquering the base of the tribe that had seized the island. It is particularly praised for the additional tax revenue that resulted from the reintroduction of customs on the island.

Chorikios' favorable portrayal presents Aratius as a capable man, fair in justice and honest in financial matters.

Gothic war

Prokopios mentioned Aratius the next time in 538. He had been sent to Italy for the Gothic War , where he arrived with supplies for Belisarius. The rank he held at that time has not been recorded. He could have been a Magister militum or Comes Rei Militaris . He probably arrived in Italy in the summer of 538. He was ordered by Belisarius to encamp with 1000 men near Auximum . The village was a base of the Ostrogoths and Aratius had the task of supervising the activities of the enemy.

Aratius spent the winter of 538-539 in Firmum , from where he continued his watch over the nearby auximum. In 539 he took part in the siege of Auximum. He and his brother Narses led an Armenian auxiliary force during the siege. In 540 he, Narses, Bessas, and John fell out of favor with Belisarius and were sent away from Ravenna . Belisarius and the general Narses rivaled for leadership in the Gothic War at this time. Belisarius, who chose Ravenna as his seat, suspected them of serving his rival. Belisarius was soon recalled from Italy. In all likelihood, Aratius continued to fight in the Gothic War, but his deeds are poorly documented for the next decade.

Late years

The next known task of Aratius was to command a force of 10,000 cavalrymen together with Bouzes , Constantianus and Johannes in 549 , which was to support the Lombards in their fight against the Gepids . The campaign was short-lived because a peace treaty was signed by both sides that made the presence of Eastern Roman troops superfluous.

In 551, Aratius was one of the commanders sent against the Slavs who were devastating the Balkans . The Eastern Roman troops suffered a heavy defeat near Adrianople , but were able to rally and win a victory for their part. The Slavs then left the area. Aratius is mentioned again later that year. The Kutriguren had invaded Eastern Roman territory. Justinian I sent Aratius to negotiate the withdrawal of the Kutriguren. The Eastern Roman embassy found out that the homeland of the Kutrigurs had in turn been invaded by the Utigurs .

In the year 552 Aratius, Amalafrid , Justinus (consul in 540), Justinianus and Suartuas were sent again to the Longobards to help them against the Gepids. Amalafridas continued the mission after the others named were ordered back early by Justinian: Religious unrest had broken out in Ulpiana and troops were needed to restore public order.

The Gothic War dragged on in the meantime. In 552 the Ostrogoths Ildigisal and Goar invaded the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Aratius, Arimuth, Leonianus, and Rhecithangus were assigned to stop them. According to Prokopios, all four commanders were killed in an ambush while drinking by a stream.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 102-104
2. ^ Dewing (1914), Historien, Book 1, Chapter 12
3. ^ Dewing (1914), Historien, Book 1, Chapter 15

swell

• Prokopios of Caesarea : Historien , ed. by Henry Bronson Dewing (1914) Volume 1, Books I-II
• Prokopios: Historien , ed. by Henry Bronson Dewing (1914) Volume 3, Books V-VI

literature

• John Robert Martindale , Arnold Hugh Martin Jones and John Morris (Eds.) The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire , Volume III: AD 527-641 (1992)