Carthage Exarchate

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The Exarchate of Carthage was next to the Exarchate of Ravenna an Eastern Roman viceroyalty , with the establishment of which the Eastern Roman Emperor Maurikios (582–602) was able to counteract the consequences of imperial overstretching .

The conquests of Justinian I and the offensive policies of his successors overwhelmed the resources of the Eastern Roman Empire and ultimately led to the establishment of the exarchates.

While civil and military powers had been divided between the Praetorian prefect and the magister militum for about 300 years in the previous Roman provincial administration of late antiquity , Mauricius bundled these powers when he founded the Exarchate of Ravenna in 584 and the Exarchate of Carthage in 590. The latter became the cornerstone of Eastern Roman-Byzantine power in the western Mediterranean for a century and was only destroyed by the Arabs in 698.

Starting position

The wars of conquest under Emperor Justinian, as well as the defense of the conquered territories, strained the limited resources of the empire not only in North Africa. Subsequent emperors were not prepared to remedy this by surrendering the conquered territories. The constant threat, in Italy from the Lombards and in southern Spain from the Visigoths , forced the East to decentralize civil and military power in the conquered areas, especially the Eastern Empire with the defense of the Avars and Slavs in the Balkans and, since 572, especially the Persian again Sassanids in Asia Minor, Armenia and Syria faced enough threats of their own. Securing the rich oriental provinces had to take precedence over keeping the Justinian conquests in the west. Under these framework conditions Maurikios created the exarchates of Carthage and Ravenna in order to grant his governors the greatest possible freedom of action in these now largely independent areas. In the core area of ​​the Eastern Roman Empire, however, the traditional separation of civil and military competencies was largely adhered to for decades.

Eastern Roman North Africa before the Exarchate was founded

North Africa approx. 568–645

Even after the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to be a bulwark against the "barbarians" and the Sassanid Empire . In 533–553, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I first recaptured North Africa, Italy, Dalmatia and finally southern Spain. North Africa had been Roman again since 533/34, after Belisarius destroyed the empire of the Vandals with his victories over Gelimer at Ad Decimum and Tricamarum . Carthage again became the capital of the Roman province of Africa . Eastern Roman Africa also included the provinces of Byzacena , Mauretania Caesariensis , Mauretania Tingitana , Numidia , Sardinia and Tripolitania . For a while, southern Spain and the Balearic Islands were also part of it. On African soil, the Eastern Roman North Africa thus covered a little more area than the former Vandal Empire and was thus confronted with the same dangerous neighbors. The provinces not only had to be secured against the Berbers , but were also the scene of numerous uprisings by the remaining Vandals or Eastern Roman soldiers under Stotzas . Remaining areas of the lost Western Roman Empire in today's Algeria and Morocco, which were not under Vandalism, were already so established in their small states that they did not recognize the restored Roman rule in Carthage. A certain consolidation began as early as the end of the 530s under Germanus . The empire of Altava (Principality of Masuna), the most important of the small Roman-Berber states, was defeated by the last magister militum and later exarch Gennadios at the end of the 570s . It is still not clear whether the Altava area was subsequently incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Exarchate from 590 to 642

Gennadios was the first exarch (591-598) to defeat the Moors on his own during his tenure. This, combined with his previous victory over Altava, brought peace to the province of Africa for decades. Maurikios therefore had his back free to negotiate an advantageous peace with Persia (see Roman-Persian Wars ) and then to face the Avars and Slavs (see Maurikios' Balkan campaigns ). Even while the Byzantine Empire subsequently sank into chaos and anarchy under Phocas , conditions in Africa were relatively stable. Herakleios the Elder , presumably successor to Gennadios and still appointed exarch by Maurikios, was able to defy the Berber tribes - especially the Aures and possibly the Principality of Masuna - politically and militarily. This was facilitated by the fact that some Berber tribes were allied with the exarch, such as the Sanhajah and Zanata .

When Herakleios the Elder and his son revolted in 610, Berbers made up a large part of the fleet with which Herakleios sailed to Constantinople, while the grain embargo imposed by Herakleios the Elder did the rest to stir up displeasure in Constantinople against Phocas. The plans of Herakleios from the year 618 to relocate the capital of the empire from Constantinople to Carthage are impressive proof of the stability and power of the exarchate. However, they were not put into practice, Constantinople defied its first siege in 626 , Herakleios finally defeated the Persians in 627.

Defensive struggle against the Arabs

The Islamic Expansion:
  • Spread under the Prophet Mohammed, 622–632
  • Spread among the four “rightly guided caliphs”, 632–661
  • Spread among the Umayyads, 661–750

    • As a result of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the Exarchate was confronted with Islamic expansion . The first Arab expeditions were led from the newly conquered Egypt in 642 by the Emir Amr Ibn Al-as and his nephew Uqba Ibn al Nafia al Fihri. Advances into the Cyrenaica met with little resistance. Byzantine control was limited to a few poorly defended coastal bases. After the Arabs conquered Alexandria a second time in 646 , the weakness of the Byzantine Empire in the southern Mediterranean was evident.

    In 646 another exarch rebelled against the emperor, this time against the background of the monotheletic disputes in Byzantium. Gregory , a relative of Herakleios' cousin Niketas, renounced the Byzantine Empire and moved the capital to Sufetula / Sbeitla. His abundance of power was evidenced by the 100,000 or so Berbers that he was able to muster according to Arabic sources. The Arabs conquered Cyrenaica and advanced into Tripolitania and then into Byzacena, where they again met resistance. Gregory gathered his own troops and allies near his capital Sufetula, albeit without support from the Byzantine motherland. When he faced the Arabs led by ʿAbd Allaah ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarh for battle, according to Arab sources he was able to muster 120,000 men, but lost the battle and possibly his life.

    After the battle, the Arabs withdrew to Tripolitania, while the remaining parts of the exarchate fell into Byzantine dependency again under the new exarch Gennadios II . The capital was moved back to Carthage, especially since Gregory had only moved the capital inland to Sufetula for fear of a Byzantine punitive expedition. Since the new exarch tried to pacify the Arabs by paying tribute, the corresponding tax burden led to growing resentment among the population. The real reason for the exarchate's respite, however, was not due to the tribute payments, but rather to intra-Islamic disputes over the office of caliph. Under Muʿāwiya I , expansion was resumed in 661. The general Uqba ibn Nafi founded Kairouan and advanced to the Atlantic.

    However, the exarch was able to achieve considerable defensive success in 683 when he and allied Berber tribes under their king Kusaila ibn Lemzem were able to defeat the Arabs at Biskra , four years after the first Arab siege of Constantinople. The defeated Arabs withdrew to Egypt without their fallen generals, which gave the exarchate a respite. But in 695 the Arabs resumed their attacks on the exarchate, which had been weakened by the ongoing conflict. However, it was reinforced by the Visigoths, whose king also feared an attack by the Arabs. In 698 the Arab general Hassan ibn an-Numan besieged Carthage with 40,000 men. Emperor Leontios sent the Byzantine fleet under the later Emperor Tiberios II. (III.) Apsimar . The fleet fought with varying success against the Arab fleet, but evaded to Crete to pick up reinforcements. As a result, the Arab besiegers and their fleet succeeded in taking and destroying the city .

    Consequences of the Arab conquest

    The loss of Africa was a severe blow to the Byzantine Empire. After the loss of Egypt, the second large granary was lost here in 698. However, the fall of Carthage brought Tiberios the imperial throne. His officers, for fear of being held responsible for the defeat, elevated him to the rank of anti-emperor and overthrew Leontios, who had his nose cut off .

    In the area of ​​the exarchate of Carthage, a rapid and complete Arabization and Islamization began, which was favored by the Semitic origin of the provincial population and by the dismantling of churches for the purpose of building mosques. This resulted in the separation of the Mediterranean region into a north and a south half, which continues to this day.

    With the conquest of Carthage, the Arabs laid the foundation for dominance over the western Mediterranean, as they could now use the Tunisian ports as a springboard for operations against the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily. They also prepared the thirteen years later invasion of Spain by removing the threat from the flank.

    Well-known exarchs

    Remarks
    591-598 Gennadios Last magister militum per Africam , defeated the Roman-Berber Empire of Altava in this position.
    598 or 602-611 Herakleios
    641 (?) - 647/48 Gregor
    after 647/48 Gennadios (II.)
    Eleutherios Presumably Exarch of Carthage. It is only mentioned in the Arabic sources. The name al-At'riyūn is generally dissolved in Eleutherios. He overthrew Gennadios. Nothing is known about his official position.
    at 711 Julianos possibly the last exarch of Africa. Alleged Byzantine commander of Septem, the last Byzantine possession in Africa. He is said to have helped the Arabs in their attack on Visigoth Spain in 711.

    Literature (not evaluated)