The Battle of Cape Bon was an engagement during a joint military expedition of the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
s led by
Basiliscus
Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inva ...
against the
Vandal
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
capital of
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
in 468. The invasion of the
kingdom of the Vandals was one of the largest amphibious operations in antiquity, with 1,113 ships and over 50,000 personnel.
While attempting to land near Carthage at the Cape of Mercury ( la, Promontorium Mercurii;
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ''Ἑρμαία Ἄκρα''; now
Cape Bon
Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli;
Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...
or, in
French, '), the Roman fleet was thrown into disorder by a Vandal
fireship
A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
attack. The Vandal fleet followed up on the action and sank over 100 Roman ships. Some 10,000 Roman soldiers and sailors died in the battle. The Roman expedition was now too scattered to land its troops, leading to its complete failure.
The battle is considered to have ended the Western Roman Empire's chances of survival. Without access to the resources of the former
Roman province of Africa
Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...
, the west could not sustain an army powerful enough to defeat its numerous enemies.
Background
By 435, the Vandals under their king
Gaiseric
Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
, had established the Vandal kingdom of Africa. In 455, Gaiseric
sacked Rome, the former capital of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, and the Empress
Licinia Eudoxia
Licinia Eudoxia (; Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.
Family
Eudoxia was born in ...
(widow of Emperor
Valentinian III
Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
) and her daughters had been taken as hostages.
The plan was concerted between Eastern Emperor
Leo, Western Emperor
Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472.
Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...
, and General
Marcellinus, who enjoyed independence in
Illyricum.
Basiliscus
Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inva ...
was ordered to sail directly to Carthage, while Marcellinus attacked and took
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, and a third army, commanded by
Heraclius of Edessa Heraclius of Edessa (Greek: Ήράκλειος, died 474) was an Eastern Roman Empire general who took part in the failed campaign against the Vandals in 468.
Biography
Heraclius was born in Edessa, Mesopotamia, according to Theophanes the Confe ...
, landed on the
Libyan
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
coast east of Carthage, making rapid progress. It appears that the combined forces met in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, whence the three fleets moved at different periods.
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
records that Basiliscus, brother-in-law to Emperor Leo, had been selected as general by the emperor in hope he would balance the growing influence of the
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
''Magister militum''
Aspar
Flavius Ardabur Aspar (Greek: Άσπαρ, fl. 400471) was an Eastern Roman patrician and ''magister militum'' ("master of soldiers") of Alanic-Gothic descent. As the general of a Germanic army in Roman service, Aspar exerted great influence on ...
who sought to control Leo; however, Basiliscus sought the friendship of Aspar to further his own designs on the throne, and Aspar "repeatedly urged upon Basiliscus that he should spare the Vandals and Genseric".
Ancient and modern historians provided different estimates for the number of ships and troops commanded by Basiliscus, as well as for the expenses of the expedition, although both were enormous sums. According to the text of
Priscus
Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...
, 100,000 ships were assembled, although modern scholars have emended this to 1100, which is closer to
Cedrenus
George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the ...
's figure of 1,113 vessels. Peter Heather estimates a strength of 30,000 soldiers for the expedition and 50,000 total, when including sailors and the additional forces of Marcellinus and Heraclius. The figures for the money spent on this expedition ranges from the 1,300 ''centaria'' of gold reported by Priscus and
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
(130,000 Roman pounds), to the 64,000 pounds of gold and 700,000 pounds of silver by
John Lydus
John the Lydian or John Lydus ( el, ; la, Ioannes Laurentius Lydus) (ca. AD 490 – ca. 565) was a Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects.
Life and career
He was born in 490 AD at Philadelphia in Lydia, whence his cognomen ...
and to 65,000 of gold and 700,000 of silver by
Candidus.
Battle
![Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2 DS-213 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-213_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Sardinia and Libya were already conquered by Marcellinus and Heraclius, when Basiliscus cast anchor off
Cape Bon
Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli;
Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...
, opposite Sicily, about forty miles from Carthage. Gaiseric asked Basiliscus to allow him five days to draw up conditions for a peace. During the negotiations, Gaiseric gathered his ships and suddenly attacked the Roman fleet. The Vandals had filled many vessels with combustible materials. During the night, these
fire ship
A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
s were propelled against the unguarded and unsuspecting Roman fleet. The Byzantine commanders tried to rescue some ships from destruction, but these manoeuvres were blocked by the attack of other Vandal vessels.
Basiliscus fled in the heat of the battle.
One act of heroism stands forth from this naval defeat. Despite the situation, Basiliscus' lieutenant, Joannes, bravely fought the Vandal onslaught; Procopius describes him as "standing on the deck" and "turning from side to side kept killing very great numbers of the enemy". Upon seeing that his ship was about to be captured, he refused to surrender to Genso, the son of Gaiseric, instead leaped overboard in heavy armor and drowned himself. His last words were that he "would never come under the hands of dogs".
Aftermath
One half of the Roman fleet was burned, sunk, or captured, and the other half followed the fugitive Basiliscus. The whole expedition had failed. Heraclius effected his retreat through the desert into
Tripolitania
Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...
, holding the position for two years until recalled; Marcellinus retired to Sicily, where he was reached by Basiliscus; the general was, however, assassinated, perhaps at the instigation of
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, by one of his own captains; and the king of the Vandals expressed his surprise and satisfaction that the Romans themselves would remove from the world his most formidable antagonists.
After returning to Constantinople, Basiliscus hid in the church of
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
to escape the wrath of the people and the revenge of the Emperor. By the mediation of Verina, Basiliscus obtained the Imperial pardon, and was punished merely with banishment to
Heraclea Sintica
Heraclea Sintica, Heracleia Sintica, Хераклея Синтика in Bulgarian or Herakleia Sintike ( grc, Ἡράκλεια Σιντική), or Heraclea ex Sintiis, also known as Heraclea Strymonus or Herakleia Strymonos (Ἡράκλεια Στ ...
, in Thrace.
[J.B. Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire'' (Macmillan, 1923), vol. 1 pp. 336f]
The treasuries of the Eastern Roman Empire were now empty. Peter Heather considers the expedition to have been the last chance to save the Western Roman Empire, which controlled only the Italian peninsula and Sicily. Without the revenue stream from the former
Roman province of Africa
Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...
, the west was incapable of sustaining its army.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Cape Bon 468
Cape Bon
Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli;
Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...
Cape Bon
Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli;
Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...
460s in the Byzantine Empire
468
Vandal Kingdom
Fall of the Western Roman Empire