Gildo (died 398) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

general in the province of

Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in what is now Algeria in the Maghreb. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had been part of the Kingd ...

. He revolted against Honorius and 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 ...

(

Gildonic war The Gildonic War ( la, Bellum Gildonicum) was a rebellion in the year 398 led by ''Comes'' Gildo against Roman emperor Honorius. The revolt was subdued by Stilicho, the ''magister militum'' of the Western Roman empire. Background Revolt of F ...

), but was defeated and possibly committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

or was assassinated.

Etymology

The name "Gildo" means "king" in the Berber languages. The vocalisation of the Libyco-berber word GLD gives in modern Berber , "the chief, the king".

History

Gildo was probably born in the 340s in a

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

environment which most likely was Mauretania Caesareans that was very much Romanized. Gildo was a

by birth. Being a son of King Nubel (''regulus per nationes Mauricas''), he was brother to

Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper during the reign of Aurelian. The contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered to be a complete fabrication, perhaps based on the later Firmus. Hist ...

. His other brothers were called

Mascezel Mascezel (Latin: ''Masceldelus'' or ''Mascezel''; died ) was briefly ruler of Roman North Africa after the defeat of his brother Gildo during the Gildonic war in 398 AD. Origin, revolts of Firmus, Gildo Mascezel was the son of Nubal, a Moorish wa ...

, Mazuca, Sammac, and Dius. He had a sister named Cyria. According to a hypothesis of Stéphane Gsell that was later resumed and developed by

Gabriel Camps Gabriel Camps (May 20, 1927 – September 7, 2002) was a French archaeologist and social anthropologist, the founder of the ''Encyclopédie berbère'' and is considered a prestigious scholar on the history of the Berber people. Biography Gabriel ...

, Nubel should indeed be identified with Flavius Nuvel, officer of the Roman army, commander of a cavalry unit, the equites Armigeri junior, who with his wife Nonnica (or Monnica) had a basilica built around the middle of the fourth century, housing a relic of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

. When Firmus revolted against

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...

(375), Gildo stayed loyal to his emperor and, at the suppression of the revolt, was rewarded with the immense patrimony confiscated from his brother. In 386,

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

appointed Gildo ''

Comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

Africae'' and ''Magister utriusque militiae per Africam'', as reward for his support to his father

Theodosius the Elder Flavius Theodosius (died 376), also known as Count Theodosius ( la, Theodosius comes) or Theodosius the Elder ( la, Theodosius Major), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the western Roman empire during Late Antiquity. Unde ...

in the suppression of Firmus' revolt. The

Africa Province 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, ...

was ruled by Gildo with some sort of independence. A little later, before 393, he even bore the title of "Count and Master of the two militias for Africa", with the official rank of ''vir spectabilis''. After the death of Theodosius and the rise to the throne of his sons,

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...

and Honorius, Gildo saw an increase in his importance: the Africa Province, in fact, became entrusted with the

grain supply to the city of Rome Cura Annonae ("care of Annona") was the term used in ancient Rome, in honour of their goddess Annona, to describe the import and distribution of grain to the residents of the cities of Rome and, after its foundation, Constantinople. The city of ...

, a role played by

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

until the split of the Empire into two halves. Incited by the political machinations of the eunuch Eutropius, Gildo seriously entertained the notion of joining the

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 ...

by pledging allegiance to Arcadius. The possibility of losing the granary of Rome led to civil turmoil in the city, and acting on an appeal by

Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius ...

, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

declared Gildo an "enemy of the State" and started a war against him. At the same time, Gildo had a quarrel with his brother

, who was obliged to flee to the court of Honorius; Gildo took revenge on his brother by killing his two sons. Mascezel was entrusted by Stilicho with the command of the war against Gildo and given the command of a chosen body of Gallic veterans, who had lately served under the standard of Eugenius.Gibbon reports the units that formed the 5,000 soldiers strong military body: Landed with his few troops in Africa, he camped in front of a large Moorish camp. Despite its superiority, Gildo's army melted in front of the superior discipline of Mascezel's army. After the defeat, Gildo was obliged to flee in a small boat, hoping to reach the friendly shores of the Eastern Roman Empire. However, unfavourable winds drove the vessel back to the harbour of

Tabraca Tabarka ( ar, طبرقة ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka's history is a mosaic of Berber, Punic, Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic, Genoese and Turkish culture. The town is dominated by ...

, where the inhabitants were eager to display their new loyalty by throwing Gildo into the dungeons. But taken over by Mascezel's forces, he was arrested and died on July 31, 398, executed or forced to commit suicide. After his defeat, Gildo's estates were confiscated and became imperial property. They were so vast that a government position, the Count of Gildo's Patrimony (''comes Gildoniaci patrimonii''), was created to manage them. Gildo's family had a marriage connection with the Roman imperial family. Gildo had a daughter named Salvina. Salvina married Nebridius, who was the nephew of

Flaccilla Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (31 March 356 – 386), was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors Arcadius ...

. Flaccilla was the first wife of the Emperor

Notes

References

* Platts, John, ''s.v.'' "Gildo", ''A New Universal Biography'', Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826 {{Authority control People from Thénia People from Thénia District People from Boumerdès Province Kabyle people 4th-century Berber people 398 deaths 4th-century Romans Roman rebels Suicides by hanging Year of birth unknown Ancient Roman military personnel who committed suicide