Solomon ( el, Σολόμων) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general from northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, who distinguished himself as a commander in the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empire. The Vandal ...

and the reconquest of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in 533–534. He spent most of the next decade in Africa as its governor general, combining the military post of with the civil position of praetorian prefect. Solomon successfully confronted the large-scale rebellion of the native Berbers (), but was forced to flee following an army mutiny in spring of 536. His second tenure in Africa began in 539 and it was marked by victories over the Berbers, which led to the consolidation of the Byzantine position. A few years of prosperity followed, but were cut short by the rekindled Berber revolt and Solomon's defeat and death at the Battle of Cillium in 544.

Biography

Solomon was born, probably circa 480/490, in the fortress of Idriphthon in the district of Solachon, near Dara in the province of

. He was a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

as a result of an accident during his infancy, not from deliberate castration.. Solomon had a brother, Bacchus, who became a priest. Bacchus fathered three sons, Cyrus, Sergius and Solomon, who later became military officers in Africa under their uncle; Sergius also succeeded Solomon as governor of Africa after the latter's death. Little is known of Solomon's early career, except that he served under the Felicissimus, perhaps as early as the latter's installment to the post in 505/6. Certainly by 527, when he came to the service of

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

, Solomon was considered an experienced officer. It is perhaps at this time that he was named Belisarius's , or chief-of-staff, the post with which he is mentioned by the historian

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 gen ...

in 533, before the onset of the campaign against the Vandal Kingdom of

First tenure in Africa

Before the expedition sailed from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, Solomon was named as one of the nine commanders of the regiments. He is not mentioned in Procopius's narrative during the subsequent campaign, but he probably participated in the decisive

Battle of Ad Decimum The Battle of Ad Decimum took place on September 13, 533 between the armies of the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, and the Byzantine Empire, under the command of General Belisarius. This event and events in the following year are sometimes ...

on 13 September 533, which opened the road for the Vandal 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 cla ...

. Following the capture of Carthage, Belisarius sent Solomon back to Constantinople to inform Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

() of the campaign's progress. Solomon remained in the capital until the spring of 534, when Justinian sent him back to Africa to recall Belisarius and replace him as supreme military commander of the new praetorian prefecture of Africa (). Belisarius's departure coincided with a general uprising of the Berber tribes of the interior, before the Byzantines had time to strengthen their hold on the province. As a result, Belisarius left most of his privately raised behind, and Emperor Justinian sent additional reinforcements. Soon (sometime in autumn of 534) Emperor Justinian also invested Solomon with the civil office of praetorian prefect as well, replacing the aged Archelaus. East_Numidia

In the meantime, the Berbers had invaded

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, t ...

and defeated the local Byzantine garrison, killing its commanders,

Aigan () is a Japanese retail outlet chain that sells glasses (spectacles). The company is headquartered in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture.Charles Diehl) following the arrival of reinforcements, in spring 535 Solomon led his troops into Byzacena. The Berbers, under their chiefs Cutzinas, Esdilasas, Iourphouthes and Mesidinissas had encamped at a location called Mammes. Solomon attacked them there and defeated them. The Byzantine army returned to Carthage, but there news came that the Berbers, reinforced, had again attacked and overrun Byzacena. Solomon immediately marched out and met them at Mount Bourgaon, where the Berbers had erected a fortified camp and awaited his attack. Solomon divided his forces and sent 1,000 men to attack the Berbers from behind, scoring a decisive victory: the Berbers broke and scattered, suffering great casualties. Those who survived fled to Numidia, where they joined the forces of

Iaudas Iaudas or Iabdas was a Berber leader of the sixth century and king of the Kingdom of the Aurès who held the Byzantines in check for a long time in the Aurès, and played an important role in the Berber revolts following the Byzantine reconquest. ...

, the leader of the tribes of Mount Aurasium. With Byzacena secured, and urged by his own Berber allies Massonas and Ortaias, Solomon now turned to Numidia. He cautiously advanced to Aurasium and challenged Iaudas to battle, but after three days, distrusting the loyalty of his allies, Solomon returned his army to the plains. He left part of the army to keep watch on the Berbers and established a series of fortified posts along the roads linking Byzacena with Numidia. Solomon then spent the winter preparing a new expedition against Aurasium and also against the Berbers of

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 ...

, but his designs were interrupted by a major army mutiny in spring 536. The revolt was caused by dissatisfaction of some of the soldiers, who had taken Vandal wives, with Solomon: the soldiers demanded the property once owned by their wives as their own, but Solomon refused, since this land had been confiscated by imperial decree. A first plot to assassinate Solomon in Easter failed and the conspirators fled into the countryside, but soon open rebellion broke out among the army in Carthage as well. The soldiers acclaimed one of Solomon's subalterns, Theodore, as its leader, and began looting the city. Solomon managed to find refuge in a church, and under the cover of night, with the aid of Theodore, he departed the city by boat for Missua, accompanied among others by the historian Procopius. From there, Solomon and Procopius sailed to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, which had just been conquered by Belisarius, while Solomon's lieutenant Martin was dispatched to try and reach the troops at Numidia, and Theodore instructed to hold Carthage. Upon hearing about the mutiny, Belisarius, with Solomon and 100 picked men, set sail for Africa. Carthage was being besieged by 9,000 rebels, including many Vandals, under a certain

Stotzas Stotzas ( Greek: Στότζας), also Stutias, Theophanes writes him Tzotzas (Τζότζας), was an East Roman (Byzantine) soldier and leader of a military rebellion in the Praetorian prefecture of Africa in the 530s. Stotzas attempted to establ ...

. Theodore was contemplating capitulation when Belisarius appeared. The news of the famous general's arrival were sufficient for the rebels to abandon the siege and withdraw westwards. Belisarius immediately gave pursuit and caught up and

defeated Defeated may refer to: * "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song) * "Defeated" (Anastacia song) *"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love'' *Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community *''The Defeated ''The Defeated'', al ...

the rebel forces at Membresa. The bulk of the rebels, however, was able to flee, and continued to march towards Numidia, where the local troops decided to join them. Belisarius himself was forced to return to Italy due to trouble there, and Emperor Justinian appointed his cousin Germanus as to deal with the crisis. Solomon returned to Constantinople.

Second tenure in Africa

Germanus was successful in winning the confidence of many soldiers, re-establishing discipline and defeating the mutineers at the Battle of Scalas Veteres in 537. With imperial control over the army restored, Solomon was sent back to Africa to replace Germanus in 539, again combining in his person the posts of and praetorian prefect (in the meantime, he had also been raised to the rank of and named an honorary

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

). Solomon further reinforced his control of the army by weeding out unreliable soldiers, sending them to Belisarius in Italy and to the East; by expelling all remaining Vandals from the province; and by initiating a massive programme of fortification across the region. In 540, Solomon led his army again against the Berbers of Mount Aurasium. Initially, the Berbers attacked and besieged the Byzantine advance guard, under

Guntharis Guntarith ( Vandalic: ''Gontharis''; died 546), sometimes referred to as Guntharic, was an Eastern Roman military officer and rebel of Vandalic descent. Life After the conquest of the Vandal Kingdom by Belisarius in 533/534, the Eastern Roman E ...

, at their camp in Bagai, but Solomon with the main army came to the rescue. The Berbers had to abandon the attack and retreated to Babosis on the foothills of Aurasium, where they pitched camp. Solomon attacked them there and defeated them. The surviving Berbers fled south to Aurasium or west into Mauretania, but their leader Iaudas sought refuge in the fortress of Zerboule. Solomon and his troops plundered the fertile plains around Thamugad, gathering the rich harvest for themselves, before moving onto Zerboule. Once there, they found Iaudas gone, having fled to the remote fortress of Toumar. The Byzantines moved up to besiege Toumar, but the siege proved problematic because of the barren terrain, and in particular the lack of water. While Solomon was considering how best to attack the inaccessible fortress, a minor skirmish between the two forces gradually escalated into a full-scale and confused battle, as more and more soldiers from both sides joined in. The Byzantines emerged victorious, while the Berbers fled from the field. Shortly after, the Byzantines also captured the fort at the so-called "Rock of Geminianus", where Iaudas had sent his wives and treasure. This victory left Solomon in control of Aurasium, where he built a number of fortresses. With Aurasium secured, effective Byzantine control was established in the provinces of Numidia and

Mauretania Sitifensis Mauretania Sitifensis was a Roman province in Northwest Africa. The capital was Setifis. History In the later division of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Diocletian, the eastern part of Mauretania Caesariensis, from Saldae to the river Ampsag ...

. Aided by the captured treasure of Iaudas, Solomon extended his fortification programme in these two provinces: some two-dozen inscriptions testifying to his building activity survive from the area. The Berber rebellion seemed beaten for good, and contemporary chroniclers are unanimous in declaring the next few years as a golden era of peace and prosperity. In the words of Procopius, "all the Libyans who were subjects of the Romans, coming to enjoy secure peace and finding the rule of Solomon wise and very moderate, and having no longer any thought of hostility in their minds, seemed the most fortunate of all men".Procopius, ''On the Vandalic War'', II.40. His restoration programme reached at least as far as the

Jedars Jedars (French spelling: Djeddars) are thirteen Berber mausoleums located south of Tiaret city in Algeria. The name is derived from the ar, جدار ''jidār'' (wall), which is used locally to refer to ancient monumental ruins. These pre-Islamic ...

south of

Tiaret Tiaret ( ar, تاهرت / تيارت; Berber: Tahert or Tihert, i.e. "Lioness") is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital o ...

; medieval Arabic sources record that the

Fatimid caliph This is a list of an Arab dynasty, the Shi'ite caliphs of the Fatimid dynasty (909–1171). The Shi'ite caliphs were also regarded at the same time as the imams of the Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam. Family tree of Fatimid caliphs ...

al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah Abu Tahir Isma'il ( ar, أبو طاهر إسماعيل, Abū Ṭāhir ʾIsmāʿīl; January 914 – 18 March 953), better known by his regnal name al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (), was the third caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, ruling from ...

() encountered there an inscription commemorating Solomon's putting down a revolt of the local Berbers, possibly referring to the

Mauro-Roman Kingdom The Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Latin: ''Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum'') was an independent Christian Berber kingdom centred in the capital city of Altava (present-day Algeria) which controlled much of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesarien ...

Mastigas Mastigas or Mastinas ( el, Μαστίγας or Μαστίνας, ) ruled the Mauro-Roman Kingdom during the sixth century as King of the Moors and Romans, succeeding Masuna. During the reign of Mastigas, the Mauro-Roman Kingdom governed almost the ...

. This expedition once more extended Roman rule to the interior of what once was the province of Mauretania Caesariensis, but this was evidently short-lived: within a few years after Solomon's death, Roman rule in the central Maghreb was reduced to the coasts. Byzantine Maghreb

This tranquility lasted until 542/3, when the

great plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

arrived in Africa and caused many casualties, especially among members of the army. In addition, in early 543 the Berbers in Byzacena became restive. Solomon executed the brother of the chieftain Antalas, whom he held responsible for the disturbances, and ceased the subsidies granted to Antalas, alienating the powerful and hitherto loyal chieftain. At the same time, Solomon's nephew Sergius, newly named governor of

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 ...

as a token of Emperor Justinian's gratitude (along with his brother Cyrus in the Pentapolis), caused the outbreak of hostilities with the tribal confederation of the Leuathae when his men killed 80 of their leaders at a banquet. Although in a subsequent battle near

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...

he was victorious, in early 544 Sergius was forced to travel to Carthage and seek his uncle's aid. The rebellion spread quickly from Tripolitania to Byzacena, where Antalas joined it. Joined by his three nephews, Solomon marched against the Berbers as they assembled, meeting them near

Theveste Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria. History In 146 BC, the Romans conquered the region, where existed an old city called " Tbessa". Theveste was founded by the Romans in 75 AD near an old Berber village locate ...

. Last-minute diplomatic overtures to the Leuathae failed, and the two armies clashed at Cillium, on the border of Numidia and Byzacena. The Byzantine army was riven by disunity, with many soldiers refusing to fight or doing so only reluctantly. The contemporary poet

Flavius Cresconius Corippus Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Berber-Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem ''Iohannis'' and the panegyric ''In laudem Iustini minoris''. C ...

even accused Guntharis of treason, alleging that he withdrew from the line with his troops, causing a general and disorderly Byzantine retreat. Solomon and his bodyguard stood their ground and resisted but at last they were forced to retreat. Solomon's horse stumbled and fell in a ravine, wounding its rider. With the aid of his guards, Solomon remounted, but they were quickly overcome and slain. Solomon was succeeded by his nephew Sergius, who proved completely inadequate in dealing with the situation. The Berbers launched a general revolt and inflicted a severe defeat on the Byzantines in Thacia in 545. Sergius was recalled, while the army mutinied again, this time under Guntharis, who captured Carthage and installed himself there as an independent ruler. His usurpation did not last long as he was assassinated by

Artabanes Artabanes ( el, , Armenian: ''Artawan'', from Parthian ''Artawân'', '' fl.'' 538–554) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I (r. 527–565). Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fl ...

, but it was not until the arrival of John Troglita in late 546 and his subsequent campaigns that the province was to be pacified and brought again securely under Byzantine imperial control.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DISPLAYTITLE:Solomon (''magister militum'') 5th-century births 544 deaths 6th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine eunuchs Byzantine generals Byzantine North Africa Byzantines killed in battle Generals of Justinian I Magistri militum Patricii Praetorian prefects of Africa Vandalic War