The Battle of Cartagena occurred on May 13, 460Ian Hughes: ''Gaiseric - The Vandal Who Destroyed Rome'', pages 61, 95 and 151–165. Pen and Sword, Barnsley 2017Tony Jaques: ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges'', Vol. 1 (A-E), page 205. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport/London 2007Michael Kulikowski: ''Late Roman Spain and Its Cities'', page 191. JHU Press, Baltimore 2010Simon MacDowall: ''Conquerors of the Roman Empire - The Vandals'', pag X Pen and Sword, Barnsley 2016Britannica.com: Majorian - Roman emperor 'John Powell: ''Magill's Guide to Military History'', Vol. 3, page 936. Salem Press, Ipswich 2001
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: Ilici ' (or 461Peter Heather: ''The Fall of the Roman Empire - A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', pag X Oxford University Press, New York 2005) and was part of the wars of Majorian. Although many sources call it ''battle of Cartagena'', the battle did not take place at Cartagena but on the coast of Roman Carthaginensis province at ''Portus Ilicitanus'' (today
Santa Pola
Santa Pola (Valencian and Spanish: ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 30,000 inhabitants of whom 10,000 are resid ...
) in the bay of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
. Since Portus Ilicitanus was the port of
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,
Background
In 457, the Roman general Majorian succeeded to the throne 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 ...
. He immediately set about restoring the empire to its former boundaries. Majorian then began to assemble a fleet at Portus Ilicitanus (near Ilici), with which he intended to invade the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa.
The battle
By spring 460 (or 461), Majorian had 300 ships already built and he would have had another few more ready by the autumn. The Vandals decided to strike before the Roman navy became unbeatable. On May 13, a fleet of Vandal ships under the command of King
Genseric
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 di ...
surprised the Roman fleet. Many of the Roman captains had been bribed to switch sides. The Roman navy was totally destroyed, ending any hope of reconquering
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 ...