751:
the importance of a nearby hill, an ideal location for a camp, some of
Gelimer's and Solomon's troops began to skirmish. The Byzantines had to attack uphill and against superior numbers quickly leading to defeat. The retreating Byzantines encountered 800 more Byzantine troops and reformed. Upon being informed of the current situation however, these 800 retreated to the safety of Belisarius’ main force. Reforming these troops and listening to their reports, Belisarius noticed that many Vandals had already been routed while the rest had halted. Rightly believing he outnumbered the Vandals, Belisarius moved rapidly on Ad Decimum. Procopius believed that if Gelimer had pursued the fleeing Byzantines he would have completely overrun Belisarius' unsuspecting contingent, while if he would have moved towards Carthage he would have cut the Byzantine army off from John's advance guard. The second option would have put Gelimer in a position to attack the weaker and unsuspecting Byzantine fleet from Carthage, and either outcome could have been disastrous for the Byzantines. Seeing only a few dead troops around the body of his brother Ammatas, Gelimer became convinced that the Byzantine troops led by Solomon had been only a small rear guard, and that an overwhelming attack by a much larger force earlier in the battle had forced Ammatas' troops to abandon their fallen commander. In the clear space around Carthage the Vandals would not have had surprise on their side and the outcome of engagement would be more in doubt, and as such he did not try to pursue the “overwhelming” Byzantine force. Instead, Gelimer elected to set up camp at the favorable position he had captured, gather intelligence, and wait for reinforcements from
789:
777:
817:
801:
36:
102:
670:. Procopius writes that he was "a very particular friend and guest-friend of Justinian, who had not yet come to the throne", noting that Hilderic and Justinian exchanged large presents of money to each other. Hilderic allowed a new Chalcedonian bishop to take office in the Vandal capital of Carthage, and many Vandals began to convert to the Chalcedonians, to the alarm of the Vandal nobility. Hilderic rejected the
731:
Belisarius found a good spot for a fortified camp roughly four miles from Ad
Decimum, leaving his infantry there while he advanced with his cavalry. Belisarius had not ordered the 300-strong contingent of scouts under John the Armenian, or the 600 Huns guarding his left flank to stop so they kept advancing while Belisarius was still with his encamping infantry.
743:
because of fear of a trap, being stunned at the bravery of this Hun or being surprised upon seeing
Byzantines so far away from the main road. They were also possibly scared of the Huns due to their reputation as great warriors. Thus the 600 Hun mercenaries defeated 2,000 Vandals and killed Gibamundus in combat.
726:
approached from the north with 6,000–7,000 troops, Ammatus scouting ahead of his troops in person. At Ad
Decimum there was a narrow defile where the Byzantines could be trapped. The Byzantines did not know the layout of the road network and would probably be surprised if an army appeared behind them.
839:
at his side, ordering his men not to kill or enslave the population (as was normal practice at the time) because he stated the people were actually Roman citizens under Vandal rule. They found the gates to the city open, and the army was generally welcomed. Belisarius went straight to the palace and
746:
At roughly the same time
Ammatus made an error that would cost him his life. Ammatus was scouting the battlefield with just a few men when he encountered the much stronger Byzantine vanguard under John, and was killed in the ensuing combat. The rest of Ammatus' forces moved out of Carthage in small
750:
By now a
Byzantine contingent under a man called Solomon, sent to contact John, reached the scene where battle had taken place. They questioned local inhabitants to what took place there. Soon after Gelimer's main force came into sight, Solomon promptly informed Belisarius of the situation. Seeing
727:
When the
Byzantines advanced towards Carthage they would most likely try to go through the path blocked by Gibamund who was ordered to charge them. This was supposed to push the Byzantines back into the valley and disorganise them. Gelimer would advance into the valley and attack them from behind.
742:
One of these was between the
Byzantine Hun mercenaries and the Vandals of Gibamundus. One of the roughly 600 Huns rode out in front of the rest when encountering the Vandals. Upon seeing this the Vandals stopped in their tracks allowing the Huns to charge and disperse them. They possibly did this
682:
to reconquer the former Roman province of North Africa. On
Midsummer Day 533 the expedition set off. It consisted of 5,000 Byzantine cavalry and twice as many infantry and some additional units but their number and composition is not named by the primary sources. They travelled in a fleet of 500
730:
When
Belisarius landed in North Africa he knew the Vandals would move against him before he could reach Carthage. However he did not know the Vandal dispositions so he wanted to gain intelligence about them before giving battle. At the time when Ammatus was scouting the location of the battle,
758:
When Belisarius attacked the unprepared Vandals from an unexpected direction, he quickly routed the Vandals who had fled away from Carthage in order to avoid being trapped between Belisarius and a potential other Byzantine force (one under John indeed being present on that road).
719:. Hearing of the Byzantine landing, Gelimer marched north from his position towards Ad Decimum. He divided his forces, sending 2,000 men under his nephew Gibamund to block one of the three roads to Carthage, the other two converging at Ad Decimum.
678:, a popular military commander who had commanded successfully against the Moors. Gelimer began persecuting the non-Arian population, and many fled to the Byzantine Empire. Justinian sent Byzantine general
747:
bands of at most thirty men, thinly stretching themselves over the road between Carthage and the battlefield. As these small groups in turn encountered the Byzantines they were quickly defeated and fled.
788:
252:
776:
1012:
816:
1385:
1186:
245:
800:
835:
Belisarius camped near the site of the battle, not wanting to be too close to the city at night. The next day he marched on the city, with his wife
1323:
238:
1263:
637:
to bear that name. The Byzantine victory marked the beginning of the end for the Vandals and began the reconquest of the west under the Emperor
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1405:
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1400:
1020:
1346:
634:
592:
840:
sat on the throne of the Vandal King. He then set about rebuilding the fortifications of the city, and his fleet sought shelter in the
691:, the Vandal capital, the ships keeping pace with the army offshore. Contact with the fleet was lost however when it had to sail round
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350:
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71:
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540:
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44:
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to arrive rather than engage Belisarius (at this point still extremely vulnerable), who moved towards Carthage.
382:
484:
1395:
687:. Once the fleet arrived safely in North Africa, the Byzantine army disembarked and marched up the coast to
501:
489:
409:
345:
511:
297:
739:
The battle started with two roughly simultaneous engagements between smaller Vandal and Byzantine units.
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516:
459:
399:
101:
575:
1279:
848:
550:
535:
530:
330:
302:
762:
After this battle Carthage was left relatively lightly defended and was captured by the Byzantines.
50:
1420:
597:
449:
419:
282:
1295:
1180:
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340:
287:
1024:
674:
Christianity that most Vandals followed. However, in 531, Hilderic was overthrown by his cousin
1331:
1269:
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434:
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176:
1016:
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212:
Greater than the Romans, 20,000 men at maximum. Most likely 10,000–12,000 men or 11,000 men.
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155:
138:
1220:
History of the later Roman Empire: from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian
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629:. This event and events in the following year are sometimes jointly referred to as the
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375:
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93:
1330:, 1848. Reprinted 2006 (unabridged with editorial comments) Evolution Publishing,
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First phase, the Byzantine advance parties defeat the Vandal flanking detachments.
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638:
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626:
172:
1361:
1348:
1032:
988:
1339:
1238:
1118:
523:
180:
662:. His reign was noteworthy for the kingdom's excellent relations with the
17:
782:
Initial Vandal plan, with the projected entrapment of the Byzantine army.
752:
722:
Gelimer retained 5,000–6,000 men under his own command while his brother
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126:
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234:
56:
You can help by providing page numbers for existing citations.
29:
1155:
Rome resurgent : war and empire in the age of Justinian
822:
Third phase, the final clash between Belisarius and Gelimer.
613:
took place on September 13, 533 between the armies of the
1072:
J-J.Norwich "A short history of Byzantium", Penguin Books
851:
later in the year, the Vandal Kingdom was all but ended.
711:"), was a marker along the Mediterranean coast road ten
1062:. Robarts – University of Toronto. London S. Heinemann.
1059:
Procopius, with an English translation by H.B. Dewing
1013:
United States Army Command and General Staff College
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1245:[History of the Wars, Books III and IV].
1056:Procopius; Dewing, H. B. (Henry Bronson) (1914).
86:
1265:Goths, Franks, and Justinian's Empire 476–610
1011:(Master of Military Art and Science thesis).
246:
8:
844:, five miles (8 km) south of Carthage.
1268:. World Peace Communications. p. 628.
1185:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
253:
239:
231:
225:3,000-4,000? Still unknown modern estimate
100:
83:
72:Learn how and when to remove this message
1324:Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope
969:Belisarius : the last Roman general
860:
772:
1386:Battles involving the Byzantine Empire
1303:
1293:
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1098:
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1021:Defense Technical Information Center
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222:1,000? Still unknown modern estimate
27:Battle of the Vandalic War in 533 AD
683:transports, escorted by ninety-two
1153:Heather, P. J. (Peter J.) (2018).
715:(9.2 miles (15 km)) south of
658:in North Africa was ruled by King
25:
965:Hughes, Ian (Historian) (2009).
815:
806:Second phase, Gelimer routs the
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625:, under the command of General
1119:"History of the Wars/Book III"
1:
1391:Battles involving the Vandals
1105:The Generalship of Belisarius
1005:The Generalship of Belisarius
847:After a second defeat at the
1406:530s in the Byzantine Empire
1401:Military history of Tunisia
973:. Yardley, Pa.: Westholme.
566:Onoguris (3rd Archaeopolis)
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1205:The Dark Ages 476–918 A.D
767:Development of the battle
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1262:Beck, Sanderson (2004).
1103:Brogna, Anthony (2015).
1002:Brogna, Anthony (1995).
209:18,000 men or 15,000 men
496:Sasanian war of 540–562
43:This article cites its
1328:The Life of Belisarius
1239:Procopius, of Caesarea
167:Commanders and leaders
1107:. Hauraki Publishing.
217:Casualties and losses
849:Battle of Tricamarum
617:, commanded by King
611:Battle of Ad Decimum
356:Babosis and Zerboule
116:September 13, 533 CE
87:Battle of Ad Decimum
1362:36.7500°N 10.3333°E
1358: /
1123:en.m.wikisource.org
129:mornag modern TĂşnez
1282:on 10 October 2015
631:Battle of Carthage
588:Conquest of Spania
1247:Gutenberg Project
1164:978-0-19-936274-5
666:ruled by Emperor
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177:John the Armenian
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49:does not provide
16:(Redirected from
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1367:36.7500; 10.3333
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1359:
1356:
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1278:. Archived from
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556:Telephis–Ollaria
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51:page references
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842:Lake of Tunis
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1411:Vandalic War
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1327:
1284:. Retrieved
1280:the original
1264:
1251:. Retrieved
1246:
1219:
1218:Bury, J. B.
1213:
1204:
1157:. New York.
1154:
1126:. Retrieved
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703:Ad Decimum (
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521:
475:Sena Gallica
325:
319:Moorish Wars
315:Vandalic War
308:Martyropolis
195:
150:Belligerents
94:Vandalic War
92:Part of the
68:
59:
48:
1365: /
1322:Lord Mahon
1249:. p. 1
1243:"De Bellis"
713:Roman miles
699:Preparation
668:Justinian I
639:Justinian I
276:Iberian War
264:Justinian I
127:Carthageand
1421:Belisarius
1380:Categories
1353:10°20′00″E
1350:36°45′00″N
1231:References
1173:1007044617
1128:2019-11-28
1023:. p.
680:Belisarius
627:Belisarius
621:, and the
507:Sisauranon
455:2nd Naples
420:Urviventus
400:1st Naples
383:Gothic War
331:Tricamarum
326:Ad Decimum
303:Callinicum
173:Belisarius
18:Ad Decimum
1306:ignored (
1296:cite book
1181:cite book
1033:227839393
989:294885267
831:Aftermath
808:foederati
633:, one of
598:Melantias
541:3rd Petra
536:2nd Petra
531:1st Petra
524:Lazic War
490:Volturnus
450:Mucellium
283:Thannuris
181:Calonymus
139:Byzantine
1241:(2005).
1037:Archived
837:Antonina
753:Sardinia
717:Carthage
693:Cape Bon
689:Carthage
660:Hilderic
470:3rd Rome
465:2nd Rome
445:Faventia
410:Ariminum
405:1st Rome
390:Panormus
366:Sufetula
351:Membresa
346:Carthage
341:Bourgaon
288:Mindouos
262:Wars of
204:Strength
121:Location
724:Ammatus
685:dromons
676:Gelimer
650:Prelude
619:Gelimer
615:Vandals
576:Tzacher
502:Nisibis
480:Taginae
460:Otranto
435:Treviso
430:Ravenna
425:Auximus
415:Urbinus
395:Scardon
361:Cillium
196:†
190:Ammatas
186:Gelimer
141:victory
45:sources
1334:
1286:3 July
1272:
1253:3 July
1171:
1161:
1031:
987:
977:
735:Battle
645:Battle
571:Phasis
551:Cotais
517:Edessa
512:Anglon
440:Verona
336:Mammes
298:Satala
192:
135:Result
1040:(PDF)
1027:–56.
1009:(PDF)
855:Notes
707:for "
705:Latin
672:Arian
582:Other
371:Marta
125:Near
1332:ISBN
1308:help
1288:2013
1270:ISBN
1255:2013
1187:link
1169:OCLC
1159:ISBN
1029:OCLC
985:OCLC
975:ISBN
654:The
609:The
317:and
293:Dara
113:Date
47:but
1416:533
1382::
1338:.
1326:,
1300::
1298:}}
1294:{{
1195:^
1183:}}
1179:{{
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1048:^
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1025:50
1019::
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863:^
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254:e
247:t
240:v
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