Dr. Laroussi Kamel, Anthropologist.
Founder and Head of the Ecomuseum of Arid Regions. IRA Medenine.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Vandal Era (439-533)

A decade after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in 429 under their King Genseric, the Vandals fought several battles before defeating the armies of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires in North Africa.

In 439, Genseric captured Carthage, leading Rome to recognize Vandal sovereignty over Proconsular Africa and Byzacena, as well as a major part of the Numidia province, under a treaty concluded in 442 (see Map 1).

Map 1: Expansion of the Vandal State between 435 and 442 (after Courtois)

Beyond the borders of Byzacena marked by the Limes, the Vandal presence – as recounted in the writings of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea – extended to northern Tripolitania (Sabratha, Oea (Tripoli), Leptis Magna), while southern Tripolitania south of the Limes was spared from the destructive Vandal assaults.

The Vandal presence in Tunisia lasted nearly a century (439-533) and was marked by the spread of epidemics, famine, and revolts by Moorish tribes against this new occupant, who demanded total allegiance from both indigenous and Roman populations to his authority and faith (Arianism: A non-trinitarian Christological doctrine, labeled as Christian heresy by the general council of bishops of the Roman Empire).

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The Byzantine Era (533-705)

In 533, Roman troops under General Belisarius captured Carthage and imposed the authority of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I over all the territory of Africa as far as the Tripolitanian city of Leptis Magna, which became one of the provincial capitals of the empire.

During this period, the ports of Tripolitania and those of the South-East Tunisian region (the emporium of Gigthis) continued to play a leading role in the trans-Saharan trade circuit with sub-Saharan Africa, particularly with Niger, known for its gold mines. Inevitably, this gold trade passed through the Dahar line in South-East Tunisia.

To secure this commercial traffic, the Byzantines rehabilitated old Roman fortresses and built some new ones, including the emporium of Gigthis (Gulf of Boughrara) in the north.

The Byzantines, who vainly tried to revive the grandeur of Rome, were caught off guard by successive revolts of Berber tribes and the beginning of the Islamic conquests of North Africa toward the end of the 7th century.

Bibliography

Christian Courtois, 1955, Les Vandales et l’Afrique, Paris, Arts et métiers graphiques, 457 p.