Solomon

Solomon was an East Roman (Byzantine) general from northern Mesopotamia, who distinguished himself as a commander in the Vandalic War and the reconquest of North Africa 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 circa 480/490 in the fortress of Idriphthon in the district of Solachon, near Dara in the province of Mesopotamia. He was an eunuch 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, 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 in 533, before the onset of the campaign against the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa.

First tenure in Africa Before the expedition sailed from Constantinople, 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 likely participated in the decisive Battle of Ad Decimum on 13 September 533, which opened the road for the Vandal capital of Carthage. Following the capture of Carthage, Belisarius sent Solomon back to Constantinople to inform Emperor Justinian I 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 . His restoration programme reached at least as far as the Jedars south of Tiaret; medieval Arabic sources record that the Fatimid caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah encountered there an inscription commemorating Solomon's putting down a revolt of the local Berbers, possibly referring to the Mauro-Roman Kingdom of Mastigas. 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.

Battle of Cilium

This tranquility lasted until 542/3, when the Plague of Justinian 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 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 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. 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 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.

Aftermath Solomon was succeeded by his nephew Sergius, who proved 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, but 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.