The Byzantine province of Spania – History Archives

A The beginning of the 5th century saw the main Germanic migrations across the Rhine that modified the map and the reality of the territories that at that time were still in the hands of the Western Roman Empire. The little militarization of lime Rhenish-Danubiancaused by the lack of money from the public coffers of the imperial state to maintain permanent garrisons stationed on the border led to the cities located in the provinces bordering the Germanic towns having to economically support these few garrisons (B. Ward-Perkins, 2007: 39).

With this panorama we are in the December 31, 406when a group composed of Suebi, Alans and Vandals Asdingi and Silingi entered the Empire through the river Rhine, in the vicinity of the city of Mainz (D. Álvarez, 2016: 27). As we already know, a greater number of Germanic peoples will later make their way through the rest of the territories of Western Europe, creating their own political entities on the remains of a moribund Western Roman Empire, already disappeared from the year 476.

Thus, we find that by the 6th century the whole of Western Europe is controlled by different groups of Germanic peoplesincluding the Iberian Peninsula, effectively controlled by the Visigoths after their defeat against the Franks at the Battle of Vouillé (507).

In parallel, and on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, the Eastern Roman Empire has not perished to the Germanic migrations, being the only remaining remnant of the Roman Empire. However, the inhabitants of this Eastern Roman Empire they do not consider themselves alien to Rome, but continue to call themselves Rhomaioi (J. Vizcaino, 2007: 33). This nuance, which will continue throughout the Middle Ages, is essential to understand that both the attempted conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and that of other ancient parts of the Roman Empire are part of a project aimed at recovering what the Eastern Romans considered to be their own territory.

The Renovatio Imperii

The project of renewal empire It should be understood not so much as an aid to the West, but as a way to avoid the passage to the East of the Germanic peoples already settled in the old Roman domains.. In fact, from the beginning, the eastern emperors did not hesitate to recognize the kings who ruled in Hispania, Italy or Gaul (J. Vizcaíno, 2007: 35). However, we must also take into account that the different Germanic kings responded to this “indifference” by recognizing the authority of the Emperor of Constantinople. This pragmatism will vary according to the events that shake the different political entities.

The barbarians, for their part, they will try to relate to the Empire in very different ways. Kings like Theodoric the Great (493-526) will adopt the title of flaviusand will even depict themselves with a Roman aura.

The reasons that led Byzantium to undertake this policy of recovering the former territories of the Western Empire are, as J. Vizcaíno (2007: 37) comments, varied and respond to different needs: ideological, economic factors and recovery of social consensus.

Within the ideological factor, it is worth mentioning the weight of the Justinian conception of a universal monarchy. Justinian understands that his power, far from being solely earthlyit is also divine. The emperor himself emphasizes the divinity of the monarchy (J. Vizcaíno, 2007: 38), presenting himself as a kind of new leader of christianity. In fact, the religious factor acquired a great role during the renewal empiresince the campaigns were wrapped in a sacred air of recovery and restoration of faithsnatched by the barbarians. This propaganda policy was strongest during the beginning of the hostilities against the Vandals, relaxing over time when the campaigns were directed against the Ostrogoths and Visigoths. Added to this, the idea of restoration of the roman empireof rebirth of the old (J. Vizcaíno, 2007: 43).

Regarding the economic section, we must bear in mind which were the territories that had fallen under the “barbarian yoke”. Both Gaul, Hispania and Italy, and especially North Africa were no longer subject to imperial authority. All these territories represented a great source of incomebecause although they were not as populous as the eastern provinces, they were sources not only of tributes, but of rich crops that would fill the coffers and pantries of the Empire. Also, the Mediterranean was cut off because of the hacking hooligan, exercised by these from ancient Carthage and that hit the western Mediterranean especially, but also increasingly the eastern one. If Constantinople managed to recapture the control of the seascould restore trade along the Mare Nostrumwhich would translate into a blessing for the coffers.

This project must also be approached from the perspective of an increasingly patent emperor’s weakness. That is why the weight of the factor of regaining popularity is so important for J. Vizcaíno (2007: 43). Taking into account that the renewal empire It is framed in the years after the rebellion of Nikain which much of Constantinople rose up against the emperorand only a very hard performance of the military imperial forces managed to prevent the overthrow and lynching of Justinian, it is not unreasonable to think that this outward hostility policy of the borders is due to an attempt to return the prestige to a very run-down institution. This common undertaking for all Rhomaioi would be an escape valve that would serve both to recover territories, to calm the tempers of opponents of Justinian. However, this approach would end up having little follow-through, especially as campaigns grew larger and longer, eventually taking over the oikoumene Byzantine what could live without latinos (J. Vizcaino, 2007: 44).

The expedition to Spain

Prior to their arrival in Hispania, the Byzantines attacked the Vandalsestablished in the north of Africa since the year 429, date on which King Genseric took over these territories. The Vandal troops were defeated by Belisarius on September 13 of the year 533 in a suburb of Carthage (History of Wars, III, 18, 8), which for Gelimer, the last Vandal king, meant the total defeat of his hosts and the loss of his treasure, which ended up falling into Byzantine hands shortly after. Later the Byzantines were progressively taking the remaining Vandal territories in Africaas well as the balearic islands. One of the turning points prior to the jump to Hispania was the control of the city of Septemthe current Ceuta.

According to the conquest of Ceuta, the sources do not make clear his prior affiliation to the Byzantine takeover. Isidoro de Sevilla speaks to us at one point about the attempts to part of the goths to take the city in the year 547controlled by the Byzantines (HG42):

“After the success of such a happy victory (the conquest of Ceuta), the Goths had a short-sighted performance on the other side of the Strait. Indeed, having crossed it to go against the soldiers (of the Byzantine emperor) who, after having repulsed the Goths, invaded the city of Ceuta, when they were assaulting said fortress and in the thick of the combat, they laid down their arms, arrive on Sunday, so as not to profane the sacred day with war. Taking advantage, therefore, the soldiers of this opportunity, suddenly rushed against the assailant army and, surrounding it on all sides, caused such havoc in it, that not even one survived to escape the disaster of such defeat.

this passage does not confirm the previous Gothic domination of the cityso we could assume that the Eastern Roman troops seized the city which was either in the hands of the Vandals or had been maintained independently. Even so, we do not know when the Byzantines seize Ceuta, because for the year 536 they had already started their invasion of the italic peninsulaheld by the ostrogoths. What we do know is that the Byzantine policy to recover the former territories of the Western Roman Empire was not only limited to the use of the sword, but also used the diplomacy and agreements with other factions to destabilize the Visigoth kingdom.

This has been reflected thanks to Procopius (History of wars, V, 8-10), which offers us a vision of the relations between the Frankish kingdom and the Byzantines:

“It is precisely for this reason (the Gothic war in Italy) that we have been forced to wage war against them, and it seems reasonable to us that you should help us wage this war, which becomes for you our common cause due to the Orthodox faith, which rejects the beliefs of the Arians, as well as the hostility that both peoples feel towards the Goths”.

This story supports the idea that the Byzantines instigated and supported the Frankish attacks to the Visigoth kingdom. One such attack, which occurred in 541, snatched Provence from the Visigoths and ended with Frankish troops in front of the walls of Zaragoza (P. Fuentes, 1996: 29), but thanks to the military skill of Teudiselo (successor of Teudis on the Gothic throne) the city ​​managed to be saved and the Franks undertook the retreat. Thus, we see that Justinian used cleverly the enmity that existed among the Germanic peoples themselves, which in the case of the Visigoths and the Franks did not go back very long, since the former lost one of their kings in battle against the Franks at the beginning of the same century.

Theudis (531-548), however, he did not give up, and decided deal a blow to Byzantine expansionismsomething that it ended really badly as it mentioned above. The gothic king for more inri, He died shortly after being defeated in Ceutain the year 548and was succeeded by his successful general Teudiselo (548-549). The new monarch only reigned a year and a half (J. Orlandis, 1988: 65), since he was killed in a conspiracy of some Visigoth nobles. We must not forget that so much Theudis What Teudiselo were ostrogothsand they had served to Theodoric the Greatso the Visigoth nobles were not very inclined to abide by the laws of a king of another tribe. But both kings knew answer to Byzantine powerwell, even though they did not manage to defeat or expel him across the strait, They lowered the political focus of Barcino (Barcelona) to peninsular southwhich for authors such as R. Sanz (2009: 240) is due to an intention to avoid both a Byzantine military assault that caught them by surprise, like, and this is the most important thing, control the Hispano-Roman nobility of the big cities from the more religiously and politically inclined Baetica to Constantinople.

After this we come to Key moment of the…