Français – عربي – ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ – English
Translation: Ibrahim Ait Dami
Roman rule over North Africa, which had lasted more than four centuries, collapsed when the Vandals invaded the region. About thirty years later, a new Emperor, Majorian, led a campaign that allowed him to retake control of Spain. He then wanted to reconquer North Africa, but he lacked the means to do so.
Background
After the Vandals sacked Rome in 455, the Roman Empire was weaker than ever. The Gothic king Theodoric II imposed Avitus, a senator of Gallic origin who was close to him, as the new Emperor. During Avitus’s reign, the Goths invaded Spain, officially to bring the region back under Roman rule, but in reality for their own benefit. Abandoned by Theodoric, Avitus was killed in 456, after a year on the throne.
Majorian: Make Rome Great Again
General Majorian, who proclaimed himself Emperor, decided to launch a vast campaign to reconquer the territories Rome had lost. He began by driving the Burgundians out of southern Gaul, then turned on the Goths in Spain. Within three years, he had retaken control of most of Spain. He also sent his officer Marcellinus to recapture Sicily from the Vandals.
Majorian wanted to use Spain as a base from which to attack the Vandals in Africa. But during his Spanish campaign, the Vandals managed to destroy the ships he was preparing for the invasion. Deprived of his fleet, Majorian was forced to cancel his plans. In 460, he concluded a peace treaty with the Vandal king Gaiseric and disbanded his troops.
On his return to Italy, Majorian was captured by Ricimer, a Roman general of Germanic origin. He was assassinated in 461.
Aftermath
For the following years, Ricimer, who could not become Emperor himself because of his Germanic origins, was the true master of the Empire, until his death in 472. The Emperors who reigned during these years were mere puppets. One of them, Olybrius, was linked by marriage to the Vandal king Gaiseric.
The last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476 by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer: this marked the end of the Roman Empire.
