What does Procopius's Histories of the Wars say about Antalas?

Procopius's Histories of the Wars recounts the actions of the Berber tribal leader Antalas, who initially served as a Byzantine ally under a foedus treaty. He later rebelled against the empire after Byzantine officials broke agreements by killing his brother Guarizila and cutting off his subsidies. His early victory against the Vandal king Hilderic also provided Emperor Justinian with the pretext to launch the Vandalic War.

What we know

• Antalas was a Berber tribal leader of the Frexes who initially served the Byzantine Empire as an ally through a foedus treaty. [2]
• Antalas switched sides and rebelled against the Byzantines after officials broke agreements by killing his brother Guarizila and cutting annona subsidies. [2]
• Antalas and his tribe defeated the army of Vandal king Hilderic, provoking a coup by Gelimer that gave Justinian the casus belli to claim Africa for the empire. [2, 5]
• Procopius, as secretary to the general Belisarius, wrote the main historical narrative of the wars involving the Vandals and the region of Africa. [5]

Where to go next

• what caused itWhy did the Vandalic War start?
• what followedWhat was the outcome of the Byzantine-Moorish wars?
• how it workedHow did the Byzantine Empire administer reconquered North Africa?
• how we knowWhat role did Flavius Cresconius Corippus play in documenting Antalas?
• whoWho was the Byzantine general Belisarius?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a defeat by a local Berber chief trigger the fall of the Vandal kingdom?An early military defeat of the Vandals by the Berber leader Antalas triggered a palace coup in Carthage that ultimately furnished the Eastern Roman Empire with the exact pretext needed to invade and conquer North Africa.

Sources

• [1]Antalas (Wikidata Q2852560) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Antalas · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Byzantine–Moorish wars · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Praetorian prefecture of Africa · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Vandalic War · CC BY-SA 4.0