Battle of Bourgaon

Battle of Bourgaon
Part of Byzantine–Moorish wars
Date 535, during the summer Location Mount Bourgaon, modern central Tunisia Result Byzantine victory Chieftains flee into the Aurès Mountains
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Berber rebels
Commanders and leaders
Solomon Theodorus	Cutzinas Esdilasas    (POW) Mesdinissas Iourphoutes
Strength
Unknown	50,000
Casualties and losses
None (Procopius's claim, likely false)	50,000 (Procopius's claim, likely exaggarated)

Roman Africa, with the provinces of Byzacena, Zeugitana and Numidia.

The Battle of Bourgaon, or Mount Bourgaon took place in the summer of 535 at Mount Bourgaon in central Tunisia between Byzantine troops and a numerically superior Berber rebels.

The Berber rebels camped on the foothills of the Bourgaon mountain, giving them a defensive advantage over the Byzantines. During the night, Byzantine troops scaled the opposite side of the slope without being noticed and launched an attack from both sides at dawn, catching the Berbers off guard. The Byzantines routed the rebels, reportedly killing or wounding nearly all their fighters and forcing the remaining leaders to flee into the Berber Kingdom of Arris. It marked the end of the first stage of the Berber revolt.

Perlude

Byzantine General Belisarius after his victory in the Vandalic War ^[1] in Africa had to return back to Constantinople to deal with rumors against him in the royal court of Justinian I. Belisarius anticipated that the Berbers, who had remained quiet largely out of fear of him, would revolt upon his departure. He placed most of his bucellarii under Solomon's command and instructed him to put down the rebellion. The Berbers rebelled on the news of Belisarius' departure. ^[2]

The Berbers invaded Byzacena and defeated the local Byzantine garrison, ambushing and killing its commanders, Aigan and Rufinus the Thracian, which damaged the morale of the Byzantine troops. After diplomatic entreaties over the winter failed, and with his forces bolstered to some 18,000 men following the arrival of reinforcements, ^[3] in spring 535 Solomon led his troops into Byzacena. In early 535, Solomon defeated the Berber rebels, under their chiefs Cutzinas, Esdilasas, Iourphouthes and Mesidinissas, in the Battle of Mammes. The Berbers retreated, and regrouped at Mount Bourgaon, while the Byzantines sought to put an end to the revolt. ^[3]

Battle

The Berbers encamped on the mountain's foothills, having a defensive advantage over the Byzantines. The Berbers, not expecting the Byzantines to actually try and overtake them from the east that had a steep slope, concentrated all their forces on the west, where there was a gentle slope. Solomon's army camped in the valley, expecting the Berbers to descent and engage him in the open, but the Berbers refused to be drawn out. ^[4]

At first, the Byzantine troops lost morale when confronted by their numerically superior enemy. After a speech by Solomon, the troops gained their morale back and prepared for the fight. ^[5] Solomon sent his commander, Theodorus, with about 1,000 excubitors to climb the eastern side of the mountain. ^[6] He did not tell this to his own troops to avoid being betrayed. ^[7] The excubitors climbed up the mountain during the night without being noticed. ^[6]

At dawn, Solomon advanced his forces to the mountain's outskirts, while Theodorus's troops emerged on the opposite side, encircling the Berbers. Both detachments struck the Berbers with volleys of arrows, causing them to panic and try to flee, but they had no route of escape. ^[8] The few that survived did so by trampling over the dead bodies of their comrades, and nearly all of the Berber warriors were caught, killed, or wounded. ^{[7] [8]} All of the Berber chieftains were able to flee except for Esdilasas, who was caught, and taken prisoner. ^[7] According to Procopius, the Berbers suffered 50,000 casualties, while the Romans suffered none. ^[5]

Aftermath

Surviving Berber soldiers retreated into Numidia where they joined forces with Iabdas, King of the Aurès. ^{[9] [10]} Masuna, King of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom and allied with the Byzantines, and another Berber king, Ortaias (who ruled a kingdom in the former province of Mauretania Sitifensis), ^[11] urged Solomon to pursue the enemy Berbers into Numidia, which he did. Solomon did not engage Iabdas in battle, distrusting the loyalty of his allies, and instead constructed a series of fortified posts along the roads linking Byzacena with Numidia. ^[12] In 536, Emperor Justinian considered that peace had been established in the region. ^[10]

See also

• Byzantine Empireportal

References

1. Merrills & Miles 2009, p. 3.
2. Hughes 2014, p. 110.
3. Bury 2013, pp. 142–143.
4. MacDowall 2016, p. 166.
5. Procopius, History of the Wars, Book IV part XII.
6. Dewing 2014, p. 216.
7. Syvänne 2021, pp. 108–109.
8. Dewing 2007, p. 311.
9. Martindale 1992, p. 1171.
10. Bury 2013, p. 143.
11. Grierson 1959, p. 126.
12. Martindale 1992, p. 1172.

Sources

Primary

• Caesarea, Procopius (545–553). History of the Wars  – via Wikisource.
• Prokopios (2014). The Wars of Justinian. Translated by Dewing, H. B. Hackett Publishing. ISBN   978-1-62466-172-3.
• Procopius (2007). History of the Wars: Books 3-4 (Vandalic War). Translated by Dewing, H. B. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN   978-1-60206-446-1.

Secondary

• Bury, John B. (2013) [1958]. History of the later Roman Empire from the death of Theodosius II. to the death of Justinian. New York. ISBN   9780486143392.
• Grierson, Philip (1959). "Matasuntha or Mastinas: a reattribution". The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society. 19: 119–130. JSTOR   42662366.
• Hughes, Ian (2014). Belisarius: the last Roman general. Barnsley. ISBN   978-1-4738-2297-9. OCLC   903161296.
• Merrills, Andrew; Miles, Richard (2009). The Vandals. Wiley. ISBN   9781444318081.
• MacDowall, Simon (2016). The Vandals. Pen and Sword. ISBN   978-1-4738-8022-1.
• Martindale, J. R. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire 2 Part Set: Volume 3, AD 527-641. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-20160-5.
• Syvänne, Ilkka (2021). Military History of Late Rome 518–565. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN   978-1-4738-9530-0.