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Battle of Cartagena | |||||||
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Part of the Germanic Wars | |||||||
Although the battle took place on the coast of the province Carthaginensis (green), it was not in the provincial capital Cartagena itself, but 40 nautical miles away in Portus Ilicitanus (Santa Pola) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Vandals | Western Roman Empire | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | 300 [2] [4] [5] [8] ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Cartagena occurred on May 13, 460 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] (or 461 [8] ) and was part of the wars of Majorian. Although many sources call it battle of Cartagena, the battle did not take place at Cartagena but on the coast of Roman Carthaginensis province at Portus Ilicitanus (today Santa Pola) [1] [3] [8] in the bay of Alicante. [5] Since Portus Ilicitanus was the port of Elche (Ilici), the battle is sometimes referred as battle of Elche. [1] [6]
460: Eo anno captae sunt naves a Vandalis ad Elecem juxta Carthaginem Spartariam.
— Marius Aventicensis, Chronica de obispo de Aventicum
In 457, the Roman general Majorian succeeded to the throne of the Western Roman Empire. He immediately set about restoring the empire to its former boundaries. Majorian then began to assemble a fleet at Portus Ilicitanus (near Ilici), [1] [3] [6] [7] [8] with which he intended to invade the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa.
By spring 460 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] (or 461 [8] ), Majorian had 300 [2] [4] [5] [8] ships already built and he would have had another few more ready by the autumn. The Vandals decided to strike before the Roman navy became unbeatable. On May 13, a fleet of Vandal ships under the command of King Gaiseric [1] [2] [5] surprised the Roman fleet. Many of the Roman captains had been bribed to switch sides. The Roman navy was totally destroyed, ending any hope of reconquering North Africa.
Mense Maio Majorianus Hispanias ingreditur imperator: quo Carthaginiensem provinciam pertendente, aliquantas naves quas sibi ad transitum adversum Wandalos praeparabat, de littore Carthaginiensi commoniti Wandali per proditores abripiunt. Majorianus ita sua ordinatione frustratus ad Italiam revertitur.
— Hydatius, Chronicon
The 460s decade ran from January 1, 460, to December 31, 469.
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Majorian, was the Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. In 461, he was murdered at Dertona in a conspiracy, and his successors until the Fall of the Empire in 476 were puppets either of barbarian generals or the Eastern Roman court.
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