Battle of Ad Decimum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Ad Decimum
Part of the Vandalic War
Date September 13, 533 CE Location Near Carthage Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Vandal Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Belisarius John the Armenian Calonymus	Gelimer Ammatas  †
Strength
18,000 men or 15,000 men	Greater than the Romans 20,000 men at maximum. Most likely 10,000–12,000 men or 11,000 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Ad Decimum was a big fight that happened on September 13, 533 CE. It was between the Vandals, led by their king, Gelimer, and the Byzantine Empire, led by their skilled general, Belisarius. This battle, and others that followed, are sometimes called the Battle of Carthage. The Byzantines won, which was the start of the end for the Vandal Kingdom. It also helped Emperor Justinian I begin to take back lands in the west.

The Battle of Ad Decimum

Why the Battle Happened

The Vandal Kingdom was in North Africa. It was ruled by King Hilderic. He got along very well with the Byzantine Empire and its leader, Emperor Justinian I. They even exchanged many valuable gifts. Hilderic allowed a new Christian leader to come to Carthage, the Vandal capital. Many Vandals started to follow this new Christian faith. This worried the Vandal nobles, as most Vandals followed a different type of Christianity called Arianism.

In 531, Hilderic was overthrown by his cousin, Gelimer. Gelimer was a popular military leader. He started to treat the non-Arian Christians badly. Many of them ran away to the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Justinian decided to send his general, Belisarius, to take back North Africa. This land used to be part of the Roman Empire.

In the summer of 533, Belisarius's army set off. It had about 5,000 Byzantine horse soldiers and twice as many foot soldiers. They sailed in a huge fleet of 500 transport ships. These ships were protected by 92 fast warships called dromons.

Getting Ready for Battle

The Byzantine fleet arrived safely in North Africa. The army then got off the ships and marched along the coast towards Carthage. Carthage was the Vandal capital. The ships tried to stay close to the army. But they lost contact when they had to sail around a place called Cape Bon.

Ad Decimum means "at the tenth [mile post]" in Latin. It was a spot on the coast road about ten Roman miles (about 15 kilometers) south of Carthage. King Gelimer heard that the Byzantines had landed. He marched north towards Ad Decimum.

Gelimer split his army. He sent 2,000 men with his nephew, Gibamund. Their job was to block one of the three roads leading to Carthage. The other two roads met at Ad Decimum. Gelimer kept 5,000 to 6,000 men with him. His brother, Ammatus, came from the north with 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers. Ammatus went ahead of his troops to scout the area.

At Ad Decimum, there was a narrow pass. This was a good place to trap the Byzantines. The Byzantines did not know the roads well. They would be surprised if an army attacked them from behind. Gelimer planned for the Byzantines to be pushed back into a valley. Then he would attack them from behind.

Belisarius knew the Vandals would attack him before he reached Carthage. But he did not know where they were. He wanted to gather information first. He found a good spot for a camp about four miles from Ad Decimum. He left his foot soldiers there. Then he went forward with his horse soldiers.

Belisarius had sent 300 scouts ahead. They were led by John the Armenian. He also had 600 Huns guarding his left side. These groups kept moving forward while Belisarius was still setting up camp.

The Fight Begins

The battle started with two small fights happening at almost the same time.

One fight was between the Byzantine Hun soldiers and Gibamundus's Vandals. One Hun rode ahead of his group. When the Vandals saw him, they stopped. This allowed the Huns to charge and scatter them. The Vandals might have been scared of a trap. Or they might have been surprised to see Byzantines so far from the main road. The Huns were also known as fierce warriors. So, 600 Hun soldiers defeated 2,000 Vandals. Gibamundus was killed in this fight.

At the same time, Ammatus made a big mistake. He was scouting with only a few men. He ran into the stronger Byzantine group led by John. Ammatus was killed in the fight. The rest of Ammatus's soldiers left Carthage in small groups. They were spread out along the road. When they met the Byzantines, they quickly ran away.

A Byzantine group led by Solomon arrived where the fighting had happened. They were sent to find John. They asked local people what had happened. Soon after, Gelimer's main army appeared. Solomon quickly told Belisarius what was happening.

Gelimer's and Solomon's troops started to fight over a nearby hill. It was a good place for a camp. The Byzantines had to attack uphill and were outnumbered. They were quickly defeated. The retreating Byzantines met 800 more Byzantine troops and regrouped. But when they heard what was happening, these 800 soldiers also ran back to Belisarius's main army.

Belisarius gathered his troops and listened to their reports. He realized that many Vandals had already run away. The rest had stopped. Belisarius believed he had more soldiers than the Vandals. He quickly moved towards Ad Decimum.

A historian named Procopius thought Gelimer made a big mistake. If Gelimer had chased the fleeing Byzantines, he might have defeated Belisarius's army. If he had moved towards Carthage, he could have cut off the Byzantine army from John's group. Either choice could have been very bad for the Byzantines.

Gelimer saw only a few dead soldiers near his brother Ammatus's body. He thought the Byzantines led by Solomon were just a small group. He believed a much larger force had attacked earlier and made Ammatus's troops leave their fallen leader. Gelimer decided not to chase the "overwhelming" Byzantine force. He set up camp at the good spot he had captured. He wanted to gather more information and wait for more soldiers from Sardinia. Belisarius, who was still very open to attack, moved towards Carthage.

When Belisarius attacked the Vandals, they were not ready. He came from an unexpected direction. He quickly defeated the Vandals. They ran away from Carthage so they would not be trapped between Belisarius and another Byzantine force (John's group was indeed on that road).

After this battle, Carthage was not well defended. The Byzantines easily captured it.

What Happened Next

Belisarius camped near the battle site. He did not want to be too close to the city at night. The next day, he marched into Carthage. His wife, Antonina, was with him. He told his soldiers not to kill or enslave the people. This was a common practice back then. But Belisarius said the people were actually Roman citizens who had been under Vandal rule.

They found the city gates open. The army was generally welcomed. Belisarius went straight to the palace. He sat on the throne of the Vandal King. He then started to rebuild the city's defenses. His fleet found a safe place in the Lake of Tunis, about five miles (8 km) south of Carthage.

Later that year, the Vandals suffered another defeat at the Battle of Tricamarum. This battle almost completely ended the Vandal Kingdom.

See also

In Spanish: Batalla de Ad Decimum para niños