Tricamarum

The defeat at Ad Decimum did not deter Gelimer, and shortly after his brother Tzazon returned from putting down a rebellion in Sardinia, the two marched on Belisarius, who now occupied Carthage. Gathering intelligence from his spies, Gelimer attempted to …

533-12-13

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The defeat at Ad Decimum did not deter Gelimer, and shortly after his brother Tzazon returned from putting down a rebellion in Sardinia, the two marched on Belisarius, who now occupied Carthage. Gathering intelligence from his spies, Gelimer attempted to bribe the Huns in the Byzantine army, but Belisarius learned of the intrigue and made a larger offer. Belisarius knew the Huns felt they had been sent to North Africa after being promised duty closer to their lands and could still be persuaded to change sides. Therefore, Belisarius decided to bring the enemy to battle before any treachery could commence. Count John was sent ahead with the cavalry carrying orders to skirmish until the infantry arrived. The Huns rode in the rear of the cavalry column and were stationed well away when the Byzantines made camp on the far side of the creek from the Vandal camp. The next day Gelimer led out his army and deployed for battle. John stationed himself with the center division and crossed the small stream with small contingents and skirmished several times, but each time had to retreat from larger Vandal pursuit forces. For their part the Vandals would not pursue John across the stream. Instead they would stop at the bank and retire. Tzazon and several other Vandal nobles had perished in these skirmishes, and the Vandal army was starting to lose heart. When Belisarius arrived and assessed the situation, he changed his mind and ordered the entire cavalry force to attack without waiting for the infantry. The Vandals, now in disarray, were pursued back to their camp. The Huns waited to see which side won and joined the Byzantines in pursuing the Vandals. Belisarius waited for his infantry to arrive before moving on the Vandal camp. Gelimer, seeing the camp being surrounded, escaped to the mountains.

Tricamarum, Tunisia

The Battle of Tricamarum took place on December 15, 533 between the armies of the Byzantine Empire, under Belisarius, and the Vandal Kingdom, commanded by King Gelimer, and his brother Tzazon. It followed the Byzantine victory at the Battle of Ad Decimum, and eliminated the power of the Vandals for good, completing the "Reconquest" of North Africa under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The main contemporary source for the battle is Procopius, De Bello Vandalico, which occupies Books III and IV of his magisterial Wars of Justinian.

Wikipedia: Battle of Tricamarum

Vandals

Byzantine