Artabanes

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Artabanes
Allegiance
Casilinum
RelationsArsaces

Artabanes (

victory at Casilinum
.

Early life

Artabanes was a descendant of the royal Armenian

Arsacid line, a branch of which at the time was recognized as autonomous local princes in the eastern fringes of the Eastern Roman Empire. His father was named John, and he had a brother also named John.[1]

Revolt against Byzantium

In 538/539, Artabanes, at the time apparently still a young man, took part in the Armenian conspiracy against

Khosrau I (r. 531–579). Crossing over to Persian territory, over the next few years Artabanes and those who followed him took part in Khosrau's campaigns against the Byzantines.[3]

Service in Africa

At some time around 544, perhaps as early as 542, Artabanes, his brother John and several other Armenians deserted back to the Byzantines.[1]

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

Along with his brother, Artabanes was placed in command of a small Armenian contingent and sent to Africa in spring 545 under the senator Areobindus.[1] There, the Byzantines were engaged in a protracted war with the rebellious Moorish tribes. Shortly after their arrival, John died in battle at Sicca Veneria with the rebel forces of the renegade Stotzas.[4] Artabanes and his men remained loyal to Areobindus during the rebellion of the dux Numidiae Guntharic in late 545. Guntharic, allied with the Moorish chieftain Antalas, marched on Carthage and seized the city gates. At the urging of Artabanes and others, Areobindus decided to confront the rebel. The two armies appeared evenly matched, until Areobindus took fright and fled to a monastery seeking sanctuary. Thereupon the troops loyal to him also fled, and the city fell to Guntharic.[5]

Areobindus was murdered by Guntharic, but Artabanes secured guarantees of his safety and pledged himself to Guntharic's service. In secret, however, he began planning to overthrow him. Soon after, Artabanes was entrusted, alongside John and Ulitheus, with an expedition against Antalas's Moors. He marched south, along with an allied Moorish contingent under Cutzinas. Antalas's men fled before him, but Artabanes did not pursue them and turned back. According to Procopius, he considered leading his men to join the loyalist imperial garrison that held out at Hadrumetum under Marcentius, but decided to return to Carthage and go on with his plan to assassinate Guntharic.[6] Artabanes kept his plan in absolute secrecy for a long time, confiding only with his two closest Armenian friends: even his Armenian unit of hand-picked and completely loyal veteran soldiers was not aware of it until the very last moment. Such a perfect concealment was achieved, not least thanks to the fact that during both planning and implementation stages of this assassination the communication between the exclusively Armenian conspirators was in their mother tongue, an incomprehensible language for other ethnic elements of the imperial army in Africa.[7]

Upon his return to Carthage, he justified his decision to turn back by insisting that the entire army was needed to quell the insurgents, and urged Guntharic to set forth himself. At the same time, he conspired with his nephew, Gregory, and a few other of his Armenian bodyguards to murder the usurper (although Corippus suggests that it was the praetorian prefect Athanasius who was the real mastermind of the plot). On the eve of the army's departure in early May, Guntharic hosted a great banquet, and invited Artabanes and Athanasius to share the same couch, a mark of honour. Suddenly, during the banquet, Artabanes' Armenians fell upon Guntharic's bodyguards, while Artabanes himself allegedly landed the killing blow on Guntharic.[8]

This deed won him great honour and fame: Praejecta, the widow of Areobindus and niece of Justinian, whom Guntharic was planning to marry, gave him a rich reward, while the emperor confirmed him as magister militum of Africa. Despite being already married to a relative of his, Artabanes eventually became engaged with Praejecta. He sent her back to Constantinople and himself asked from Justinian to be recalled from Africa, so that they could marry.[9]

Artabanes at Constantinople and the conspiracy against Justinian

Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565).

Soon afterwards, Artabanes was indeed recalled to Constantinople, replaced in Africa by

Theodora. The Empress compelled Artabanes to retain his wife, and not until after Theodora's death in 548 was the Armenian general able to divorce himself. By then, however, Praejecta had already been remarried.[10]

Irritated over this affair, shortly after Theodora's death (late 548/early 549) he became involved in the so-called "Armenian Plot" or "Conspiracy of Artabanes". The real instigator, however, was a relative of his, named

comes excubitorum Marcellus. In order to find out more of their intentions, Germanus met the conspirators in person, while a trusted aide of Marcellus was concealed nearby and listened in.[12] Although Marcellus hesitated to inform Justinian without further proof, eventually he revealed the conspiracy to the emperor. Justinian ordered the conspirators imprisoned and questioned, but they were otherwise treated remarkably leniently. Artabanes was stripped of his offices and confined to the palace under guard, but was soon pardoned.[13]

Service in Italy

Further information: Gothic War (535–554)

In 550, Artabanes was appointed magister militum per

Ostrogoth king Totila. Artabanes failed to catch up with the expedition before it sailed for Sicily, and his own fleet was driven back and scattered by severe storms in the Ionian Sea.[14] Eventually he arrived in Sicily and took command of the Byzantine forces there. He besieged the Gothic garrisons left behind by Totila after he left the island and soon forced them to surrender. Over the next two years, he remained in Sicily. According to Procopius, the inhabitants of the mainland city of Croton, which was being besieged by the Goths, repeatedly sent to him for help, but he did nothing.[15]

In 553, he crossed over into mainland Italy, where he joined the army of

Battle of Casilinum, along with Valerian, he commanded the cavalry in the Byzantine left flank. They were concealed in the woods, as part of Narses's stratagem to attack the Franks in the rear and encircle them. Nothing further is known of him after that.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Martindale 1992, p. 125.
  2. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 8–9, 125, 1162.
  3. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 125, 255, 641.
  4. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 108, 643.
  5. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 108–109, 126, 575.
  6. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 126.
  7. ^ Ayvazyan 2012, p. 30.
  8. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 126–127, 143, 576; Bury 1958, p. 146.
  9. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 125, 127, 576, 1048; Bury 1958, p. 146.
  10. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 127–128, 1048–1049; Bury 1958, p. 67.
  11. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 128; Bury 1958, pp. 66–67.
  12. ^ Bury 1958, pp. 67–68.
  13. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 128–129; Bury 1958, p. 68.
  14. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 129; Bury 1958, pp. 69, 255–256.
  15. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 129; Bury 1958, p. 260.
  16. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 129–130.
  17. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 130, 789–790.
  18. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 130; Bury 1958, p. 279.

Sources

  • Ayvazyan, Armen (2012). The Armenian Military in the Byzantine Empire: Conflict and Alliance under Justinian and Maurice. Alfortville: Sigest.
    ISBN 978-2-9173-2939-9. Archived from the original
    on 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  • ISBN 0-486-20399-9
    .
  • ISBN 0-521-20160-8
    .

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