Bonifatius
Bonifatius (or Bonifacius; also known as Count Boniface; died 432) was a Roman general and governor of the
Biography
Early career
Bonifatius first appears as a general of
Prosper states that Joannes' forces were weakened because they were campaigning against Bonifatius in North Africa, but were unable to depose him like in the campaigns against Gildo and other North African usurpers.[9] After a revolt in Gaul and a military campaign under the eastern generals Ardabur and Aspar sent by Theodosius II, Joannes was overthrown, and Valentinian III, half-nephew of Honorius, was made Western emperor by the magister officiorum Helion.[10] Bonifatius supported him, and resumed the grain shipments to Rome, being rewarded the position of comes domesticorum in return.[11]
Civil War with Felix
In 427, Bonifatius was recalled to Ravenna by Placidia, but refused the summons. Bonifatius was accused of attempting to form his own empire in Roman Africa at the allegation of Flavius Constantius Felix, who had also been a staunch supporter of Placidia and had been installed as the magister utriusque militiae of the west by Theodosius II.[12] Placidia ordered Felix to send an army to restore the vital province in response.[13] Felix's generals for the expedition included Mavortius, Gallio, and Sanoeces. Mavortius and Gallio led Roman forces proper, while Sanoeces commanded the Hun Foederati troops. Together the three generals laid siege to Bonifatius at Carthage. The three besiegers, however, turned on each other, and Sanoeces and his Huns killed the Romans before he was killed himself, which lifted the siege. When news reached Ravenna, Felix sent the Comes Sigisvultus against Bonifacius, who campaigned with his Goths in Africa for two years.[14] Sigisvultus captured Carthage, but Bonifatius and his Gothic bucellarii continued to campaign in Numidia, where they were allowed to loot the province. Bonifatius also had his daughter baptized by an Arian priest, which caused a falling out between him and St. Augustine.[11] However, Placidia sent an envoy to Bonifatius in 429, from which she learned that a letter had been forged ordering him not to return to Ravenna if summoned. A man named Darius was sent to negotiate a truce between Bonifatius and Sigisvultus, and as a result Bonifatius was restored to Placidia's favor and the civil war ended in time to face the Vandal threat.[15][16]
Campaigns against the Vandals
Some sources report that Bonifatius invited the Vandals to Africa, though doubt has been cast on this in recent years. The Vandals crossed near Roman
Civil war with Aetius and death
In 432, after Flavius Felix, his wife Padusia, and a deacon had been hanged by the Roman army, allegedly at the instigation of
References
- ^ CNG Coins
- ^ Doyle, Christopher (2014). The Endgame of Treason: Suppressing Rebellion and Usurpation in the Late Roman Empire AD 397‑411. National University of Ireland Galway: Unpublished doctoral thesis. p. 24.
- ^ Oost, Stewart Irvin (1968). Galla Placidia Augusta. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 124.
- ^ Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). "Warlordism and the Disintegration of the Western Roman Army". Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare: 196–197.
- ^ Oost, Stewart Irwin (1968). Galla Placidia Augusta. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 169–171.
- ^ Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). "Warlordism and the Disintegration of the Western Roman Army". Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare: 197–198.
- ^ Oost, Stewart Irvin (1968). Galla Placidia Augusta. Chicago: Chicago University Press. p. 181.
- ISBN 9781138190887.
- ^ Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). "Warlordism and the Disintegration of the Western Roman Army". Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare: 198–199.
- ^ McEvoy, Meghan (2013). Child Emperor Rule in the Later Roman West: AD 367-455. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 230–231.
- ^ a b Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). "Warlordism and the Disintegration of the Western Roman Army". Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare: 199.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. pp. 66–67.
- ^ Adrian Goldsworthy, The Fall of the West: The Slow Death of the Roman Superpower, Orion Books Ltd, London. Paperback Edition, 2010, p.328.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. p. 67.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. p. 75.
- ^ Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). Last of the Romans: Bonifatius - Warlord and Comes Africae. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 69–86.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. pp. 79–80.
- ^ Pétridès, Sophrone (1908). "Calama". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. pp. 83–84.
- ^ Wijnendaele, Jeroen P. (2016). Last of the Romans: Bonifatius - Warlord and Comes Africae. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 89–106.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2012). Aetius: Attila's Nemesis. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. pp. 84–87.
- ISBN 0199252440.
Further reading
- Doyle, Chris. "Honorius: The Fight for the Roman West AD395-423." London and New York: Routledge Press, 2018.
- Oost, Stewart Irvin. ''Galla Placidia Augusta.'' Chicago:Chicago University Press, 1968.
- O'Flynn, John Michael. ''Generalissimos of the Western Roman Empire.'' Alberta: The University of Alberta Press, 1983.
- McEvoy, Meghan. ''Child Emperor Rule in the Later Roman West, AD 367–455.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
- Wijnendaele, Jeroen W. P. ''The Last of the Romans: Bonifatius - Warlord and Comes Africae.'' New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.