All Topics  
Gildonic revolt

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Gildonic revolt
 
 
  Topics Gildonic revolt Topic Home

The Gildonic revolt was a rebellion in 398
398

Events...
 led by Comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 Gildo
Gildo

Gildo was a Roman general in the province of Mauretania. He revolted against Honorius and the western empire but was defeated and committed suicide....
 against Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Honorius
Honorius (emperor)

Flavius Honorius was Roman Emperor and then Western Roman Empire from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Eastern Emperor Arcadius....
. The revolt was subdued by Flavius Stilicho
Stilicho

Flavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of barbarian birth....
, the magister militum
Magister militum

Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine I . Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire....
 of the Western Roman empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
.

o, Moor
Moors

In the Spanish language, the term for Moors is Moro; in Portuguese language the word is mouro. There seems to have been some confusion about the relationship of the word moro/mouro to the word moreno , both from Greek language ma?ros, i.e....
 by birth, received in 386
386

Events...
 as reward for his military merits from general Theodosius the Elder
Count Theodosius

Flavius Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder was a senior military officer serving in the Western Roman Empire. He achieved the rank of Comes Britanniarum and as such, he is usually referred to as Comes Theodosius....
, father to Emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
, an appointment as Comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 Africae
Africa Province

File:Roman Africa.JPGThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, north-eastern Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor....
 and Magister utriusque militiae per Africam. He ruled the province as a bloodthirsty, cruel tyrant
Tyrant

This article is about the political ruler. For other uses see Tyrant and Tyranny In modern usage, a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute political power over a state or within an organization....
 from 386
386

Events...
 until his death in 398
398

Events...
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Gildonic revolt'
Start a new discussion about 'Gildonic revolt'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Gildonic revolt was a rebellion in 398
398

Events...
 led by Comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 Gildo
Gildo

Gildo was a Roman general in the province of Mauretania. He revolted against Honorius and the western empire but was defeated and committed suicide....
 against Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Honorius
Honorius (emperor)

Flavius Honorius was Roman Emperor and then Western Roman Empire from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Eastern Emperor Arcadius....
. The revolt was subdued by Flavius Stilicho
Stilicho

Flavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of barbarian birth....
, the magister militum
Magister militum

Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine I . Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire....
 of the Western Roman empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
.

Background

Gildo, Moor
Moors

In the Spanish language, the term for Moors is Moro; in Portuguese language the word is mouro. There seems to have been some confusion about the relationship of the word moro/mouro to the word moreno , both from Greek language ma?ros, i.e....
 by birth, received in 386
386

Events...
 as reward for his military merits from general Theodosius the Elder
Count Theodosius

Flavius Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder was a senior military officer serving in the Western Roman Empire. He achieved the rank of Comes Britanniarum and as such, he is usually referred to as Comes Theodosius....
, father to Emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
, an appointment as Comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 Africae
Africa Province

File:Roman Africa.JPGThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, north-eastern Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor....
 and Magister utriusque militiae per Africam. He ruled the province as a bloodthirsty, cruel tyrant
Tyrant

This article is about the political ruler. For other uses see Tyrant and Tyranny In modern usage, a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute political power over a state or within an organization....
 from 386
386

Events...
 until his death in 398
398

Events...
. This province was, after the loss of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 to the Eastern Roman empire, designated as the granary of Rome
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
. Incited by the political machinations of the eunuch Eutropius
Eutropius (Byzantine official)

Eutropius was a fourth century Byzantine Empire official.He began his career as a eunuch in the palace of Theodosius I. After Theodosius' death in 395 he successfully arranged the marriage of the new emperor, Arcadius, to Aelia Eudoxia, having blocked an attempt by Arcadius' chief minister, Rufinus , to marry the young and weak-willed emp...
, Gildo seriously entertained the notion of joining the Eastern Roman empire, which led to civil turmoil in Rome for fear of possible food shortages. Stilicho used complaints made by inhabitants of the province regarding Gildo's crimes to persuade the Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 to declare him "enemy of the State" and start a war against him.

The war in Africa

Stilicho sent the brother of Gildo, Mascezel, together with some 5,000 Gallic
Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
 veterans, to North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
. Gibbon reports the units that formed the expeditionary force consisted of men from units whose names carried long histories of service to Rome:

The loyalist army was countered by a force of some 70,000, consisting of the Roman legion
Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
s already present in Africa, complemented with a huge cavalry of mercenaries from Gaetulia
Gaetulia

Gaetulia is the name of a Ancient Rome region in present-day southern Algeria. It is mostly desert. Parts of the Atlas mountains occupy its northwestern tip....
 and Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
.

As Mascezel approached with offers of peace, he first encountered the standardbearer
Aquilifer

An aquilifer was a senior signifer bearing the eagle standard of a Roman legion. The name derives from the type of standard, aquila meaning "eagle", which was the universal type used since 104 BC; before that time the wolf, boar, Cattle and horse were also used....
 of one of the African legions. When he refused to yield, Mascezel struck him on the arm with his sword. As a result the standard-bearer lowered the standard, which was incorrectly perceived by the troops as a sign of submission. All other standard-bearers of the frontline followed the example, and the disaffected cohort
Cohort

Cohort may refer to:* Cohort * Cohort , a group of proximate data and/or operations* Cohort , a group of subjects with a common defining characteristic ? typically age group...
s turned against Gildo and began shouting the name of their new commander. The barbarian
Barbarian

"Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage....
 mercenaries were amazed at the disloyalty of their Roman allies and took to a tumultuous flight.

Aftermath


The honour of an easy and almost bloodless victory fell to Mascezel, while Gildo tried to flee in a small boat, hoping to reach the friendly shores of the Eastern Roman empire. However, unfavourable winds drove the vessel back to the harbour of Tabraca, where the inhabitants were eager to display their new loyalty by throwing Gildo in the dungeons. To avoid the revenge of his brother (Gildo had the two sons of Mascezel murdered), Gildo committed suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
 by hanging.

Mascezel died shortly after his brother. On his triumphant return to the Roman court in Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, Stilicho received him with much ceremony and jealousy. He drowned when he, in the company of Stilicho, crossed a bridge and fell in the water, either by accident, or pushed on orders of Stilicho.

External links


Primary source

  • (poem by Claudian
    Claudian

    Claudian was a Roman poet, who worked for Emperor Flavius Augustus Honorius and the latter's general Stilicho.A Greek language citizen of Alexandria, Claudian arrived in Rome before 395, and made his mark with a eulogy of his two young patrons, Probinus and Olybrius, thereby becoming court poet....
    : our main source for the war)


Secondary sources