Exarchate of Africa

Quick Facts: Who was Exarchate of Africa?

Subject:

Exarchate of Africa

Known for:

Byzantine administrative division encompassing Western Mediterranean possessions.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in 591 and lasted until the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the late 7th century. It was, along with the Exarchate of Ravenna, one of two exarchates established following the reconquests of the western territories by Emperor Justinian I. In the Vandalic War of 533, Byzantine forces under Belisarius reconquered the Maghreb along with Corsica and Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. 527–565) organized the recovered territories as the Praetorian prefecture of Africa, which included the provinces of Africa Proconsularis, Byzacena, Tripolitania, Numidia, Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Sitifensis, and was centered at Carthage. In the 550s, a Roman expedition succeeded in regaining parts of southern Spain, which were administered as the new province of Spania.

Career & Major Achievements

After the death of Justinian in 565, the Eastern Roman Empire came increasingly under attack on all fronts, and emperors often left the more remote provinces to themselves to cope as best they could for extended periods, although military officers, such as Heraclius the Elder (Exarch c. 598–610), continued to rotate between the eastern provinces and Africa. By the 640s and 650s, Byzantium had lost its province of Mesopotamia to the Muslims, who also extinguished the Byzantines' rival, the Sassanian Empire (651). Constantinople thereby lost an important source of experienced officers seasoned by constant border warfare with the Persians. The Heraclian dynasty (610-711) did continue to appoint some competent eastern officers to African posts, such as the Armenian Narseh, who commanded Tripoli, and John, the dux of Tigisis. Walter Kaegi speculates that some Armenian officers might have asked to transfer back to the east to defend their homes as the Muslims advanced into Armenia, but the sources are silent.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Yet the officers who continued to arrive from the east after the loss of Mesopotamia would have been more accustomed to defeats like the Battle of Yarmouk (636) than the previously winning strategies used against the Sassanians, and new tactics and strategies developed slowly. The late Roman administrative system, as established by Diocletian, provided for a clear distinction between civil and military offices, primarily to lessen the possibility of rebellion by over-powerful provincial governors. Under Justinian I, the process was partially reversed for provinces that were judged to be especially vulnerable or in internal disorder. Capitalizing upon this precedent and taking it one step further, the emperor Maurice sometime between 585 and 590 created the office of exarch, which combined the supreme civil authority of a praetorian prefect and the military authority of a magister militum, and enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. Two exarchates were established, one in Italy, with its seat at Ravenna (hence known as the Exarchate of Ravenna), and one in Africa, based in Carthage and including all imperial possessions in the western Mediterranean.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Exarchate of Africa

True or False: “The Exarchate of Africa was fully restored to Byzantine control after the Arab Muslim conquest in the 7th century.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The Byzantines never recovered their territories in Africa following the loss of the mainland African exarchate.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Execution of Charles I — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: The public execution of Charles I, King of England, on January 30, 1649.
• Execution of Charles I of England — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: The public execution of Charles I, King of England, on January 30, 1649.
• Execution of Louis XVI — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: The deposed King of France, executed during the radical phase of the French Revolution.
• Exile (Japanese band) — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: A prominent 17-member Japanese boy band under the Avex Group umbrella.
• Exo — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: South Korean-Chinese boy band formed by SM Entertainment, known for multilingual performances.
• Exploration — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: The process of discovering unfamiliar areas, spanning geography to outer space.

Frequently Asked Questions about Exarchate of Africa