« 2026. № 5 (191)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1511—1523

UDK: [355.312.081:35.08](37-44-04:6-32)”053/054″(092)

• Received: 20.07.2026
• Accepted: 14.09.2026
• Published: ??.??.2026

ADMINISTRATION OF THE MAGISTER MILITUM SOLOMON IN THE PRAETORIAN PREFECTURE OF AFRICA (535—536)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

LAHODYCH Volodymyr

• ORCID: 0000-0002-0677-4408
• PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of History, Museology and Cultural Heritage, Lviv Polytechnic National University
• Contacts: godicvolodimir@gmail.com

Abstract. Introduction. The article examines the transformation of the Roman frontier in the Praetorian Prefecture of Africa during the administration of the magister militum and prefect Solomon, whose tenure spanned the years 535—536. After the destruction of the Vandal Kingdom, the Roman Empire faced a paradoxical situation: in the newly annexed territories of the Maghreb, a persistent line of confrontation with the rebellious Berber tribes emerged.

Problem Statement. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to rethink the mechanisms of late antique frontier functioning, where the classical Roman models of the limes proved ineffective. The purpose of the article is to analyse the administrative and military activity of the magister militum Solomon in Proconsular Africa during the years 534—536. The methodological basis comprises the problem-chronological and prosopographical methods, as well as the analysis of narrative sources: Procopius of Caesarea’s History of the Wars and Marcellinus Comes’ Chronicle.

Results. The results of the study have shown that after the destruction of the Vandal Kingdom (534), the Roman Empire encountered a paradoxical problem in the Maghreb — instead of a stable frontier, a persistent line of confrontation with the rebellious Berber tribes emerged. The key aspects of Solomon’s activity are singled out: 1) the organisation of Roman administration in the region during the 530s—540s; 2) the development of a strategy aimed at subjugating the Berbers. The issues raised touch upon the aspects of frontier administration, the uncertainty of the political status of the Berbers (whose chiefs constantly shifted from the status of foederati to enemies of the Empire), as well as the strategy of restoring Roman presence in the Maghreb, which was accompanied by logistical and demographic constraints.

Conclusion. The study concludes that Solomon’s administration demonstrated the transformation of the frontier from a clear line into a zone of negotiations, betrayals, and permanent military presence incapable of ensuring lasting peace.

Keywords: magister militum, limes, Roman Empire, Berbers, Praetorian prefecture, Late Antiquity.

REFERENCES

• Graham, A. (1902). Roman Africa. An outline of the history of the Roman occupation of North Africa, based chiefly upon inscriptions and monumental remains in that country. London; New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co.
• Rachet, M. (1970). Rome and the Berbers: Military Challenges from the Augustan Era to the Diocletianic Period. Brusseles: Latomus Revue d’Etudes latines [in French].
• Oulmi, M. (2018). The Roman Military Presence in Southern Numidia (The Aures Mountains Region). Mediterranean Chronicle. A journal on culture/s in the Mediterranean World (Vol. 8, pp. 83—104).
• Rees, R. (2013). Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Barnes, T. (1982). The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge; London: Harvard University Press.
• Bury, J. (1923). The History of Later Roman Empire, from the death of Theodosius I to the death of Justinian I (A.D. 395 to A.D. 565) (Vol. I). London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd.
• Frier, W. (Ed.). (2016). The Codex of Justinian (Vol. I). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• (1904). The Digest of Justinian (Vol. I). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Prokopios. (2014). The Wars of Justinian. Indianapolis; Cambridge; Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
• Kaldellis, A., & Kruse, M. (2023). The Field Armies of the East Roman Empire, 361—630. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Koehn, C. (2018). Justinian and the Early Byzantine Army. Berlin; Boston; Walter de Gruyter [in German].
• Bury, J. (1923). The History of Later Roman Empire, from the death of Theodosius I to the death of Justinian I (A.D. 395 to A.D. 565). (Vol. II). London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd.
• Diehl, C. (1896). Byzantine Africa: A History of Byzantine Domination in Africa (533—709). Paris: Ernest Leroux.
• Brown, P. (1968). Christianity and Local Culture in Late Roman Africa. Journal of Roman Studies, 1—2 (Vol. 58, pp. 85—95).
• Ghedini, F., & Bullo, S. (2007). Late Antique Domus Of Africa Proconsularis. Structural And Decorative Aspects (Vol. 3.2, pp. 337—366). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004162280.i-539.110
• Mattingly, D., & Hitchner, R. (1995). Roman Africa: An Archaeological Review. The Journal of Roman Studies (Vol. 85, pp. 165—213).
• Dunbabin, K. (1978). The Mosaics of Roman North Africa. Studies in Iconography and Patronage. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Boak, A. (1915). The Roman Magistri in the Civil and Military Service of the Empire. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology (Vol. 26, pp. 73—164).
• Durlia, J. (1979). Magister Militum — Στρατηλάτης in the Byzantine Empire. Byzantinische Zeitschrift (Vol. 72 (2), pp. 306—320). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/ 10.1515/byzs.1979.72.2.306/html [in French].
• Parnell, D. (2017). Justinian’s Men. Careers and Relationships of Byzantine Army Officers (Pp. 518—610). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Parnell, D. (2010). The Careers of Justinian’s Generals. Journal of Medieval Military History (Vol. 10, pp. 1—16).
• Martindale, J. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (Vol. IIIA: A.D. 527—641). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Martindale, J. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (Vol. IIIB: A.D. 527—641). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Moderan, Y. (2003). The Moors and Roman Africa (4th—7th Century). Athens: Ecole franзaise d’Athиnes [in French].
• Krumbacher, K. (1897). History of Byzantine Literature from Justinian to the End of the Eastern Roman Empire (527—1453). Munich: C.H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung [in German].
• Greatex, G. (Ed.). (2022). Procopius of Caesarea: The Persian Wars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Parnell, D. (2018). Procopius on Romans, non-Roman, and battle casualities. Le Monde de Procope (The World of Procopius). Orient ed Mediterranee —Textes, Archeologie, Historie (Pp. 249—262).
• Riemenschneider, J. (2024). Procopius and the Social Cosmos of Historiography. Excursuses, Discourses, and the Roman Society of Late Antiquity. Berlin; Leiden: De Gruyter [in German].
• Marcellini, V.C. (1619). The Chronicle of the Count of Illyricum, Much More Carefully Edited and Enlarged Than Before. Paris: Officina Nivelliana [in Latin].
• Shea, G. (1998). The Ioannis or De Bellis Libycis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press.
• Merrills, A. (2023). War, Rebellion and Epic in Byzantine North Africa. A Historical Study of Corippus’ Iohannis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Pharr, C. (1952). The Theodosian Code and the Sirmondian Constitutions. Princetown: Princetown University Press.
• Miller, D., & Sarris, P. (2018). The Novels of Justinian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Niebuhris, B. (Ed.). (1828). The Histories of Agathias in Five Books. Bonn: Impensis Weberi E. [in Latin].
• Whitby, M. (1986). The History of Theophylact Simocatta. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Hamilton F., & Broocks E. (1899). The Syriac Chronicle, known as that of Zachariah of Mitylene. London: Methuen & Co.
• Stein, E. (1949). History of the Later Roman Empire. From the Disappearance of the Western Empire to the Death of Justinian (Vol. II, pp. 476—565). Paris; Brussels; Amsterdam: De Brouwer [in French].