Much farther from home in the early 530s the emperor secured what he came to regard as the signal achievement of his long reign. This was the conquest—or, rather, reconquest—of North Africa from the Vandals. The province and its prestigious capital, Carthage, had been wrenched from Roman hands during the tumult of the barbarian migrations. So its recapture would be both a lucrative enterprise, given the continuing prosperity of the region under Vandal rule, and a fillip for Roman pride. Justinian’s Carthaginian project was made possible in strategic and practical terms because in September 532
...more
