sent the bulk of his Vandal army under his brother Tzazon to suppress the rebels. Meanwhile, our fleet landed at Caput Vada. The cavalry and the infantry set off to the north towards Carthage, over 140 miles, with the fleet keeping pace with us offshore.
“News of our approaching army had reached the ears of Gelimer. He immediately executed Hilderic, since a deposed king friendly to the Romans could form a nexus of rebellion, and then decided to oppose Belisarius before he reached Carthage.
“In short order, the Byzantines thoroughly routed the Vandal army. They fled westward into the deserts of Numidia. As we prepared to enter the city, Belisarius ordered his army not to kill or enslave any of the people of Carthage, because they were Roman citizens who had suffered under Vandal tyranny for a century. Therefore we were hailed as liberators and the gate was thrown open to welcome our triumphant entry.
“Ha! Do you remember that when Gelimer deposed Hilderic and imprisoned him, I strongly protested?” asked Justinian. “And he replied to my protest that ‘nothing is more desirable than that a monarch should mind his own business’?”
“I remember that,” said Theodora.
“He is now discovering what happens to arrogant Barbarians when a Roman Emperor does decide to mind his own business.”
“But Gelimer, it seems, is still at large?”
“Yes, he is. And so is his brother Tzazon. There will be more battles yet to come.”
“A remarkable triumph,” said Narses. “It seems that Belisarius is truly smiled upon by Fortune.”
“It does indeed. He has tremendous support among the common people. They revere him as a hero. You don’t think, Narses, that they might wish to elevate him to the throne?”
“The common people,” said Narses, “do not have the power to elect an emperor. They have tried a rebellion, which did not succeed.”
“Yet one must always be aware of their sentiments,” said Theodora. “They almost did succeed. I’ll not forget that.” She sighed. “Narses …”
“Despoina?”
“What do you know of Amalasuintha?”
“Regent of the Goths? Well-born, accomplished, very beautiful woman. Shrewd politically, too.”
“Is she, now?”
“Bore Eutharic one son, Athalaric. She did her best to have him educated in the Roman tradition, as she’d been, but his father died while he was quite small. The Gothic nobles said she was making a weakling of him – said the study of literature and philosophy was completely useless. He should be brought up as a warrior.”
“And she listened?”
“Had to. Child grew up without any discipline. Far from being a warrior, he ended up a wastrel. He’s completely dissipated, they say, drinks so much he passes out regularly, and he’s addicted to opium.”
“A weak government, then.”
“Vulnerable,” said Narses. “The Emperor is aware of this.”
By the time winter came, more good news arrived from the African expedition. Gelimer had regrouped, said the report from Procopius, but still he could not resist the Roman onslaught.
Rather than struggling on alone, Gelimer sent an urgent dispatch to recall his brother, Tzazon, and his troops from their military expedition to Sardinia. When Tzazon arrived in early December, the Vandal army with the two brothers at the head set out for Carthage. This time, in a reversal of roles, Belisarius marched out of Carthage to face Gelimer. When the battle was over, the Vandals had lost over 3000 men, either killed or taken prisoner. The Vandal retreat became a complete rout.
The Roman army now overran the abandoned Vandal camp, a vast ring formed up with country wagons, protected by nothing better than a flimsy palisade. These wagons yielded a staggering booty, for they were loaded with treasures plundered over many years by the Vandals, which Gelimer’s slaves had hastily carted away from Carthage when they realised that Belisarius was about to win the battle. This booty will vastly improve the scope of the royal coffers when Belisarius brings it home.
“Gelimer only needed to maintain his fighting spirit,” said Theodora. “His army drastically outnumbered ours, didn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, by far. But we had Belisarius,” said Narses. “The man’s a military genius, no doubt about it.”
“Where is Gelimer now? Do we know?”
“He has not surrendered. He fled into a mountain eyrie in Numidia where, according to Procopius, he is being sheltered by the Moors.”
“He could hold out for a long time, then?”
Narses smiled austerely. “One is inclined to doubt that. My spies on the ground report that the Vandals have grown soft, and have become accustomed to luxurious living. In Carthage, they have grand villas with splendid gardens.”
“Doesn’t sound like Barbarians.”
“And,” said Narses, “they have grown accustomed to daily baths. It seems that the Moors who are protecting Gelimer are a wild, impoverished and unhygienic lot. They live, I’m told, in underground huts that are stifling in summer and dank in winter.”
“Must be a sore contrast to Carthage, then.”
“Indeed. Belisarius has detailed a Roman force under Pharas to besiege the mountain stronghold. Gelimer will find it intolerable. Soon the Imperial army will have totally vanquished the Vandals. Mark my words.”
The month of December in the year 533 provided balm for the injured spirit of the Emperor, pained as he had been by the violent rebellion against his authority. The war in Africa seemed to have been sanctioned by God. And then Tribonian delivered a precious parcel: a substantial set of codices, which he piled on Justinian’s table where he sat working night after night while most other people slept.
“Depotes, I have the honour to present the Digesta,” he announced. “Doubtless we shall have a grand public ceremony to inaugurate it together with the Codex Constitutionem. But I have brought it to you, personally, first.”
“The Digesta,” said Justinian. He caressed the embossed covers lovingly, as if they could feel his touch and might be seduced. Turning to Theodora, he said, “My dearest, you know how I have dreamed of this! Even before I took the purple, I dreamed of this!”
“I believe I have won our wager,” said Tribonian, his hawk-nosed patrician face weary but bright with pride. “All completed, within a decade.”
Justinian grinned. “You’ve won the bet. I’ve won the Codex and the Digesta.”
“And the Institutiones, which I delivered last month,” Tribonian added.
“I understand,” said Theodora, “that the Codex listed, clarified and edited all the laws. But the Digesta … ?”
“Despoina, it is about the application and interpretation of laws in specific situations,” explained Tribonian. “You see, this is what practising jurists do: they consider the law and the situation and then they
