Count Belisarius

Shortly after landing at Capoudia on the day of St John the Baptist, which is also Midsummer Day, after this three months' voyage, we were greeted by an excellent omen: in digging camp-entrenchments for the night some soldiers unexpectedly released an abundant spring of fresh water. By canalizing this into troughs we were able to water all the horses without the trouble of disembarking water-casks. Belisarius sent a troop of his Household Regiment ahead to Sullecthum, the nearest town. They reached a ravine near the gates at dusk and hid there all night. At early dawn a long train of vegetable-carts and farmers on horses came along the road from the interior; for it was a market-day at Sullecthum. In twos and threes our cuirassiers quietly joined this stream of traffic and occupied the town, which was un-walled, without meeting any opposition. When the townspeople, Roman Africans, awoke, they were instructed to rejoice, because Belisarius was coming to free them from their Vandal oppressors. The priest and mayor and other notables announced themselves as indeed very willing to surrender the keys of the town and put post-horses and other conveniences at our disposal. On the next day we were billeted in Sullecthum, which consists of square white-washed stone houses with flat roofs, each in its well-kept garden; and since Belisarius had impressed on the troops the importance of behaving in a friendly and honest way to the natives – by flogging some men who stoic fruit from an orchard – we were treated with extreme hospitality.

A royal courier of the Vandals was detained, and Belisarius, who always gave his enemies the chance to submit before attacking them, sent him to Carthage with a message to the Vandal magistrates there. He assured them that he had not come to make war upon them, but only to dethrone the usurper Geilimer and restore their rightful king, Hilderich; and he called on their assistance in Justinian's name. The sending of this letter may be regarded as an imprudent step, and in contradiction of his avowed intention to take the city by surprise: because the courier, if he rode fast, would arrive six days ahead of us and give the alarm. But Belisarius's moral scruples about fighting unnecessary battles were not easily smothered. Besides, such an open announcement of his intentions suggested that he had brought extremely strong forces with him to carry them into practice, and the Vandals might well be frightened into compliance.

King Geilimer, however, was not at Carthage, but at Bulla with most of his fighting men, some days' journey away inland. His brother Ammatas, to whom the courier delivered the message, immediately forwarded it to him. The post-system in the Vandal kingdom being very well organized, Geilimer was able to reply on the following day. His message was that Hilderich was to be put to death at once, and that Ammatas was to prepare to hold the road by which we were approaching, at the tenth milestone from Carthage, where there is a narrow defile between hills. Ammatas's forces must be in position by the third day of July. He would himself hurry up with cavalry reinforcements and take us in the rear on that day, unless the situation had meanwhile altered. Of this exchange of letters Belisarius knew nothing as yet.

We continued our march by way of Leptiminus and the great comport of Hadrumetum, covering twelve miles a day. Meanwhile we were well supplied with fruit and fresh bread by the country people, who greeted us with the utmost enthusiasm, poor souls. Every night we entrenched. To build the necessary stockade, each soldier carried a long, pointed stake, which was planted in the rampart. The fleet kept pace with us on our right, and the wind remained favourable. Armenian John, with 300 of the Household Regiment, formed the vanguard, and the Massagetic Huns protected our left flank. Belisarius commanded the rearguard. At last we reached the neck of the promontory and must part company with the fleet; but our regret was soothed by the beauty of the place that we came upon at this point, the Paradise of Grasse. This is a royal palace which Geiserich built and surrounded with a noble park. There are great groves of trees here, of every variety suitable to the climate, and fish-pools and fountains and lawns and shady walls and arbours and beds of flowers; and an immense orchard consisting of trees arranged in quincunx, that is, in groups of five, each quincunx consisting of trees of five different varieties. The African climate is hotter than ours, so that at midsummer there was ripe fruit, which we had not expected to find until early August -second-figs and peaches and grapes and the like. The troops camped under these trees and were permitted to cat what they could, but not to carry any fruit away. We all gorged ourselves on bullaces and damsons and figs and mulberries, yet when we marched on again the trees still seemed as heavily laden as ever.