The Emperor Majorian’s Secret Embassy to the Court of the Vandal Gaiseric
By Gerald E. Max
Byzantine Studies/Etudes Byzantines, Vol. 9:1 (1982)
Introduction: In his Bellum Vandalicum, the sixth-century Byzantine historian Procopius records how, shortly before his ill-fated campaign against the Vandals in Africa, the West Roman Emperor Majorian (457-61), alone and incognito, visited the court of the Vandal King Gaiseric in Carthage. His aim was reportedly two-fold: first, to gather intelligence about the strength of the Vandals and the character of Gaiseric; and, second, to determine the loyalites of the neighboring Moors and Libyans. Aware of the risks, the emperor, who “never showed the least hesitation bfore any taks and least of all before the dangers of wars,” prudently darkened his far-famed naturally golden hair, then met with Gaiseric pretending to be an envoy sent from the emperor. Mission accomplished, he quickly returned to his troops with great hopes of conquering Libya.
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Tags: Africa, Byzantium, Military History, Politics
