page_title: Praetorian prefecture of Africa
section_title: Peace restored
hierarchical_section_title: Praetorian prefecture of Africa / History / Peace restored
caption_attribution_description: English: La Dame de Carthage, Carthage National Museum (Tunisia). The famous "Lady of Carthage" mosaic dated back probably to the 6th century, is traditionally regarded as a portrait of a Byzantine empress. The technique of alternating mosaic tiles and glass tiles, the fineness of the design and elegance of the subject make it a major piece of art mosaic from the Late Antiquity.
context_page_description: The praetorian prefecture of Africa was a major administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire located in the Maghreb. With its seat centered at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the Vandals in 533–534 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It continued to exist until the late 580s, when it was replaced by the Exarchate of Africa.
context_section_description: For the next decades, Africa remained tranquil, allowing it to recover. Peace might not have lasted as long, had not Troglita perceived that the complete eviction of the Mauri from the interior of the provinces, and the complete restoration of the province to its ancient bounds was impossible. Instead, he opted to accommodate himself with the Moors, promising them autonomy in exchange for becoming the Empire's foederati. The loyalty of these dependent princes of the various Moorish tribes was secured by means of annual pensions and gifts, and the peace was kept by a strong network of fortifications, many of which still survive to the present day.
  The only interruption to the province's tranquility was a brief Moorish revolt of 563. It was caused by the unwarranted murder of the aged tribal leader Cutzinas, when he came to Carthage to receive his annual pension, by the magister militum, John Rogathinus. His sons and dependants rose up, until an expeditionary force under the tribune Marcian, nephew of the Emperor, succeeded in restoring the peace.
  During the reign of Justin II (565–578), great care was shown to Africa. Under the prefect Thomas, during the period 565–570 the network of fortifications was further strengthened and expanded, the administration reformed and decentralized, and largely successful efforts were made to proselytize the Garamantes of the Fezzan and the Gaetuli, living to the south of Mauretania Caesariensis. At the same time, Africa was one of the more tranquil regions of the Empire – which was being assaulted on all sides – and this allowed for troops to be transferred from the province to the East.
caption: The famous Lady of Carthage [fr] mosaic, possibly a portrait of Theodora, one of the major surviving pieces of Byzantine art in modern Tunisia
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