Siege of Carthage (1357-1377)

The Siege of Carthage (1357-1377) was a siege of the city of Carthage by the forces of the Marinid Caliphate, which ended with the fall of Carthage and the end of the Christian rule over the city, which had endured for more than 200 years. Despite its name, the siege was not continuous but was instead a series of several sieges of the city which were interspersed by short truces, with the longest one enduring for 4 years. The fall of Carthage marked the turning point of Christian expansion in the Mediterranean, as it would have been later followed by the fall of other important cities in the Levant such as Jerusalem and Antioch. The fall of Carthage was not, however, a sudden one, as the kingdom of Africa had been slowly becoming weaker ever since the second half of the 13th century, and the city of Carthage was the last stronghold of a fallen kingdom, a kingdom that had finished its time and whose fall would be considered as a catastrophe by the Church and by all Christian communities in the Mediterranean.

## Background

The city of Carthage had always been a strategic port and rich city ever since Ancient times; though it had started losing importance under Arab control, it regained trade influence and prestige once Albrecht von Kalw, the first king of Africa, established it as the capital of his new kingdom. Up until 1258, the city was the capital of one of the regional powers of the Mediterranean and was both economically and politically relevant. However with the slow downfall of the kingdom of Africa, Carthage slowly lost importance as a political center, increasing instead as an economic and cultural area that was famous all over the Mediterranean, being known as the "Pearl of the Maghreb". The city slowly became isolated from the rest of the kingdom, as the people of Carthage lived a completely different reality from the ones in other areas of Africa, especially in the times of African decline, when Arab attacks became constant and the overall safety of the African provincials declined.

### The Albrechtian Walls

What had made Carthage survive and reach the 14th century as a Christian city was one of the greatest inheritances left by Albrecht the Great, the Albrechtian Walls, a system of incredibly heavy fortifications that were only second to the Theodosian Walls and that protected the city itself and the suburb of Tunis, making Carthage incredibly difficult to capture without a long blockade from both land and water. Albrecht dedicated a large amount of resources and most of his late reign to this project, and his efforts were well-rewarded, as the Walls saved the city from innumerable Arab attacks and raids, allowing the Kingdom of Africa to reach the 14th century as a functioning entity and maintaining one last Christian outpost in the Maghreb. Despite being a saving grace, the walls would also become a curse for the late African kingdom, which started relying every day more on its walls, often undermanning them, especially in the last decades of Christian rule.

### Military situation in Africa

Ever since the battle of Makthar in 1314, the kingdom of Africa had lost the majority of its regular forces and relied mostly on Charter-sent mercenaries and the African Guard, a city guard established by Albrecht I which was under the direct control of the king of Africa and one of the few powers left to the royal institution in Africa after the establishment of the protectorate in 1321. The African Guard only had around a thousand men, meaning that the city had to rely on mercenaries to properly defend itself in case of an attack; such mercenaries were paid for by the Charter but were not very welcomed by the population of Carthage due to their constant presence in the city and harassing of locals. With a waning executive power, the kings of Africa during the protectorate period, such as Johannes II and Gottfried III, had failed to increase the numbers of the African Guard, as the charter board saw royal power as a direct threat to their interests. Although the numbers of the Guard were increased regardless of Charter objections during Albrecht VI's reign, it was not sufficient to properly man the huge fortifications system left behind by Albrecht, as many minor towers were left unguarded or with a very small garrison. Furthermore, the reliance on mercenary forces to defend certain sectors of the walls would become a huge problem for the defenders in the last years of the siege, and some historians hypothesize that if properly manned, the walls would have been able to repel the Marinids for at least one more decade.

### Political situation in Africa

The 20-year-long siege was such a long period of time that it encompassed two African kings and three Marinid caliphs, a period during which the political situation of both Africa and the Marinids changed a lot. Initially, the ruler of Africa was Johannes II (1353-1364), a relatively weak king who was the eldest son of Gottfried III; historians are still conflicted about this king and his relevance in the siege period, but his religious stance surely affected the status of Carthage and its foreign politics. As a king, Johannes II maintained his father's policy of attempting to regain relevance in the governance of the city, sending his own envoys to Jerusalem and Sicily in order to build a network of alliances independently from the Charter.

However, his policies were mostly a failure, as during his reign the Charter's economic and military influence was too strong to limit, and despite an increase in the royal influence over Carthage, his reign did not see any significant developments in terms of de facto independence of Africa from the Italians. However, two decisions taken by Johannes II had a great impact on Carthage and its position in the Mediterranean, first of all, the attempted reconciliation with the Pope and secondly a particularly aggressive policy towards the Marinids, by funding subversive activities against them through the African spy network, which had still a great relevance, especially in the areas near Carthage. Johannes' idea was to convince the Pope to organize another Crusade to defeat the increasingly menacing Marinids, something which however failed, and ended up with Johannes' death.

However, it would be unjust to blame the unfavorable situation of Carthage pre-1357 on its king; one of the greatest problems of Africa was in fact the Charter board which de facto ruled over the city, formed by the richest and most influential Italian families in Carthage, the board was politically supported by the Charter, and going against it would have meant losing the support of such an organization, something which the kings of Africa couldn't afford to lose. The board was not interested in a strong Africa or a strong king, thus it opposed many decisions that in the long term would have benefited the city, and the conflict between the board and the king only worsened the internal situation of the city as time went on.

### Religious situation in Africa

After the Catholic Church refused to lift the excommunication of Albrecht the Great at the end of the African Civil War, the Christian Rite of Africa, which was never subject to the Church's authority, became a de facto independent religious entity led by the Patriarch of Carthage, who was appointed by the king of Africa. Albrecht's effort in his late reign consolidated the Church of Africa and its power over the African nobility and the African Christians, so that already around the end of the 12th century the power that the patriarch and the monarch held over religion was total. The independence of Carthage from Rome initially was a matter of pride for the monarchy, but ever since the middle of the 13th century, when the kingdom started its slow decline, it became a major problem for every single monarch, as the Pope had the power to militarily help the von Kalw dynasty against the heathens. Unfortunately, the two factions never managed to reconcile, as the independence or at least autonomy of Carthage as an archbishopric was not something the realm could abandon.

During the Protectorate period, both Johannes II and Gottfried III attempted to reconcile with the papacy, and their attempts were more than mere diplomatic envoys sent to the Holy See. In particular, Johannes II attempted to organize a Council between the Patriarch and the Pope, in order to integrate Carthage into the Catholic Church; this however was a great mistake, as it was not approved by the people of Africa, who by then were attached to the institution of the Patriarchy and refused to become "enslaved" to the Italians. This attempt by Johannes sparked the "March Revolts of 1364", a popular uprising that also led to the assassination of Johannes by an African monk who saw the king's conciliatory behavior as heretical. The conflict between the two spiritual authorities would be one of the major causes of the fall of Carthage, as it would prevent any actual Christian reinforcement from helping Africa; it would also limit the ability of the von Kalw dynasty to find allies abroad. The Patriarch would also become important in the late part of the siege when he supported the authority of Albrecht VI and rallied the inhabitants of Carthage against the Marinids.

## Early part of the siege (1357-1363)

In 1356, the Marinid caliph Khalid al-Baraq ibn al-Qassat, who had succeeded his father Muhammad al-Qassat a few years before, faced a large popular uprising in the city of Algiers together with other minor revolts in the cities of Oran and Costantina, also known as the Algerian Revolts. These were the result of Marinid discrimination towards Algerians and were one of the first revolts in the newly born Caliphate. Johannes II, fearing the Marinids, immediately attempted to exploit the revolt to weaken them, and directly funded Bashir al-Murrad, the rebel leader, helping him with both equipment and funds. While initially the revolt was successful, al-Baraq managed to suppress it in 1357, sieging down Algiers and having al-Murrad poisoned; this left the Africans in an incredibly difficult situation, as the Caliph found out Johannes' involvement in the revolt and decided to punish the Pearl of the Maghreb, which by then was the only city in Northern Africa not under Marinid control.

In June of 1357, the Marinid army gathered near Carthage, numbering around 15,000 men and being led by the Caliph himself; siege weapons were built quickly, and a land blockade was imposed to prevent the city from receiving supplies quickly. Alarmed, Johannes asked the Charter to send forces to defend the city, which were promptly sent, at the same time 1000 more men were temporarily raised in order to defend the Albrechtian Walls. In August of 1357, the Marinids began assaults on the Albrechtian Walls, with all of them being repelled with ease by the defenders; after 2 months of assaults, the Caliph would give up, reportedly stating "Allah defends the heathens from the rage of my armies, as they cowardly hide behind the works of men greater than them." Al-Baraq would then move his army away from Carthage but would maintain a small detachment to keep blockading the city, although it would not be a fully effective blockade as before.

In 1359 he would return with a larger army, continuing the siege efforts and launching new assaults in an attempt to seize the Pearl of Maghreb; between 1359 and 1360 the Marinids would attack the neighborhood of Tunis, in the southern part of Carthage, failing to conclude anything significant. With the failure of the attacks in Tunis, the Caliph would decide to attack the fort of al-Bukin, an isolated minor fort built by Gottfried II against pirate attacks, successfully overrunning its small garrison and declaring victory, returning to Fez in 1361, he would never set foot in Africa ever again. Between 1361 and 1363 the only recorded combat would be a sortie led by Leopold of Tunis against a small Arab detachment, resulting in an African victory; after that, a one-year truce would be agreed on by both Johannes and al-Baraq, ending the first phase of the siege.

## Intermediate part of the siege (1366-1371)

After the end of the first part of the siege in 1363, Johannes II saw a moment of great popularity in the city, as he solidified his hold over power; it was such a surge in prestige and influence that convinced him to try and reconcile the Patriarch of Carthage with the papacy, something that however would prove to be a great error. The attempted reconciliation would spark revolts by both the local clergy and people, which would engulf the city for the entire month of March, thus being named "March Revolts of 1364" and ending with the assassination of Johannes. With the death of the king, the Council of the Kingdom immediately decided to name his only male brother, Albrecht, who at the time of his brother's death was only 17 years old; such a decision was also approved by the Charter Board, as they believed that such a young king would be very easy to manipulate and influence and that this would increase Charter influence over the city. The board would however be proven wrong, as Albrecht had no intention of becoming a puppet of the Italians and he would prove it during his reign, a reign that would be remembered by the historians, as it would mark the end of Christian control over Carthage and the end of the Kingdom of Africa itself.

### The Fishermen's Coup

After the assassination of Johannes von Kalw, the Chancellor of Africa Karl von Hapfenstadt would become the temporary ruler for a transition period of 1 month, in order to prevent internal strife. This is because Albrecht was considered too young by many, and had never been named as the official heir to Africa; some people inside the Court pushed to appoint Otto Schartenbaum, a member of the high Carthaginian nobility who also was the father-in-law of Johannes and father of the Queen. Otto had more experience, contacts, and resources to properly lead the kingdom, he also was sustained by a majority of the merchant class, of which he was a member; in June, after the end of the transition period, Otto and his sustainers attempted to seize power by taking control of the port and the Palace of the Sea, where the most important merchants met; such an event was later named "The Fishermen's Coup" in a derogatory way by Albrecht's supporters.

However, the young prince had managed to gain the support of one of the most important men in African politics, Leopold of Tunis, the commander of the African Guard and Comes Africae, a member of the metropolitan nobility of Carthage who had made a name for himself after defeating a Marinid force in 1362. As a metropolitan noble, Leopold was a staunch supporter of the von Kalw Dynasty and was strongly against another family taking power in Carthage, although it is clear that a large amount of money promised to him by Albrecht also had an influence on his decisions. After attempting to seize control of the port, Otto and his men would be intercepted by the African Guard, resulting in most of his soldiers being killed or arrested and Otto being apprehended and taken to the Scipian Prison. At the same time, guardsmen would break into the royal palace and arrest the Queen and her supporters, allowing Albrecht and his escort to freely reach the Augustine District of the city.

### Rise to power of Albrecht VI

Albrecht VI von Kalw would be crowned as king of Africa on the 21st of June of 1364 by Patriarch Cassiodorus in the Cathedral of Saint Indignus; Paolo da Trapani, chancellor of Africa during this time and primary source of everything that happened during Albrecht's reign, reports a cheering crowd outside the cathedral, sign that already at the beginning he had popular support. One of the new king's traits was his incredibly young age, which initially made him appear vulnerable, though he immediately decided to personally appoint all of the court roles, relying on the help of the Patriarch who would become his mentor and great supporter. He would confirm the majority of the members of his brother's court, but would already start limiting the Charter's influence by substituting the Port Master Alimone Mastenna with the more trustworthy Ahmed al-Kardar, an action which was met with great hostility by the Charter Board and that caused insubordination of the port workers in August, probably instigated by Charter agents. The strike however did not have the hoped effect, as the African Guard intervened quickly and forced the laborers to return to work, unblocking the port after a week; the first arm wrestle between the king and the merchants was a victory, but it would certainly not be the last clash the two authorities were going to have.

In 1365, the first year of Abrecht's reign, the young king attempted to deal with the greatest problems which affected the city-state, namely the lack of resources and the dependence on Charter food imports, something which was unacceptable for him, especially because he had dedicated himself to studying the history of the kingdom, dreaming of the great actions of Albrecht the Great and Johannes the Conqueror but was instead forced to manage a dying realm. After consulting his advisors, he decided to increase taxes on the goods transiting through Carthage by 5%, something which would have brought new air to the exhausted state treasury, but this was too much for the Charter Board to bear. Benefiting from their influence and bond with foreign merchants, the Charter managed to greatly reduce any food supply coming to the city, as the price of bread skyrocketed and the city risked a blockade from both land and sea. In order to avoid that, Albrecht was forced to back down and only approved a 1% tax increase, which improved the financial situation but not nearly enough as the original reform was supposed to do. This would mark the back-and-forth going on during the early part of Albrecht's reign, as both authorities in Carthage were trying to reduce each other's strength and influence.

### Foreign policy during Albrecht VI

In his first years, the king of Africa attempted to diversify his foreign relationships just like his brother and his father had tried before; luckily for him, he was more successful than his predecessors because he based his marriage policy around it. Despite the suggestion of his advisors to marry the daughter of Leopold of Tunis, he would instead decide to link himself with the family of the Dukes of Apulia, marrying Roberta of Bari in 1367 with the great disappointment of the commander of the African Guard, causing a separation between the two which would only be mended shortly before Leopold's death in 1370. Another important action in terms of foreign policy would be the mission to the Byzantine Empire sent in 1368 to form an alliance between Africa and the Empire of the Romans, a successful mission that secured some form of military assistance from Jerusalem later on; to cement positive relationships in fact, Albrecht would send no one less than Elena von Kalw, his niece, who then decided to stay in Constantinople, later marrying the Imperial Heir and later Emperor Andronicus IV Palaiologos and becoming known by the Byzantines as Kalvirogenita, birthed by Kalw, a name which would remain in late Byzantine history due to her relevance in handling the regency for her son Ioannis VI Palaiologos. Despite negative relationships with the Charter Board, Africa would not necessarily be hostile to individual Charter members, hosting many members of the Italian nobility in Carthage during his reign and securing the support of certain minor nobles in case of attack through strategic marriages and concessions.

### Return of the Marinids

After 3 years of peace that allowed Albrecht to have a peaceful transition over power, the Marinid Caliph al-Qassat would return from Morocco, where he had to quell the revolt of Mahmud the Gray Bearded, officially marking the end of the Almohad Caliphate. With news of the relatively recent crowning of Albrecht VI, al-Qassat decided to once again try and conquer the Pearl of the Maghreb, which by then had become the only taint to his prosperous reign. Bringing engineers from Oran, he managed to build incredibly powerful siege machines such as onagers and catapults, and with those, he started bombarding the Albrechtian Walls heavily for two months. Such a massive bombardment however did not have any significant effect in taking down the walls, and the stalemate continued until 1367, when the Caliph would organize an attack against the fort of La Goletta, in order to block access to the Tunis District and be able to starve part of the city. Defended by 800 men and led by Georgios Arkaioupolos, a promising byzantine commander who had been exiled by Costantinople, the fort would however stand strong against an attacking army of around 10,000 men, repelling the Marinid assaults over ten times until the attack was called off. Given the failure of direct attacks, the Caliph continued his strategy of blockading Carthage for two more years but would begin gathering way more men for what he decided would be the final attack on the city.

Al-Qassat called on his bannermen in Africa, requesting more forces to bolster his own army; after the defeat of Mahmud the Gray Bearded most of the local lords had no choice but to accept, leading to the formation of a 30,000 men army and provoking great concern in Carthage, as the African spies reported the arrival of the army near Hippo, suggesting that the Pearl prepared itself for further attacks. In June of 1370, the Marinids arrived under the walls of Carthage once again, with several siege machines and supplies for over 2 years; ready for a long siege. Albrecht immediately called for the Charter to send reinforcements to the city, forces that were promptly sent and that bolstered the African Army which reached a total of 8,000 men, a combined force of Italians, Spanish mercenaries, and local Carthaginians. The siege began with an attack against the walls of the Tunis District, in the southern part of Carthage, as the Marinids were successful in breaching the walls in three parts and started pouring inside the city. Leopold of Tunis himself led the countercharge, as the forces of the Caliph were repelled several times over the course of June and the breaches were repaired, with the enemy losing several thousands of men.

The most dangerous attack to the city would however come in September,