Garmul or Gasmul, was a

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

king of the

Mauro-Roman Kingdom The Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Latin: ), also described as the Kingdom of Masuna, was a Christianity, Christian Berbers, Berber kingdom which dominated much of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis from the capital city o ...

. He is known for his various military campaigns, and raids against the Byzantine rulers of North Africa.

Biography

Garmul is known for his various military campaigns, and raids against the Byzantine rulers of North Africa. in one of his raids, He destroyed a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

army in 571, launched raids into Byzantine territory, and three successive generals (the

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

Theodore and the ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

'' Theoctistus in 570, and Theoctistus' successor Amabilis in 571) are recorded by

John of Biclaro John of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum (''c.'' 540 – after 621), also ''Iohannes Biclarensis'', was a Visigoth chronicler. He was born in Lusitania, in the city of ''Scallabis'' (modern Santarém in Portugal). He was also bishop of Girona. Ear ...

to have been killed in a battle by Garmul's forces. His activities, especially when regarded together with the simultaneous

Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

attacks in

Spania Spania () was a Roman province, province of the Eastern Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was established by the List of Byzantine emperors, Emperor Justinian I in an effort to res ...

, presented a clear threat to the province's authorities. Thus the new emperor,

Tiberius II Constantine Tiberius II Constantine (; ; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, proclaimed him ''caesar'' and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying ...

, re-appointed Thomas as praetorian prefect, and the able general Gennadius was posted as ''magister militum'' with the clear aim of ending Garmul's campaigns. Preparations were lengthy and careful, but the campaign itself, launched in 577–78, was brief and effective, with Gennadius utilizing terror tactics against Garmul's subjects. Garmul was defeated and killed by 579, and the coastal corridor between Tingitana and Caesariensis secured. After the death of the old warrior, the Berbers were discouraged and ended up submitting under the domination of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

References

{{s-end 570s deaths Monarchs killed in action Monarchs of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom