Carcasan was a Berber leader of the Ifuraces, one of the Marmarid tribes that resided in Tripolitania and was active during the Berber insurrections in the Praetorium Prefecture of Africa in the mid-6th century. He first appears in the reports of General John Troglita's campaign in the winter of 546/547, when he was defeated with Antalas and other Berber leaders by Byzantine troops. In the spring of 547, after the death of the Laguatan chief Ierna, he united the scattered Berber tribes and was acclaimed as a leader by them. After consulting the oracle of Amon, he resumed the war against the Byzantines and inflicted a heavy defeat on them during the Battle of Marta[1][2]
In the spring of 548,[3] he and Antalas clashed again with John[4] and his ally Cusina. The Berber troops in revolt marched against John Troglita[5] and camped in the plain of Mammès. Carcasan, confident after his victory last year, wishes to confront John's army immediately, but he gives way to Antalas, who advocates a more cautious tactic, withdrawing and luring the Byzantines inland, forcing them to march away from their supply bases, and across the devastated country, with the aim of exhausting and demoralizing them. The Berber rebels put Antalas' tactics into practice, but when they camped in the plain of Caton's fields, in Latara, they decided to fight in pitched battle. In the ensuing confrontation, the Byzantines and their Berber allies were victorious and Carcasan, during a counterattack, was killed by Jean Troglita[6][7][8] himself according to Corippe.[9]
References
edit- ^ Pascal), Avezac (M d', Marie Armand (1842). Afrique: esquisse générale de l'Afrique et Afrique ancienne (in French). Éditions Bouslama.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ L'Univers: histoire et description de tous les peuples ... (in French). F. Didot fréres. 1846.
- ^ d'Avezac, Marie Armand Pascal (1844). Afrique esquisse générale de l'Afrique et Afrique ancienne (in French). Firmin Didot frères.
- ^ Eos (in French). Nakl. Towarzystwa Filologicznego. 1990.
- ^ Avezac, Armand d' (1844). Afrique: esquisse générale de l'Afrique et Afrique ancienne (in French). Firmin Didot frères editeurs.
- ^ L'univers: histoire et description de tous les peuples (in French). Firmin Didot. 1844.
- ^ Les Berbers Etude sur la Conquete de l'Afrique par les Arabes par Henri Fournel: 1 (in French). A l'imprimerie Nationale. 1875.
- ^ Pottier, René (1947). Histoire du Sahara (in French). Nouvelles Editions Latines. ISBN 978-2-7233-0859-5.
- ^ Afrique (in French). Editions Bouslama. 1842.