The situation of the Roman Empire in the second half of the fourth century AD Gildon Revolution 397/398

The situation in Rome at the end of the fourth century AD was characterized by deterioration in all areas of life. In the political sphere, the state was divided into the Empire of the East, with its capital Byzantium, headed by Emperor Arcadius, who was eighteen years old, and the Empire of the West, whose capital was Rome, headed by Emperor Honorius, who was eighteen years old. Not more than eleven years only, so the real rule of their ministers, the minister Rufinius and then Otrop held the throne of Byzantium, while he controlled the reins of government in the West, the regent Stilcon. In the military field, the Roman army showed its inability to defend the country’s borders from external threats and protect it from internal revolutions, and what further complicated matters was the conflict between Byzantium and Rome, the endeavor of each party to reunify the empire and dominate it. These conditions resulted in the spread of revolutions. , so that the colonial peoples sought liberation, and among the revolutions that threatened the existence of Rome were those led by the Mauritian leader Gildon, because despite their short duration; not exceeding two years; She could have overthrown the throne in Rome. Gildon was at the beginning of his political and military life an ally of Rome, he helped Theodos to eliminate the revolution of his brother Fermus, so Rome rewarded him by giving him command of its armies in Africa, but when he noticed the situation that the Roman Empire had become after the death of Emperor Theodos and its division into two conflicting parts He decided to get rid of the dependency on the Roman throne. He started his revolution by rebelling against the central Roman authority by stopping the supply of wheat, which falls within the scope of the annual supply tax, which is the main source of supplies for Rome. Emergency and considering Gildon the enemy of the Roman people, and then Gildon took the second step in his revolution by declaring secession from Rome and subsuming under the banner of Byzantium, taking advantage of the conflict between the two capitals for hegemony over the whole empire. To eliminate the Mauryan leader, he prepared an army and chose for its leadership Prince Maskal, Gildon's brother, and was resentful of his brother. The Roman army came in 398 AD. To Ifriqiya, its number did not exceed 5,000 fighters, compared to the 70,000 fighters of Gildon's army, according to what the sources said. The two sides met near the city of Tifst (Tebessa), and the battle did not last long until Gildon's army collapsed. Thus, this revolution ended very quickly. , according to the Latin sources that are hostile to everything that is not Roman and those who refuse to submit to it, and on top of these the Claudian poet and historian Zosim. The end of this revolution as quickly as the Latin sources mentioned raises more questions than it gives answers because the victory of 5,000 soldiers over 700,000 and explaining it to a miracle is incredible.