War, Rebellion and Epic in Byzantine North Africa
A Historical Study of Corippus' Iohannis

The first book on Corippus' extraordinary Iohannis in English, and a major reappraisal of the history of early Byzantine Africa.

Andy Merrills (Author)

9781009391986, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 October 2023

316 pages, 2 maps
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.2 cm, 0.6 kg

'[This] should be the first book consulted by historians interested in using Corippus' Iohannis as a source. Moreover, it is an excellent book for those with a passion for late antique North Africa or late Latin epic poetry.' David Alan Parnell, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

In around 550 the Latin poet Corippus composed his epic Iohannis to celebrate the forgotten wars of a Byzantine general against the 'Moorish' or 'Berber' peoples of North Africa. This book explores the rich narrative of that poem and the changing political, social and cultural environment within which he worked. It reappraises the dramatic first decades of Byzantine North Africa (533-550) and discusses the ethnography of Moorish Africa, the diplomatic and military history of the imperial administration, and the religious transformations (both Christian and 'pagan') of this period. By considering the Iohannis as a political text, it sheds new light on the continued importance of poetry and literature on the southern fringes of imperial power, and presents a model for reading epic as a historical source. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

1. I sing of things that are not unknown: epic and history in Byzantine Africa
2. Prelude to a war: Byzantine Africa 533-546
3. Past and future in the Iohannis
4. Corippus and the Moorish World
5. For every blade was red war and bloodshed in the Iohannis
6. Christianity and paganism in the Iohannis
Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]