In the autumn of 551, a nobleman named Athanagild took Seville and declared himself king against Agila. This rebellion tore apart Gothic rule in southern Spain. The citizens of Córdoba had already rebelled against Arian Visigothic authority, killing Agila's son and losing the royal treasury. Agila retreated to Mérida while his power crumbled. Athanagild needed help to secure his throne. He begged Emperor Justinian I for military assistance during the winter of 552. Roman forces landed at the mouth of the Guadalete or perhaps Málaga in June or July 552. They joined with Athanagild to defeat Agila as he marched south from Mérida toward Seville in August or September 552. The war dragged on for two more years before Liberius returned to Constantinople by May 553. A Byzantine force from Italy landed at Cartagena in early March 555 and marched inland to Baza. Their landing was violent because the native population favored the Visigoths. Leander of Seville fled with most of his family due to this oppression. In late March 555, supporters of Agila assassinated him, making Athanagild the sole king of the Goths. The new king tried to expel the Byzantines but failed. The province remained a defensive bulwark against Gothic invasion of Africa.
Geographic Extent And Cities
The Byzantine province of Spania never extended very far inland. It received relatively little attention from East Roman authorities. The Persian Empire posed a larger threat in the East than any Gothic incursion into Africa. The most important cities were Málaga and Cartagena. These were the probable landing sites of the Byzantine army. Cartagena was renamed Carthago Spartaria during this period. It is unknown which city served as the provincial capital. Both cities functioned as fortified centers of Roman administration. The Goths easily ravaged the countryside but were inept at sieges. The fortified towns remained safe centers for governance. Medina Sidonia held out until 572 when Leovigild reconquered it. Gisgonza remained under Byzantine control until the reign of Witteric between 603 and 610. This indicates that the south of Baetica was completely Byzantine from Málaga to the mouth of the Guadalete. In the province of Carthaginiensis, Baza was also Byzantine. It probably resisted the inroads of Leovigild into that territory in 570 though it became Visigothic by 589. By the year 600 Spania had dwindled to little more than Málaga and Cartagena plus the Balearics. It extended no further north than the Sierra Nevada. George of Cyprus recorded only one civitas called the Mesopotamians.Administrative Structure And Governance
The chief administrative official in Spania was the magister militum Spaniae meaning master of the military of Spain. This official governed both civil and military affairs in the province. He was subordinate only to the Emperor himself. Typically the magister was a member of the highest aristocratic class bearing the rank of patrician. The office appears in records for the first time in 589 but was likely created by Justinian. A mint issued provincial currency until the end of the province around 625. Five known magistri served during the history of the province though this certainly does not represent the whole. Two are passingly mentioned by Isidore as successive governors in the time of Suinthila without their names. The first known governor Comenciolus repaired the gates of Cartagena in lieu of barbarians. He left an inscription dated the 1st of September 589 which survives to this day. The gate was augmented with towers porticoes and a vaulted chamber. Around 600 there was a governor named Comitiolus who bore the rank of gloriosus. The patrician and magister Caesarius made a peace treaty with Sisebut in 614. He conferred with emperor Heraclius who was more concerned with matters in Mesopotamia. Travel between the border for personal and mercantile reasons was allowed. The two regions experienced prolonged periods of peace.