Did a Roman general's campaign in 420 AD actually stabilize the Iberian Peninsula?
In 420 AD, the Roman commander Asterius marched into Gallaecia to quell a rebellion and settle tribal warfare. While he successfully captured the usurper Maximus, the campaign failed to neutralize the barbarian threat, ultimately leaving the southern provinces vulnerable. It remains a complex chapter in the decline of Roman authority.
The military campaign led by Asterius, the comes Hispaniae, in 420 AD, occurred against a backdrop of instability in northwestern Spain. Roman authorities faced two distinct challenges: the second uprising of the usurper Maximus and a violent conflict between the Suebi and the Vandals. While some historians argue the campaign aimed to balance barbarian influence, others, such as Kulikowski, contend that the primary objective was the suppression of Maximus, who had been a persistent threat since his initial rise in 409 AD.
The situation was complicated by the presence of barbarian tribes who had settled in the region. Following the Gothic War of 416 to 418, the Aquitanian Goths had restored Roman power, yet the Vandal Asdings and the Suebi were permitted to remain in Gallaecia. By 419, war had erupted between the Vandal king Gunderik and the Suebi king Hermeric. When Asterius arrived, he forced the Vandals to lift their siege of the Suebi in the Narbasi mountains. However, the Vandals retreated to Braga, where they successfully defeated the auxiliary forces of Maurocellus, the governor of the Diocese of Hispania.
Asterius achieved his goal regarding the usurper; letters from Consentius confirm that Maximus was defeated by early 421. By January 422, Maximus was paraded during the celebration of Emperor Honorius' thirtieth anniversary on the throne. Asterius was subsequently rewarded with the title of patrician and supreme command of the Roman army. Despite this political victory, the campaign is widely viewed as only partially successful. The Vandals, far from being neutralized, migrated to Baetica, where they continued to threaten Roman authority in the south. The exact details of how Maximus was captured remain unrecorded, leaving the full scope of the operation's tactical success a subject of historical debate.
Source: Asterius campaign in Gallaecia
