m and reported to Cabaon
what had been done by the Vandals and by themselves to the temples of
the Christians, and that the enemy were somewhere near by. And Cabaon,
upon learning this, arranged for the encounter as follows. He marked off
a circle in the plain where he was about to make his palisade, and
placed his camels turned sideways in a circle as a protection for the
camp, making his line fronting the enemy about twelve camels deep. Then
he placed the children and the women and all those who were unfit for
fighting together with their possessions in the middle, while he
commanded the host of fighting men to stand between the feet of those
animals, covering themselves with their shields.[34] And since the
phalanx of the Moors was of such a sort, the Vandals were at a loss how
to handle the situation; for they were neither good with the javelin nor
with the bow, nor did they know how to go into battle on foot, but they
were all horsemen, and used spears and swords for the most part, so that
they were unable to do the enemy any harm at a distance; and their
horses, annoyed at the sight of the camels, refused absolutely to be
driven against the enemy. And since the Moors, by hurling javelins in
great numbers among them from their safe position, kept killing both
their horses and men without difficulty, because they were a vast
throng, they began to flee, and, when the Moors came out against them,
the most of them were destroyed, while some fell into the hands of the
enemy; and an exceedingly small number from this army returned home.
Such was the fortune which Trasamundus suffered at the hands of the
Moors. And he died at a later time, having ruled over the Moors
twenty-seven years.

IX

[523 A.D.] And Ilderic, the son of Honoric, the son of Gizeric, next
received the kingdom, a ruler who was easily approached by his subjects
and altogether gentle, and he shewed himself harsh neither to the
Christians nor to anyone else, but in regard to affairs of war he was a
weakling and did not wish this thing even to come to his ears. Hoamer,
accordingly, his nephew and an able warrior, led the armies against any
with whom the Vandals were at war; he it was whom they called the
Achilles of the Vandals. During the reign of this Ilderic the Vandals
were defeated in Byzacium by the Moors, who were ruled by Antalas, and
it so fell out that they became enemies instead of allies and friends to
Theoderic and the Goths in Italy. For