e orthodox church from
Arian domination.

*Outbreak of the Vandal war, 533 A. D.* The deposition of Hilderic, who
had been on friendly terms with the eastern empire, and the accession of
Gelimer who reverted to an anti-Roman policy, afforded Justinian a pretext
for intervention in the Vandal kingdom. In conformity with his policy of
treating the Germanic kings as vassal princes of the empire, he demanded
the reinstatement of Hilderic, and when this was refused, he prepared to
invade Africa. An expeditionary force of ten thousand foot and five
thousand horse, accompanied by a powerful fleet, was placed under the
command of the able general Belisarius and despatched from Constantinople
in 533 A. D. An alliance concluded with the Ostrogoths forestalled the
possibility of their coming to the aid of the Vandals.

*The military condition of the empire.* The imperial armies of the sixth
century were entirely composed of mercenary troops. While the voluntary
enlistment of barbarians had been a regular method of recruitment from the
time of Diocletian, such troops were at first enrolled directly in the
imperial service. But by the opening of the sixth century it had become
customary for private individuals, as a rule officers of repute, to enlist
troops in their personal service. Such troops were known as _bucellarii_,
from the word _bucella_, signifying soldiers' bread. These _bucellarii_
were usually taken into the service of the state along with their leaders,
and were then maintained at the public expense. It was with mercenaries of
this type that the ranks of Justinian's armies were largely filled. For
the most part they were veteran troops and good fighters, but with all the
weaknesses of their class. They were greedy of plunder, impatient of
discipline, and both officers and men displayed a conspicuous lack of
loyalty. The most effective troops were the _cataphracti_, mailed horsemen
armed with bow, lance and sword. Beside them the infantry played only a
subordinate role. The fact that the government was obliged to rely upon
_condottieri_ for its own maintenance reveals the internal decay of the
whole imperial system, and the smallness of the forces which it could put
into the field shows the weakness of its resources compared with the aims
of Justinian and explains the protracted character of the wars of the
period. In fact, the emperor was on the point of abandoning the invasion
of Africa for financial reasons, when the