, the head of the valiant Zano;
and the Isles of Majorca, Minorca, and Yvica consented to remain an
humble appendage of the African kingdom. Caesarea, a royal city, which in
looser geography may be confounded with the modern Algiers, was situate
thirty days' march to the westward of Carthage: by land, the road was
infested by the Moors; but the sea was open, and the Romans were now
masters of the sea. An active and discreet tribune sailed as far as
the Straits, where he occupied Septem or Ceuta, which rises opposite to
Gibraltar on the African coast; that remote place was afterwards adorned
and fortified by Justinian; and he seems to have indulged the vain
ambition of extending his empire to the columns of Hercules. He received
the messengers of victory at the time when he was preparing to publish
the Pandects of the Roman laws; and the devout or jealous emperor
celebrated the divine goodness, and confessed, in silence, the merit of
his successful general. Impatient to abolish the temporal and spiritual
tyranny of the Vandals, he proceeded, without delay, to the full
establishment of the Catholic church. Her jurisdiction, wealth, and
immunities, perhaps the most essential part of episcopal religion,
were restored and amplified with a liberal hand; the Arian worship was
suppressed; the Donatist meetings were proscribed; and the synod of
Carthage, by the voice of two hundred and seventeen bishops, applauded
the just measure of pious retaliation. On such an occasion, it may
not be presumed, that many orthodox prelates were absent; but the
comparative smallness of their number, which in ancient councils had
been twice or even thrice multiplied, most clearly indicates the decay
both of the church and state. While Justinian approved himself the
defender of the faith, he entertained an ambitious hope, that his
victorious lieutenant would speedily enlarge the narrow limits of his
dominion to the space which they occupied before the invasion of the
Moors and Vandals; and Belisarius was instructed to establish _five_
dukes or commanders in the convenient stations of Tripoli, Leptis,
Cirta, Caesarea, and Sardinia, and to compute the military force of
_palatines_ or _borderers_ that might be sufficient for the defence of
Africa. The kingdom of the Vandals was not unworthy of the presence of a
Praetorian praefect; and four consulars, three presidents, were appointed
to administer the seven provinces under his civil jurisdiction. The