Austuriani first appear in the historical record in the years 363–365, when they devastated the Roman province of
Tripolitania with "more violence than usual", according to
Ammianus Marcellinus. These attacks were a response to the execution of the Austurian leader Stachao, who had been arrested by the Romans for spying. The regions around
Lepcis and
Oea were especially hard hit. The devastation mainly affected the countryside and involved the destruction of fields and orchards. A slightly earlier inscription from Lepcis referring to the "arrogance of the barbarians" may have the Austuriani in mind. Their depredations lasted years. According to
Philostorgius, the Auxourianoi lived between the
Libyans and the
Afri. Later in the century, they raided as far west as
Africa Proconsularis and as far east as
Egypt in league with the
Mazices. The Austuriani may be behind the mysterious "Saturiani" against whom the
praetorian prefect of Africa was ordered to take action by a
constitutio dated 20 July 399. An inscription at Lepcis made between 408 and 423 honours Flavius Ortygius, military commander of Tripolitania, for suppressing the "furor of the Austuriani", suggesting a particularly serious raid. The only other source for the raids of this period are the letters and sermons of
Synesius of Cyrene. He mentions them in eighteen of his surviving letters and in his two sermons called
Catastasis ('Downfall'). He records that the "Ausuriani" were a persistent threat to
Cyrenaica between 404 and 411, ravaging the countryside, interfering with the port of
Phycus and even besieging the cities. From 406 to 409, he organized a militia to repel them, during which time his own villa was ravaged. They gave men no quarter and enslaved women. During major fighting in 411, he reports that they used camels and expresses concern that they would invade Egypt. In one letter, he praises the general Anysius for a victory he achieved over one thousand Ausuriani that year in a tight defile with a unit of just forty
Unnigardae. In both letters and sermons, Synesius appeals for more troops. He asks Anysius to procure more Unnigardae. His
Catastasis has been interpreted as an indirect appeal to the praetorian prefect
Anthemius for reinforcements. The "Ausoriani" were still raiding Cyrenaica shortly before 449, as recorded by
Priscus. In the sixth-century epic
Iohannis, the poet
Corippus mentions a camel-riding people called the Austur who lived near the
Syrtes during the time of
John Troglita's campaigns (546–547). They were probably a remnant of the Austuriani. Their leader is Ierna, a priest of
Gurzil and
rex Marmaridum (king of the
Marmarides). Corippus describes their fighting tactics thus: The warlike Austur, wary of joining an uncertain battle in the open field, creates walls and ditches by tying camels together, and places his mixed flock in a tight protective crown, so that he can entangle the attacking enemies and crush them when they get lost. Then, springing forward, the savage Ilaguas kills the troops that are trapped in these ramparts, and safely takes possession of the field … They use the ram as a machine in their unspeakable wars and set up their tents in good order, having arranged their standards. ==Identity==