Early history Castinus had the rank of
comes domesticorum, commander of an elite unit in the
Roman army under
Constantius III. It has been recorded that he campaigned against the
Franks, possibly as a general. It is certain that he had that rank in
421.
Vandal campaign in Spain In 422 he fought an unsuccessful campaign in
Hispania to subdue the
Vandals. He was sent to support the
Suevi or Suebians, enemies of the Vandals, and came with a force of Gothic
foederati. However, the campaign was compromised at the very beginning when, according to one source, "his haughty and inept exercise of command" led to a quarrel between him and the military tribune
Bonifacius, a protégé of Empress
Galla Placidia. Bonifacius abruptly left the expedition, eventually arriving in Africa, where he began to build up a power base. Castinus continued on to Hispania, where at first he had considerable success against the Vandals in
Baetica, managing to put them under a blockade and coming close to forcing them to surrender. Unfortunately at this point the Gothic auxiliaries betrayed him in some unspecified manner, which led to his defeat in
Baetica. Castinus was forced to fall back to Tarraco (
Tarragona). The sudden death of the nonentity Emperor Honorius 15 August 423, which followed the death of the more active
Constantius III (421) and the exile of Empress Galla Placidia to
Constantinople (Spring 423), created a power vacuum "if it can be so described", observes John Matthews, which "was filled, as we should expect, by usurpation." The
Eastern Emperor Theodosius II hesitated to nominate a new emperor of the
West; Stewart Oost points out that with Honorius' death, "technically and legally he became sole ruler of the whole Roman Empire". Oost also argues that Theodosius reached an agreement with Castinus, where Castinus would act as his vice-regent in the West and in return Theodosius appointed Castinus and the Easterner Victor consuls for 424. If such an agreement was made, Castinus broke it when he joined in declaring
Joannes, the senior civil servant, as the new Western Emperor in late 423. Castinus's role in these events is unknown; Oost notes of his "acts during the usurper's reign we hear absolutely nothing." Matthews succinctly states that Castinus was sent into exile; while agreeing with Matthews, Oost adds that a "doubtful source says that he found refuge in the
Christian magnanimity of another old foe,
Count Boniface of Africa." == References ==