Origins and Early Career in Africa and The East
The exact origins of John Troglita are unclear. He may have been born in Thrace, but his peculiar surname might indicate provenance from Trogilos (Greek: Τρώγιλος) in Macedonia. According to information provided by the 6th-century historian Procopius of Caesarea and Troglita's panegyrist Flavius Cresconius Corippus, he was the son of a certain Evanthes, and had at least one brother named Pappus. Troglita himself married a "daughter of a king", probably a barbarian chieftain, and had a son, Peter.
John Troglita is first mentioned as having participated in the Vandalic War (533–534) under Belisarius, and may be identifiable with another John, who commanded a unit of foederati in the battles of Ad Decimum and Tricamarum. Troglita remained in the province of Africa after Belisarius's departure in 534, and participated in the expeditions of Solomon against the Moors in 534–535. At the time, he was probably the local military governor (dux) in either Byzacena or, more probably, Tripolitania, for he is mentioned as leading successful expeditions against the Leuathae tribe. Troglita also fought against the mutinous army under the renegade Stotzas, participating in the first victory under Belisarius at Membresa in 536, and then, under Solomon's successor Germanus, in the decisive battle at Scalas Veteres in spring 537. In this battle, he was one of the commanders of the cavalry on the Byzantine army's right wing, which according to the historian Procopius was defeated and driven off by Stotzas's men, losing its standards in the process. Nevertheless, the battle resulted in an imperial victory. In 538, Troglita distinguished himself in the Battle of Autenti, probably in the Byzacena.
At some point after 538, Troglita was sent to the Eastern frontier, where by 541 he was appointed dux Mesopotamiae, one of the most important military commands of the region. From this position, he arrested a member of the embassy sent by the Ostrogothic king Witiges to the Persians to incite them to attack Byzantium. When war broke out, according to Corippus John scored a number of successes against the Persian army: he defeated the general Nabedes near Nisibis, led his army in a successful night attack against the Persian force besieging Theodosiopolis, and then defeated another Persian army besieging Dara, capturing its general, Mihr-Mihroe. Procopius, however, gives a different account of the first battle, indicating that Troglita had to be saved from a sudden Persian attack by Belisarius, and does not mention the other two incidents at all. Nevertheless, Corippus maintains that John was congratulated for his performance by Urbicius, one of Emperor Justinian's advisors who had been sent to supervise the war.
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