The fifth-century general Bonifatius is probably best known because of two seemingly contradictory claims on the part of the sixth-century historian Procopius – that, together with the general Aetius, he was ‘the last of the Romans’, but that he was also responsible for the catastrophic Vandal occupation of north Africa by inviting them over from Spain in the hope of strengthening his own position. This study of Bonifatius’ career aims to present him in a much more positive light than is implied by this latter tradition, but at the same time, and despite its main title, argues that Bonifatius was not so much the last of the Romans, but rather ‘the first western imperial warlord’ (p. 121). In making this claim, W. wishes to distinguish Bonifatius from generals such as Stilicho and Aetius who pursued their own agenda through control of the imperial court. By contrast, Bonifatius ‘established a new paradigm for political and military opposition by professing loyalty to the reigning dynasty but not to its generalissimos’ (p. 120), thereby foreshadowing the emergence of generals like Marcellinus and Aegidius in the mid fifth century.

As W. is well aware, the surviving sources for Bonifatius often lack detail, so any account of his career requires significant elements of informed speculation. Nonetheless, he makes a strong case for favouring the testimony of Olympiodorus and Prosper of Aquitaine for crucial episodes, as well as making excellent use of the precious resource of Augustine's letters to Bonifatius, to provide a degree of insight into Bonifatius the man and his shifting political and religious allegiances. Relying above all on these authors, W. presents a generally convincing reconstruction of Bonifatius’ career, emphasising the significance of his second marriage to the Goth Pelagia, which provided him with his own military retinue, and his support for Galla Placidia and her role in facilitating the establishment of her son Valentinian III as western emperor in 425. He also contextualises Bonifatius well as a military commander in north Africa, highlighting his success in resisting attempts by his political enemies in Italy to dislodge him, compared with the failures of Firmus and Gildo in the late fourth century. On the specific issue of his supposed betrayal of north Africa to the Vandals, W. provides persuasive reasons for discarding this tradition, which survives only in later eastern sources, in favour of the silence of contemporary western authors and the circumstantial evidence for the Vandal ruler Geiseric having sufficient motive to undertake this step on his own initiative. One aspect on which I would have welcomed more detail is the coinage issued from Carthage in the mid 420s, which has been linked by some scholars to Bonifatius, but whose potential significance is noted without elaboration (pp. 62–3).

This, then, is a clearly written study that negotiates the difficulties of a complex period with assurance, is based on close familiarity with the ancient sources and with the most recent scholarship, and makes a good case for the importance of Bonifatius alongside higher-profile military men such as Constantius III and Aetius, while at the same time differentiating him from them.