Byzantine North Africa in the context of "Exarchate of Africa"

The Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty began in 518 AD with the accession of Justin I. Under the Justinian dynasty, particularly the reign of Justinian I, the empire reached its greatest territorial extent since the fall of its Western counterpart, reincorporating North Africa, southern Illyria, southern Spain, and Italy into the empire. The Justinian dynasty ended in 602 with the deposition of Maurice and the accession of his successor, Phocas.

The Praetorian Prefecture of Africa (Latin: praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the Vandals in 533–534 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It continued to exist until 591, when it was replaced by the Exarchate of Africa.

A Greek-speaking and Orthodox Christian population inhabited the lands of the Byzantine Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; variously called Byzantines, Eastern Romans, or Byzantine Greeks. They represented the dominant culture of the empire, which they called Rhomania (Ancient Greek: Ῥωμανία), primarily in the southern Balkans, Asia Minor, and other parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Throughout their history, they self-identified as Romans (Ancient Greek: Ῥωμαῖοι, Rhōmaîoi); medieval Europeans called them Greeks in their languages, while in the Islamic world they were known as Rum.

Use of Greek was already widespread in the eastern Roman Empire when Constantine I (r. 306–337) moved its capital to Constantinople, while Thrace and Anatolia (which now made up the core of the empire) had also been hellenized by early Byzantine times. The empire lost its predominantly non-Greek speaking provinces (Syria, Egypt, North Africa) by the 7th century Muslim conquests and its population was overwhelmingly Greek-speaking by the 8th century. Unlike the early medieval West, the Greek education of the East was more advanced, resulting in widespread basic literacy. Success came easily to Greek-speaking merchants, who enjoyed a strong position in international trade.

Garmul or Gasmul, was a Berber king of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom. He is known for his various military campaigns, and raids against the Byzantine rulers of North Africa.