Sisebut, more than any Visigothic king before him, has become the scourge of the Empire in Spain.

In 614 and 615, he carries out two massive expeditions against the Empire, conquering Málaga before 619, when its bishop appears at the Second Council of Seville.

He conquers as far as the Mediterranean coast and razes many cities to the ground, enough even to catch the attention of the Frankish chronicler Fredegar.

Sisebut probably also razes Cartagena, which is so completely desolated that it never reappears in Visigothic Spain.

Because the Goths are unable to undertake decent sieges, they are forced to reduce the defenses of all fortified places they take in order to prevent later armies from using them against them.

Because Cartagena was destroyed but Málaga was spared, it has been inferred that the former fell first while the imperial presence was still large enough to constitute a threat.