Editing Vandals (section)

===Kingdom in North Africa===
==== Establishment ====
{{main|Vandal Kingdom|Vandalic conquest of Roman Africa}}
[[File:Vandal Kingdom at its maximum extent in the 470s.png|thumb|upright=1.35|right|The Vandal Kingdom at its greatest extent in the 470s]]
[[File:Bonifatius Comes Africae 422-431CE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Coin of [[Bonifacius]] ''Comes Africae'' (422–431 CE), who was defeated by the Vandals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=153210 |title=CNG Coins |access-date=2017-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810171332/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=153210 |archive-date=2017-08-10 |url-status=live }}</ref> Legends: DOMINUS NOSTRIS / CARTAGINE.]]
The Vandals under Genseric (also known as Geiseric) [[Vandalic conquest of Roman Africa|crossed to Africa in 429]].<ref name= Collins124>{{harvnb|Collins|2000|p=124}}</ref> Although numbers are unknown and some historians debate the validity of estimates, based on Procopius' assertion that the Vandals and Alans numbered 80,000 when they moved to North Africa,<ref>[[Procopius]] ''[[Procopius#The Wars of Justinian|Wars]]'' 3.5.18–19 in {{harvnb|Heather|2005|p=512}}</ref> Peter Heather estimates that they could have fielded an army of around 15,000–20,000.<ref>{{harvnb|Heather|2005|pp=197–198}}</ref>

According to Procopius, the Vandals came to Africa at the request of [[Bonifacius]], the military ruler of the region.<ref>[[Procopius]] ''[[Procopius#The Wars of Justinian|Wars]]'' 3.5.23–24 in {{harvnb|Collins|2000|p=124}}</ref> Seeking to establish himself as an independent ruler in Africa or even become Roman Emperor, Bonifacius had defeated several Roman attempts to subdue him, until he was mastered by the newly appointed Gothic [[count]] of Africa, [[Sigisvult]], who captured both [[Hippo Regius]] and [[Carthage]].<ref name= Frasseto/> It is possible that Bonifacius had sought Genseric as an ally against Sigisvult, promising him a part of Africa in return.<ref name= Frasseto/>

Advancing eastwards along the coast, the Vandals were confronted on the [[Numidia]]n border in May–June 430 by Bonifacius. Negotiations broke down, and Bonifacius was soundly defeated.<ref name= MM53>{{harvnb|Merrills|Miles|2010|pp=53–55}}</ref><ref name= Reynolds>{{harvnb|Reynolds|2011|pp=130–131}}</ref> Bonifacius subsequently barricaded himself inside Hippo Regius with the Vandals [[Siege of Hippo Regius|besieging]] the city.<ref name= Collins124/> Inside, [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] and his priests prayed for relief from the invaders, knowing full well that the fall of the city would spell [[conversion or death]] for many Roman Christians.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}<!-- conversion to what? -->

On 28 August 430, three months into the siege, St. Augustine (who was 75 years old) died,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02084a.htm |title=Newadvent.org |access-date=2009-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020030610/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02084a.htm |archive-date=2017-10-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> perhaps from starvation or stress, as the wheat fields outside the city lay dormant and unharvested. The death of Augustine shocked the Regent of the [[Western Roman Empire]], [[Galla Placidia]], who feared the consequences if her realm lost its most important source of grain.<ref name= Reynolds/> She raised a new army in Italy and convinced her nephew in [[Constantinople]], the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Roman Emperor]] [[Theodosius II]], to send an army to North Africa led by [[Aspar]].<ref name= Reynolds/>

Around July–August 431, Genseric raised the siege of Hippo Regius,<ref name= MM53/> which enabled Bonifacius to retreat from Hippo Regius to [[Carthage]], where he was joined by Aspar's army. During the summer of 432, Genseric soundly defeated the joint forces of both Bonifacius and Aspar, which enabled him to seize Hippo Regius unopposed.<ref name= Reynolds/> Genseric and Aspar subsequently negotiated a peace treaty of some sorts.<ref name= MM53/> Upon seizing Hippo Regius, Genseric made it the first capital of the Vandal kingdom.<ref>{{harvnb|Merrills|Miles|2010|p=60}}</ref>

The Romans and the Vandals concluded a treaty in 435 giving the Vandals control of the Mauretania and the western half of Numidia. Genseric chose to break the treaty in 439 when he invaded the province of [[Africa Proconsularis]] and [[Battle of Carthage (439)|seized]] Carthage on October 19.<ref>{{harvnb|Collins|2000|pp=124–125}}</ref> The city was captured without a fight; the Vandals entered the city while most of the inhabitants were attending the races at the hippodrome. Genseric made it his capital, and styled himself the King of the Vandals and [[Alans]], to denote the inclusion of the Alans of northern Africa into his alliance.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} His forces also occupied [[Sardinia]], [[Corsica]] and the [[Balearic Islands]]. His siege of Palermo in 440 was a failure as was the second attempt to invade Sicily near Agrigento in 442 (the Vandals occupied the island from 468 to 476 when it was ceded to Odovacer).<ref>J.B. Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', Dover Vol. I. pp. 254, 258, 410 {{LCCN|5811273}}</ref> Historian Cameron suggests that the new Vandal rule may not have been unwelcomed by the population of North Africa as the great landowners were generally unpopular.<ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2000|pp=553–554}}</ref>

The impression given by ancient sources such as [[Victor Vitensis|Victor of Vita]], [[Quodvultdeus]], and [[Fulgentius of Ruspe]] was that the Vandal take-over of Carthage and North Africa led to widespread destruction. However, recent archaeological investigations have challenged this assertion. Although Carthage's Odeon was destroyed, the street pattern remained the same and some public buildings were renovated. The political centre of Carthage was the Byrsa Hill. New industrial centres emerged within towns during this period.<ref>{{harvnb|Merrills|2004|p=10}}</ref> Historian Andy Merrills uses the large amounts of [[African Red Slip]] ware discovered across the Mediterranean dating from the Vandal period of North Africa to challenge the assumption that the Vandal rule of North Africa was a time of economic instability.<ref>{{harvnb|Merrills|2004|p=11}}</ref> When the Vandals raided Sicily in 440, the Western Roman Empire was too preoccupied with war with Gaul to react. Theodosius II, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, dispatched an expedition to deal with the Vandals in 441; however, it only progressed as far as Sicily. The Western Empire under [[Valentinian III]] secured peace with the Vandals in 442.<ref name= Collins125>{{harvnb|Collins|2000|p=125}}</ref> Under the treaty the Vandals gained [[Byzacena]], [[Tripolitania]], and the eastern half of Numidia, and were confirmed in  control of Proconsular Africa<ref name= Camerson>{{harvnb|Cameron|2000|p=553}}</ref> as well as the Vandal Kingdom as the first [[barbarian kingdom]] was officially recognized as an independent kingdom in former Roman territory instead of [[foederati]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjSqCwAAQBAJ&q=Vandals++treaty++442+++first++independent&pg=PA64|title=Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of Its Practices and Beliefs– Google Knihy|date=2014|access-date=2016-12-25|isbn=978-0-8028-6931-9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226060050/https://books.google.sk/books?id=IjSqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64|archive-date=2016-12-26|url-status=live|last1=Patout Burns|first1=J.|last2=Jensen|first2=Robin M.|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company }}</ref> The Empire retained western Numidia and the two Mauretanian provinces until 455.

====Sack of Rome====
{{Main|Sack of Rome (455)}}
[[File:Genseric sacking rome 456.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|''The Sack of Rome'', [[Karl Briullov]], 1833–1836]]
During the next thirty-five years, with a large fleet, Genseric looted the coasts of the Eastern and Western Empires. Vandal activity in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] was so substantial that the sea's name in [[Old English]] was ''Wendelsæ'' (i. e. Sea of the Vandals).<ref>{{cite dictionary|url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Mediterranean&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Mediterranean|dictionary=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]|access-date=12 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413143410/http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Mediterranean&allowed_in_frame=0|archive-date=2014-04-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> After [[Attila the Hun]]'s death, however, the Romans could afford to turn their attention back to the Vandals, who were in control of some of the richest lands of their former empire.

In an effort to bring the Vandals into the fold of the Empire, [[Valentinian III]] offered his daughter's hand in marriage to Genseric's son. Before this treaty could be carried out, however, politics again played a crucial part in the blunders of Rome. [[Petronius Maximus]] killed Valentinian III and claimed the Western throne. Petronius then forced Valentinian III's widow, empress [[Licinia Eudoxia]], to marry him.<ref>Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March  – 22 May 455)</ref> Diplomacy between the two factions broke down, and in 455 with a letter from Licinia Eudoxia, begging Genseric's son to rescue her, the Vandals took Rome, along with the Empress and her daughters [[Eudocia (daughter of Valentinian III)|Eudocia]] and [[Placidia]].

The chronicler [[Prosper of Aquitaine]]<ref>[[Prosper of Aquitaine|Prosper's]] account of the event was followed by his continuator in the 6th century, [[Victor of Tunnuna]], a great admirer of Leo quite willing to adjust a date or bend a point (Steven Muhlberger, "Prosper's ''[[Epitoma Chronicon]]'': was there an edition of 443?" ''Classical Philology'' '''81'''.3 (July 1986), pp.&nbsp;240–244).</ref> offers the only fifth-century report that, on 2 June 455, Pope [[Pope Leo I|Leo the Great]] received Genseric and implored him to abstain from murder and destruction by fire, and to be satisfied with pillage. Whether the pope's influence saved Rome is, however, questioned. The Vandals departed with countless valuables.<!-- this possibility is not attested anywhere: including the spoils of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] booty brought to Rome by [[Titus]]. --> Eudoxia and her daughter Eudocia were taken to North Africa.<ref name= Camerson/>

====Consolidation====
[[File:Europe and the Near East at 476 AD.png|thumb|260px|[[Barbarian kingdoms]] and tribes after the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476]]

In 456 a Vandal fleet of 60 ships threatening both Gaul and Italy was ambushed and defeated at [[Battle of Agrigentum (456)|Agrigentum]] and [[Battle of Corsica|Corsica]] by the Western Roman general [[Ricimer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Jaques|2007a|p=264}}</ref> In 457 a mixed Vandal-Berber army returning with loot from a raid in [[Campania]] were soundly [[Battle of Garigliano (457)|defeated]] in a surprise attack by Western Emperor Majorian at the mouth of the [[Garigliano]] river.<ref>{{harvnb|Jaques|2007b|p=383}}</ref>

{{Main article|Vandal War (461-468)}}
As a result of the Vandal sack of Rome and piracy in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], it became important to the Roman Empire to destroy the Vandal kingdom. In 460, [[Majorian]] launched an expedition against the Vandals, but was defeated at the [[Battle of Cartagena (461)|Battle of Cartagena]]. In 468 the Western and Eastern Roman empires launched an enormous expedition against the Vandals under the command of [[Basiliscus]], which reportedly was composed of 100,000 soldiers and 1,000 ships. The Vandals defeated the invaders at the [[Battle of Cap Bon (468)|Battle of Cap Bon]], capturing the Western fleet, and destroying the Eastern through the use of [[fire ship]]s.<ref name= Collins125/> Following up the attack, the Vandals tried to invade the [[Peloponnese]], but were driven back by the [[Maniots]] at Kenipolis with heavy losses.<ref name= GreenEl>{{harvnb|Greenhalgh|Eliopoulos|1985|p=21}}</ref> In retaliation, the Vandals took 500&nbsp;hostages at [[Zakynthos]], hacked them to pieces and threw the pieces overboard on the way to Carthage.<ref name= GreenEl/> In 469 the Vandals gained control of Sicily but were forced by [[Odoacer]] to relinquish it in 477 except for the western port of Lilybaeum (lost in 491 after a failed attempt on their part to re-take the island).<ref>J.B. Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', 1958 edition, pp. 254, 327, 410</ref>

In the 470s, the Romans abandoned their policy of war against the Vandals. The Western general [[Ricimer]] reached a treaty with them,<ref name= Collins125/> and in 476 Genseric was able to conclude a "perpetual peace" with Constantinople. Relations between the two states assumed a veneer of normality.<ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1923|p=125}}</ref> From 477 onwards, the Vandals produced their own coinage, restricted to bronze and silver low-denomination coins. The high-denomination imperial money was retained, demonstrating in the words of Merrills "reluctance to usurp the imperial prerogative".<ref>{{harvnb|Merrills|2004|pp=11–12}}</ref>

Although the Vandals had fended off attacks from the Romans and established hegemony over the islands of the western Mediterranean, they were less successful in their conflict with the [[Berbers]]. Situated south of the Vandal kingdom, the Berbers inflicted two major defeats on the Vandals in the period 496–530.<ref name= Collins125/>

====Domestic religious tensions====
[[File:Vandal Kingdom Hilderic Denarius.jpg|thumb|A ''[[denarius]]'' of the reign of [[Hilderic]]. Legends: D[OMINUS] N[OSTRIS] HILDIRIX REX / KART[A]G[INE] FELIX.]]

Differences between the [[Arianism|Arian]] Vandals and their [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] subjects (including both Catholics and [[Donatist]]s) were a constant source of tension in their African state. Catholic bishops were exiled or killed by Genseric and laymen were excluded from office and frequently suffered confiscation of their property.<ref>{{harvnb|Collins|2000|pp=125–126}}</ref> He protected his Catholic subjects when his relations with Rome and Constantinople were friendly, as during the years 454–457, when the Catholic community at Carthage, being without a head, elected Deogratias bishop. The same was also the case during the years 476–477 when Bishop Victor of [[Cartenna]] sent him, during a period of peace, a sharp refutation of Arianism and suffered no punishment.<ref name= CE>{{harvnb|Löffler|1912}}</ref> Huneric, Genseric's successor, issued edicts against Catholics in 483 and 484 in an effort to marginalise them and make Arianism the primary religion in North Africa.<ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2000|p=555}}</ref> Generally most Vandal kings, except [[Hilderic]], persecuted Trinitarian Christians to a greater or lesser extent, banning conversion for Vandals, exiling bishops and generally making life difficult for Trinitarians.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

====Decline====
According to the 1913 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'': "Genseric, one of the most powerful personalities of the "era of the Migrations", died on 25&nbsp;January 477, at the great age of around 88 years. According to the law of succession which he had promulgated, the oldest male member of the royal house was to succeed. Thus he was succeeded by his son [[Huneric]] (477–484), who at first tolerated Catholics, owing to his fear of Constantinople, but after 482 began to persecute [[Manichaeism|Manichaeans]] and Catholics."<ref name= CE/>

[[Gunthamund]] (484–496), his cousin and successor, sought internal peace with the Catholics and ceased persecution once more. Externally, the Vandal power had been declining since Genseric's death, and Gunthamund lost early in his reign all but a small wedge of western Sicily to the [[Ostrogoth]]s which was lost in 491 and had to withstand increasing pressure from the [[wikt:autochthonous|autochthonous]] [[Moors]].

According to the 1913 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'': "While [[Thrasamund]] (496–523), owing to his religious fanaticism, was hostile to Catholics, he contented himself with bloodless persecutions".<ref name= CE/>

====Turbulent end====
{{Main|Vandalic War}}
[[File:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 013.jpg|thumb|right|This bearded figure may depict [[Belisarius]]. It stands to the right of Emperor [[Justinian I]] in the mosaic in the [[Basilica of San Vitale|Church of San Vitale]] in [[Ravenna]], which celebrates the reconquest of Italy by the [[Byzantine army]] under the skillful leadership of Belisarius.]]

[[Hilderic]] (523–530) was the Vandal king most tolerant towards the [[Catholic Church]]. He granted it religious freedom; consequently, Catholic synods were once more held in North Africa. However, he had little interest in war, and left it to a family member, [[Hoamer]]. When Hoamer suffered a defeat against the [[Moors]], the [[Arianism|Arian]] faction within the royal family led a revolt, raising the banner of national Arianism, and his cousin [[Gelimer]] (530–534) became king. Hilderic, Hoamer and their relatives were thrown into prison.<ref name= Bury131>{{harvnb|Bury|1923|p=131}}</ref>

[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] declared war, with the stated intention of restoring Hilderic to the Vandal throne. The deposed Hilderic was murdered in 533 on Gelimer's orders.<ref name= Bury131/> While an expedition was en route, a large part of the Vandal army and navy was led by [[Tzazo]], Gelimer's brother, to Sardinia to deal with a rebellion. As a result, the armies of the Byzantine Empire commanded by [[Belisarius]] were able to land unopposed {{convert|10|mi}} from Carthage. Gelimer quickly assembled an army,<ref name= Collins126>{{harvnb|Collins|2000|p=126}}</ref> and met Belisarius at the [[Battle of Ad Decimum]]; the Vandals were winning until Gelimer's brother [[Ammatas]] and nephew Gibamund fell in battle. Gelimer then lost heart and fled. Belisarius quickly took Carthage while the surviving Vandals fought on.<ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1923|pp=133–135}}</ref>

On December 15, 533, Gelimer and Belisarius clashed again at the [[Battle of Tricamarum]], some {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} from Carthage. Again, the Vandals fought well but eventually broke, this time when Gelimer's brother Tzazo fell in battle. Belisarius quickly advanced to [[Hippo Regius|Hippo]], second city of the Vandal kingdom, and in 534 Gelimer surrendered to the Byzantine conqueror, which marks the end of the Vandal kingdom.
[[File:Vandal cavalryman, c. AD 500, from a mosaic pavement at Bordj Djedid near Carthage.jpg|thumb|Vandal cavalryman, ''c.'' AD 500, from a [[mosaic]] pavement at [[Zaghouan Aqueduct#Cistern of Bordj Djedid|Bordj Djedid]] near Carthage]]

North Africa, comprising northern Tunisia and eastern Algeria in the Vandal period, became a Roman province again, from which the Vandals were [[deportation |expelled]]. Many Vandals went to [[Saldae]] (today called [[Béjaïa]] in north Algeria) where they integrated with the Berbers. Many others were put into imperial service or fled to the two Gothic kingdoms, the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom| Ostrogothic]] and the [[Visigothic Kingdom]]. Some Vandal women married Byzantine soldiers and settled in north Algeria and Tunisia. The choicest Vandal warriors were formed into five cavalry regiments, known as ''Vandali Iustiniani'', stationed on the [[Roman-Persian Wars| Persian frontier]]. Some entered the private service of Belisarius.<ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1923|pp=124–150}}</ref> The 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' states that "Gelimer was honourably treated and received large estates in [[Galatia]]. He was also offered the rank of a patrician but had to refuse it because he was not willing to change his Arian faith".<ref name= CE/> In the words of historian Roger Collins: "The remaining Vandals were then shipped back to [[Constantinople]] to be absorbed into the imperial army. As a distinct ethnic unit they disappeared".<ref name= Collins126/> Few Vandals remained in North Africa, while more migrated back to Spain.<ref name= Bam/> In 546 the Vandalic [[Dux]] of [[Numidia (Roman province)|Numidia]], [[Guntarith]], defected from the Byzantines and raised a rebellion with Moorish support. He was able to capture Carthage, but was assassinated by the Byzantines shortly afterwards.{{cn|date=September 2022}}