Vandals
The
Vandals were an
East Germanic tribe that entered the late
Roman Empire during the
5th century. The Vandals may have given their name to the region of
Andalusia, which was originally
Vandalusia, then Arabic
Al-Andalus, in the south of
Spain, where they temporarily settled before pushing on to
Africa.
The
Goth Theodoric the Great, king of the
Ostrogoths and regent of the
Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals, as well as with the
Burgundians and the
Franks under
Clovis I.
The Vandals were first identified with
Przeworsk culture in the
19th century . Controversy surrounds potential connections between the Vandals and another possibly
Germanic tribe, the
Lugii (Lygier, Lugier or Lygians). Some academics believe that either Lugii was an earlier name of the Vandals, or the Vandals were part of the Lugian federation.
Similarities of names have suggested homelands for the Vandals in
Norway (Hallingdal),
Sweden (
Vendel), or
Denmark (
Vendsyssel). The Vandals are assumed to have crossed the Baltic into what is today Poland somewhere in the
2nd century BC, and to have settled in
Silesia from around
120 BC.
Tacitus recorded their presence between the
Oder and
Vistula rivers in
Germania (
AD 98); his identification was corroborated by later historians: according to
Jordanes, they and the
Rugians were displaced by the arrival of the
Goths. This tradition supports the identification of the Vandals with the
Przeworsk culture, since the Gothic
Wielbark culture seems to have replaced a branch of that culture.
In
medieval times, there was a popular belief that Vandals were ancestors of Poles. That belief originated probably because of two facts: first, confusion of the
Venedes with Vandals and secondly, because both Venedes and Vandals in ancient times lived in areas later settled by Poles. In
796, in the
Annales Alamanici, one can find an excerpt saying, "Pipinus ... perrexit in regionem Wandalorum, et ipsi Wandali venerunt obvium" ("
Pepin went to the region of the Vandals, which Vandals did come out to oppose him"). In
Annales Sangallenses, the same raid (however, put in
795) is summarised in one short message, "Wandali conquisiti sunt" ("The Vandals were destroyed"). This means that early medieval writers gave the name of Vandals to
Avars.
The Vandals were divided in two tribal groups, the
Silingi and the
Hasdingi. At the time of the War of the Marcomanni (166-181) the Silingi lived in an area recorded for centuries as
Magna Germania, now
Silesia. In the
2nd century, the
Hasdingi, led by the kings
Raus and
Rapt (or Rhaus and Raptus) moved south, and first attacked the
Romans in the lower Danube area, in about 271 the Roman Emperor
Aurelian was obliged to protect the middle course of the Danube against them. They made peace and settled in western
Dacia (
Romania) and Roman
Hungary.
According to
Jordanes'
History of the Goths, the Hasdingi came into conflict with the
Goths around the time of
Constantine the Great. At the time, the Vandals were living in lands later inhabited by the
Gepids, where they were surrounded "on the east [by] the Goths, on the west [by] the
Marcomanni, on the north [by] the
Hermanduri and on the south [by] the Hister (
Danube)." The Vandals were attacked by the Gothic king
Geberic, and their king
Visimar was killed. The Vandals then migrated to
Pannonia, where after
Constantine the Great (about 330) granted them lands on the right bank of the Danube, they lived for the next sixty years.
In
400 or
401, possibly because of attacks by the
Huns, the Vandals along with their allies, (the Sarmatian
Alans and Germanic
Suebians), started to move westward under king
Godigisel. Some of the Silingi joined them later. Around this time, the Hasdingi had already been
Christianized. Through the Emperor
Valens (364-78) the Vandals accepted, much like the
Goths earlier,
Arianism, a belief that was in opposition to that of the main Trinitarian Christianity in the Roman Empire, which later grew into
Catholicism and
Eastern Orthodoxy, yet there were also some scattered orthodox Vandals, among whom was general
Stilicho, the minister of the Emperor
Honorius.
Gaul
In 406 the Vandals advanced from Pannonia travelling west along the Danube without much difficulty, but when they reached the Rhine, they met resistance from the
Franks, who populated and controlled Romanized regions in northern
Gaul. Twenty thousand Vandals, including Godigisel himself, died in the resulting battle, but then with the help of the Alans they managed to defeat the Franks, and on
December 31,
406 the Vandals crossed the frozen
Rhine to invade Gaul, which they devastated terribly. Under Godigisel's son
Gunderic, the Vandals plundered their way westward and southward through
Aquitaine.
Iberia
In October
409 they crossed the
Pyrenees into the
Iberian peninsula. There they received land from the Romans, as
foederati, in
Gallaecia (Northwest) and
Hispania Baetica (South), while the
Alans got lands in
Lusitania (West) and the region around
Carthago Nova. The
Suebi also controlled part of Gallaecia. The
Visigoths, who invaded Iberia before receiving lands in
Septimania (Southern France), crushed the Alans in 426, killing the western Alan king
Attaces. The remainder of his people subsequently appealed to the Vandal king
Gunderic to accept the Alan crown. Later Vandal kings in North Africa styled themselves
Rex Wandalorum et Alanorum ("King of the Vandals and Alans").
Africa
From 427 their king was
Geiseric (Genseric, Gaiseric), Gunderic's half brother, who proved to be one of the greatest Vandal kings. He started building a Vandal fleet, which in 429 landed in North Africa with about 80,000 of his followers. It is a disputed point whether he was called to Africa by the Roman governor Boniface on account of the intrigues of Aetius. In
429, after becoming king, Geiseric crossed the
Strait of Gibraltar and moved east toward
Carthage. Peace was made between the Romans who in
435 granted them some territory in Northern Africa, but it was broken by Geiseric, who in
439 made Carthage his capital. The Vandals took and plundered the city without a fight, entering the city while most of the inhabitants were spectating at the races at the hippodrome. Geiseric then built the Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans into a powerful state with a capital at
Saldae; he conquered
Sicily,
Sardinia,
Corsica and the
Balearic Islands.
Differences between the
Arian faith adhered to by the Vandals and Rome's
Catholics or
Donatists was a constant source of tensions in their African state. Most Vandal kings, except
Hilderic, more or less persecuted Catholics. Members of the clergy were exiled, monasteries were dissolved, and general pressure was used on non-conforming Catholics. Although Catholicism was rarely officially forbidden (the last months of
Huneric's reign being an exception), they were forbidden from making converts among the Vandals, and life was generally difficult for the Catholic clergy, who were denied bishoprics.
Sack of Rome
During the next thirty-five years with a large fleet Geiseric looted the coasts of the Eastern and Western Empires. 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. Diplomacy between the two factions broke down, and in
455 the Vandals took
Rome and plundered the city for two weeks starting
June 2. They departed with countless valuables, including spoils of the
Temple in Jerusalem brought to Rome by
Titus, and the Empress
Licinia Eudoxia and her daughters
Eudocia and
Placidia. It is asserted that the Empress Eudoxia had asked him to free her from her hated marriage with the Emperor
Petronius Maximus, the murderer of her husband
Valentinian III.
It is said that on 2 June, 455, pope
Leo the Great received Geiseric 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; moreover, the Vandals had only booty in mind, nor was the plundering as extreme as later tradition and the expression "Vandalism" would imply.
Temporary consolidation
From 462, the Vandal kingdom included North Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean, that is Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands, but like the other Germanic kingdoms on Roman soil, the kingdom of the Vandals in Africa soon began to decay from the lack of unity of religion and of race among the two populations.
In
468 they destroyed an enormous
Byzantine fleet sent against them.
The Arian Vandals treated the Catholics more harshly than other German peoples. Catholic bishops were punished by Geiseric with deposition, exile, or death, and laymen were excluded from office and frequently suffered confiscation of their property. It is said of Geiseric himself that he was originally a Catholic and had changed to Arianism about 428; this, however, is probably an invention. He protected his Catholic subjects when his relations with Rome and Constantinople were friendly, as during the years 454-57, when the Catholic community at Carthage, being without a head, elected Deogratias bishop. The same was also the case during the years 476-77 when Bishop Victor of
Cartenna sent him, during a period of peace, a sharp refutation of Arianism and suffered no punishment.
Decline
Geiseric, one of the most powerful personalities of the era of the Migrations, had been the terror of the seas. He died at a great age on 25 January, 477. According to the law of succession which he had promulgated, not the son but the oldest male member of the royal house was to succeed to the throne (law of seniority). He was succeeded by his incompetent son
Huneric (Hunerich, 477- 484), who at first protected the Catholics, owing to his fear of Constantinople. But from 482 Huneric's reign was mostly notable for its religious persecutions of the
Manichaeans and Catholics in the most terrible manner.
Gunthamund (
484–
496), his cousin and successor, sought internal peace with the Catholics and protected them once more. Externally, the Vandal power had been declining since Geiseric's death, and Gunthamund lost large parts of Sicily to the
Ostrogoths, and had to withstand increasing pressure from the
Moors.
While
Thrasamund (496- 523), owing to his religious fanaticism, was hostile to Catholics, he contented himself with bloodless persecutions.
The turbulent end
Hilderic (Hilderich,
523–
530) was the most Catholic-friendly of the Vandal kings, who favoured them and granted 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
Arian faction within the royal family led a revolt, raising the banner of national Arianism, and his cousin
Gelimer (
530–
533) became king. Hilderic, Hoamer and their relatives were thrown into prison. Hilderich was deposed and murdered in 533.
This was taken as an excuse for interference by the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian I, who declared war on the Vandals. The armies of the Eastern Empire were commanded by
Belisarius, who, having heard that the greatest part of the Vandal fleet was fighting an uprising in Sardinia, decided to act quickly, and landed on Tunisian soil, then marched on to Carthage. In the late summer of
533, King Gelimer met Belisarius ten miles south of Carthage at the
Battle of Ad Decimium; the Vandals were winning the battle till Gelimer's nephew Gibamund fell in battle; Gelimer then lost heart and fled. Belisarius quickly took Carthage while the surviving Vandals fought on.
On
December 15,
533, Gelimer and Belisarius clashed again at
Ticameron, some 20 miles from Carthage. Again, the Vandals fought well but broke, this time when Gelimer's brother
Tzazo fell in battle. Belisarius quickly advanced to
Hippo, second city of the Vandal Kingdom, and in
534 Gelimer surrendered to the Roman conqueror, ending the Kingdom of the Vandals. North Africa became a Roman province, from which the Vandals were expelled. Gelimer was honourably treated and received large estates in Galicia. He was also offered the rank of a patrician but had to refuse it because he was not willing to change his Arian faith.
List of kings
#
Godigisel (—
407)#
Gunderic (
407–
428)#
Geiseric (
428–
477)#
Huneric (
477–
484)#
Gunthamund (
484–
496)#
Thrasamund (
496–
523)#
Hilderic (
523–
530)#
Gelimer (
530–
534)
Very little is known about the
Vandalic language which was of the
East Germanic linguistic branch, closely related to
Gothic (known from
Ulfilas's Bible translation), both completely extinct. Some traces may remain in
Andalusian dialect, the southernmost group of
Spanish dialects, which is however far more strongly permeated with Arabic from the later Moors (711 to 1492, first and last Muslim rule in Iberia).
*The name
Andalusia (Spain's southernmost region) is possibly derived from the ethnic name "Vandal"
*The term "vandalism" has come to mean senseless destruction as a result the Vandals' sack of Rome under King
Geiseric in 455. Historians agree that the Vandals were no more destructive than other invaders of ancient times. During the
Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, so the
Goths and Vandals were disparaged.
John Dryden writes:
Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). The word "goth" has gained architectural and other associations since Dryden's time, but "vandal" has not. The abstract term "vandalism" is from the French
vandalisme and dates from the
French revolution. The verb
vandalize is first recorded in 1800.
*The Vandals are the
mascot of the
University of Idaho.
*
The Vandals is the name for a
Los Angeles area
punk rock band.
*Vandals RFC is a
Rugby Union Football Club in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
*Robin Hemley's
short short story,
The Liberation of Rome[Anthologized in Shapard and Thomas, Sudden Fiction (Continued) (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996; previously appeared in North Carolina Humanities and The Big Ear: Stories by Robin Hemley] depicts a conversation between a professor of
Roman History and a hostile student of "over half" Vandal ancestry.
*
Migrations period*
Auriwandalo*
The western Alans and Vandals*
Timeline of Portuguese history - Germanic Kingdoms (5th to 8th Century)*
John Julius Norwich,
Byzantium: The Early Centuries*Westermann,
Grosser Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)
*
Pauly-Wissowa*
Online Etymology Dictionary: Vandal*
Brian Adam: History of the Vandals* Ivor J. Davidson,
A Public Faith, Chapter 11,
Christians and Barbarians, Volume 2 of Baker History of the Church, 2005, ISBN 0801012759
* Victor of Vita,
History of the Vandal Persecution ISBN 0853231273. Written 484, non-NPOV primary source.
