Genseric, the King of the Vandal's.
To defeat the Roman Empire in battle was not an easy task, to defeat the combined might of the Western and Byzantine Legionnaire's is a feat worthy of song and verse to last the ages. For some strange reason King Genseric of the Vandal's never achieved the acclaim of a man who tormented the Roman Empire and took full advantage of the Empire's fragile nature.
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| Source: Wikimedia Commons. The Vandals meet the Pope in their assault on Rome. |
King Genseric of the Vandal's came to power after his elder brother passed away, Genseric was illegitimate but was the rightful heir to the small band of warrior's who had settled in what is now modern day Spain. Genseric realised his small nation of less than 100,000 tribesman would be squeezed out of the lands they occupied by larger more organized Germanic tribes. In AD King Genseric shipped his entire people's to the land's of North Africa. They swarmed into the Imperial Roman province's of Numandia and Maurentina. These land's had been the spoils of victory for the Roman's after their success in the Punic War's.
It is suggested that King Genseric and his tribal warrior's were invited into these land's to help bolster their position in uncertain times. It is very likely that King Genseric had a fair idea of the turmoil that Rome's African Provinces were in, and he saw it as an opportunity to consolidate his position away from the old rivalries of Tribal Europe.
The King of the Vandal's was quick to exploit the situation and in a short space of time he had imposed his brand of Arian Christianity on this corner of the Roman Empire. The Roman citizen's although Christian were of the Roman Catholic faith, King Genseric allowed freedom of religious worship but did not allow any of his Kingdom's elite class to be anything other than Arian Christian. His occupation of Roman land's was not protested over by the Roman citizens of the new Vandal nation, ordinary citizen's were taxed less as the Churches and Catholic nobles bore the cost of Genseric's rule.
The Sack of Rome
The weakness of the Western and Byzantine Roman Empire's offered so much opportunity for the Germanic tribes and King Genseric was happy to test the limit's of Rome's defence's and resilience. Both Empire's were still smarting from the exploit's of Atilla the Hun, and the might of his Warrior's had deprived Rome and Constantinople of much of it's Legionary might.
On 2 June 455, the Vandals led by their King Genseric began the sack of the City of Rome. King Genseric had previously made a peace treaty with the Emperor of the Western Roman Empire Valentinian III. A coup had occurred when the Emperor was killed and replaced by Petronius Maximus, King Genseric declared the peace treaty had been broken, and as a matter of honour invaded Italy to rescue his prospective Daughter in law.
The Vandals would continue to plunder the Imperial City for fourteen days, but it was not as bloodthirsty as some Historian's would later make out. Much gold and silver would be taken as well as several boats full of captives, these captive's were destined for slavery or to be ransomed.The Catholic Pope had urged the Vandal's not to murder and burn the historic building's. King Genseric agreed to their plea. Among the treasures taken by the Vandals was the wealth of the Jewish Temple from Jerusalem, which had already been plundered nearly 380 years previous.
Military Failure
As successful as the Vandal King was against the Roman establishment and military, he suffered defeat against less grand regional rivals such as the Berbers. The Berber's were a people whose Lands encompassed modern day Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. King Genseric was unable to increase his authority or subjugate the North African tribe and a status quo was soon established between the Two. As long as the Vandal's had their naval supremacy they did not have to press into the Berber sphere's of influence, and for the most part the Vandal's were quite content to consolidate their bases and continue with their Mediterranean piracy.
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| Source: Wikimedia Commons The Vandals collecting the spoils of War. |
The Berber's had taken back large portion's of the former Roman province and where very close to re-establishing their old lands. The Vandal's held the coast line and the Berber's controlled the interior. On two occasion's the Vandal's tried to oust the Berber's from their land's but this was met with little success.
The King also endured military defeat in his attempt to secure a foothold in Southern Greece. The Vandal's landed in the ancient land's of the now defunct Spartan race, and lost a large number of fighting men on this expansionist assault. The Vandal's sought to have a launching point in mainland Greece they could move at the Byzantine lands to the East or attack Rome again from Mediterranean Island possession's.
When the King of the Vandal's died at the age of 88, it signaled the end of the Vandal Kingdom. He was succeeded by his first born son Huneric and the rule of his son was poor in comparison to King Genseric. King Huneric was fearful of the power of the Byzantine Empire, but slowly began to persecute the Catholic's within his Kingdom. The subsequent ruler's of the Vandal's kept changing their position towards the Catholic population.
This strained relationship with Catholic Rome and Constantinople combined with the mounting aggression of the Visigoth's and the Berber's lead to the demise of the Vandal Empire very quickly. After the death of King Genseric the Vandal's endured two pivotal military defeats to the Berber's. As the Vandal's began to decline in power, the Roman's in 534 were able to reacquire some of their old North African province's at the expense of the Vandal Kingdom. This meant all of the great Warrior King Genseric's effort and achievement's were erased within 50 year's of his death.
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