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Vandals

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{{Redirect2|Vandal|Vandali}} The '''Vandals''' were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. 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 Goths 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.

Origins
Image:Przeworsk2.PNG Przeworsk culture.html" title="Meaning of right right|200px|thumb|The [[Przeworsk culture (green) in the first half of the 3rd century. The map shows the extent of the Wielbark culture (Goths) in red, a Baltic culture (Aesti?) in yellow, and the Debczyn Culture, pink. The Roman Empire is purple..html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|The [[Przeworsk culture">right|200px|thumb|The [[Przeworsk culture (green) in the first half of the 3rd century. The map shows the extent of the Wielbark culture (Goths) in red, a Baltic culture (Aesti?) in yellow, and the Debczyn Culture, pink. The Roman Empire is purple.">200px|thumb|The [[Przeworsk culture">right|200px|thumb|The [[Przeworsk culture (green) in the first half of the 3rd century. The map shows the extent of the Wielbark culture (Goths) in red, a Baltic culture (Aesti?) in yellow, and the Debczyn Culture, pink. The Roman Empire is purple. The Vandals were first identified with Przeworsk culture in the 19th century {{fact}}. 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. Similarity 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. Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Tacitus recorded their presence between the Oder and Vistula rivers in ''Germania'' (98 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. {{main|connection between Poles and Vandals}} In Middle Ages 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" ("Pippin of Italy 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 Eurasian Avars Avars.

History
The Vandals were divided in two tribal groups, the Silingi and the Hasdingi. At the time of the War of the Marcomanni (166-81) 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 Roman Empire 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 the one great Vandal king. 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 Genseric in 439 made Carthage his capital after he had thoroughly plundered it. 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 heresy adhered to by the Vandals and Rome's Catholicism 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 he ravaged the coasts of the Eastern and Western Empires. 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 Flavius 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, but this is probably a fable. It is said that on 2 June, 455, pope 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; 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. By 468 they destroyed an enormous Byzantine Empire Byzantine fleet sent against them. The Arian Vandals treated the Catholics more harshly than other German peoples. Catholic bishops were punished by Genseric with deposition, exile, or death, and laymen were excluded from office and frequently suffered confiscation of their property. It is said of Genseric 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
Genseric, 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 Manichaeism 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. Gelimer was defeated in 533 and 534 by Belisarius, the commander of the armies of the Eastern Empire. The Byzantine emperor Justinian I declared war on the Vandals. The action was led by Belisarius. Having heard that the greatest part of the Vandal fleet was fighting an uprising in Sardinia, he 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 at first, but when Gelimer's nephew Gibamund fell in battle, the Vandals lost heart and fled. Belisarius quickly took Carthage while the surviving Vandals fought on. On December 15, 533, Gelimer and Belisarius clashed again at Battle of Ticameron 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 Regius 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)

Vandalic language
{{main|Vandalic language}} Very little is known about the Vandalic language which was of the East Germanic linguistic branch, closely related to Gothic language Gothic (known from Ulfilas's Bible translation), both completely extinct. Some traces may remain in Andalusian dialect, the southernmost group of Spanish language 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).

Modern heritage
*The name Andalusia (Spain's southernmost region) is most likely derived from the ethnic name "Vandal" *The term "Vandals" became proverbial for barbaric plunder and destruction owing to the speed with which their king Genseric's army captured Rome in 455AD. While historians agree that the Vandals didn't damage the city any more than did other invaders, this notion lives on in the abstract noun vandalism connoting senseless destruction. *The Vandals are the mascot of the University of Idaho. *The Vandals is the name for a Los Angeles area Punk rock band.

Sources and references
*John Julius Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Early Centuries'' *Westermann, ''Grosser Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' (in German) *Pauly-Wissowa *{{Catholic}}
- 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.

See also
*Migrations period *Auriwandalo *Alans#The_.27western.27_Alans_and_Vandals The western Alans and Vandals *Timeline of Portuguese history (Germanic Kingdoms) Timeline of Portuguese history - Germanic Kingdoms (5th to 8th Century) Category:Ancient Germanic peoples Category:Ancient Roman enemies and allies Category:Ethnic groups in Europe Category:History of the Germanic peoples Category:Late Antiquity Category:Vandal history * af:Vandale als:Vandalen (Volk) ar:ÙˆØ§Ù†Ø¯Ù„ bg:Ð’Ð°Ð½Ð´Ð°Ð»Ð¸ ca:VÃ ndal cs:VandalovÃ© da:Vandaler de:Vandalen et:Vandaalid es:VÃ¡ndalo eo:Vandaloj fr:Vandales ko:ë°˜ë‹¬ì¡± it:Vandali he:×•× ×“×œ×™×? sw:Wavandali lv:VandaÄ¼i lt:Vandalai hu:VandÃ¡lok nl:Vandalen ja:ãƒ´ã‚¡ãƒ³ãƒ€ãƒ«æ—? no:Vandalene nds: Wandalen pl:Wandalowie pt:VÃ¢ndalos ro:Vandali ru:Ð’Ð°Ð½Ð´Ð°Ð»Ñ‹ sk:Vandali sl:Vandali sr:Ð’Ð°Ð½Ð´Ð°Ð»Ð¸ fi:Vandaalit sv:Vandaler tr:Vandal zh:æ±ªè¾¾å°”äºº see :Vandalism

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