Gaiseric: the Vandal King who conquered Africa

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Roman domination over North Africa, which had lasted for over four centuries, finally crumbled when the Vandals, a Germanic people, invaded the region. In 429, the Vandals, led by their King Gaiseric, landed in Tangier. Ten years later, they conquered Carthage, where they founded a Kingdom. In this article, we will discover the life of Gaiseric, the King who led the Vandal conquest of North Africa.

Origins

Gaiseric was an illegitimate son of the Vandal King Godigisel and a Roman slave. His name means “powerful with the spear”. He was born in 389, close to Lake Balaton, in modern-day Hungary. At this time, the Vandals, together with other Germanic tribes, were migrating towards territories controlled by the Roman Empire.

Gaiseric was a teenager at the Vandal crossing of the Rhine, in 406, to settle in Gaul. His father died during the crossing, in battle against the Franks. His half-brother Gunderic then became King, while Gaiseric became the second most powerful man in the tribe. He played an important role in the pillage of Gaul, as well as in the invasion of Spain, in 409.

Gaiseric is described as a middle-sized man, who talked little, got angry easily, and was greedy for riches. He was lame since falling from his horse as a young man. Like all the Vandals, he followed the Arian religion, a doctrine considered heretical by the official Church.

Gunderic died in 428 and Gaiseric succeeded him as King. The reasons behind Gunderic’s death are unclear: he might have been killed by Gaiseric. Later, Gaiseric would have Gunderic’s widow executed by throwing her alive into the Oued Rhummel, close to Constantine, with a stone tied around her neck.

In Spain, the Vandals were weakened by the attacks of the Goths, another more numerous Germanic tribe. Gaiseric, understanding he wasn’t strong enough to resist, decided to abandon Spain to his rivals and find a new land for his people.

The Vandals in Africa

At this time, Bonifatius, the governor of Roman Africa, was in conflict with the Imperial family. Gaiseric seized the opportunity to invade North Africa: in 429, 80.000 Vandals crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and landed in Tangier.

Less than a year later, the Vandals, led by Gaiseric, had taken control of all Mauretania and started attacking Numidia. In 430, they won a decisive victory against the Roman troops, led by Bonifatius, at the Battle of Calama (Guelma). They then besieged Hippo (Annaba) and destroyed the city; its bishop, Augustine of Hippo, died during the siege.

The Romans sent reinforcements in 432, led by general Aspar. Gaiseric’s Vandals were again victorious. The future Roman Emperor Marcian was taken prisoner during this campaign.

In 435, Gaiseric signed a peace treaty with the Romans, through which Rome recognized Vandal sovereignty over Mauretania and Numidia, in exchange for a tribute. Gaiseric’s son Huneric was sent to Rome as a hostage.

Gaiseric, breaking the truce, launched another offensive in 439: the Vandals attacked Carthage by surprise and took the city without resistance. Gaiseric founded the Vandal Kingdom of Africa, with Carthage as its capital. The Vandals extended their domination over Byzacene (Southern Tunisia) and Tripolitania.

Gaiseric, wanting to convert all his subjects to Arianism, persecuted the North African Christians, both Catholic and Donatist. After the Vandal conquest of Carthage, its bishop Quodvultdeus (“what God wants”) was exiled with most other North African bishops. These bishops were put aboard an old ship without sail or oars, which luckily managed to cross the sea to Naples. The exiled bishops then settled in Italy. One of them, Gaudiosus, became bishop of Naples.

When the Vandals conquered Carthage, Gaiseric took control of the major part of the Roman fleet, which was stationed at the Carthaginian port. Later, the Vandal Kingdom built its own fleet, threatening the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Sea. The Vandals conquered Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Islands. It was said that Gaiseric, who, being lame, was unable to ride a horse, assuaged his thirst for glory at sea.

The sack of Rome

A new peace treaty between Rome and the Vandals was concluded in 442. The Roman Emperor Valentinian III committed to give his daughter Eudocia in marriage to Gaiseric’s son Huneric.

In 455, Valentinian was assassinated. His murderer forced Eudocia to marry his own son. Gaiseric used this as a pretext to invade Rome and pillage the city. He kidnapped Eudocia, together with her mother, and took her back to Carthage, where she was married to Huneric. The sack of Rome by Gaiseric significantly accelerated the city’s decline, until the final fall of the Roman Empire.

Last years of Gaiseric’s reign

In the last years of his reign, Gaiseric resisted several Roman attempts to reconquer North Africa. By the end of his life, he even tried to conquer the Peloponnese, but failed.

He died in 477, at 87 years of age. The fall of the Roman Empire had come one year before his death. His son Huneric succeeded him. All other Vandal Kings after him were his descendants, but none of them had the same authority as him over their subjects.