In 410 AD Alaric’s Goths sacked Rome in
one of the most iconic events in all of ancient history, a landmark moment symbolizing the
beginning of the Roman Empire’s collapse. However, this sack had been relatively mild
as many of the eternal city’s treasures and great buildings escaped intact. Decades later, Rome did not escape as easily. 20 years before the Western Empire finally
fell, another enterprising group of barbarians inflicted upon Rome what was perhaps the greatest
sacking in its long history. Today we will begin telling the story of the
Vandals, and how they embarked on a great exodus from the Danube to the shores of Africa. Shoutout to the Ridge Wallet for sponsoring
this video. We have been using wallets kindly provided
by Ridge for two years now, and we can confidently say that it is one of the best products we
currently use, so we recommend Ridge Wallets to all of our viewers. They don’t fold, don’t bulge in your pocket,
and are light, with a modern sleek, and industrial design. Ridge Wallets are a great gift for you and
your loved ones. Ridge holds up to 12 cards and has an attached
money clip for cash. It comes in 30 different colours and styles,
including our favorites – carbon fiber and burnt titanium. For us, switching from the old wallets to
Ridge was like going from an old chair to super fancy gaming armchairs. But don’t take our word for it – ridge
has 40,000 5-star reviews! Each wallet comes with a lifetime warranty
and The Ridge team is so confident that you’ll like it, that they’ll let you try it for
45 days. If you don’t love it, just send it back
and get a full refund! Support our channel and get 10% off today
—WITH FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING AND RETURNS—by going to ridge.com/KINGSANDGENERALS and using
code “KINGSANDGENERALS”! The Vandals who had lived in what is modern
Poland since at least the 2nd century BC, came into contact with Rome around 170 AD
- the tenth year of emperor Marcus Aurelius’ reign. For five years, the emperor had been waging
a ruthless war on the Middle Danube against his Marcomanni and Quadi foes. Earlier in the second century, Marcus’ predecessor
Trajan conquered and annexed much of the Dacian Kingdom of Decebalus. Acquiring its vast gold reserves was a great
boon to the empire’s economy, but Dacia beyond the Danube hid great dangers. According to contemporary historian Cassius
Dio, at the time of Marcus Aurelius’ Marcomannic Wars, Dacia was under the governorship of
Cornelius Clemens. Beginning in around the year 170, unrest and
turmoil began to affect the governor’s province, and the governor had to play barbarian groups
against one another. One of the insignificant tribes that entered
Dacia at this time was known as the Hasdingi. These relatively meagre people entered Roman
lands in hopes of securing money and lands in return for alliance. However, Clemens refused, instead taking the
Hasdingi wives and children as hostages. He then ordered the Hasdingi - who are widely
considered to be a Vandalic people, to assault another barbarian group known as the Costoboci,
who had been pillaging and ravaging another area of Dacia. The Hasdingi warriors attacked and defeated
their fellow Germans, but proceeded to treat the land in the same way - pillaging and ravaging
it. Clemens decided to use another barbarian group
known as the Lacringi to attack the Vandals, who suffered a decisive defeat. The Vandals were adequately cowed and formally
submitted to the emperor’s will. In return for this alliance, they received
both money and the privilege of asking for land if they served with Rome’s armies. Throughout the third century crisis, the Vandals
were not among the primary threats to the Roman Empire, but were instead just one of
many minor tribal groups living on or close to the imperial border. In the year 270, a separate group of Vandals
known as the Silingi invaded the Balkan provinces near Aquincum, but they were outmaneuvered
and subdued by Aurelian. When put into the larger context of incursion
by huge Gothic, Alamanni and other raiding forces, the Vandalic raid was of little consequence,
but that was going to change. The geographical position of the Vandals throughout
the second, third and fourth centuries is impossible to pinpoint for certain, but the
presence of their warrior graves on the Upper Tisza basin allows us to zone in on a broad
region. In the archeology of these graves, we can
distinguish two general themes as the centuries pass. The first is a slow spread of Roman influence
within all of the barbarian groups in the region. From the second century onward, Roman jewelry
and Mediterranean-style ceramics can be made out alongside native Germanic forms. The second can be found in changing Vandalic
settlement patterns: Roman military forts acted as powerful commercial magnets, drawing
clusters of settlements towards them on both sides of the border. While the trend appears to be one of Roman-induced
change, there is also much evidence to suggest a certain degree of continuity in Vandal social
and economic life. Region-specific luxury goods still appear
alongside imported Roman wares, while foodstuffs were eaten in some native containers along
with some vessels from across the frontier. It is easy to picture a traditional Vandal
grandfather who is set in his ways and refuses to use Roman techniques and forms, contrasted
with his grandson who prefers these innovations. Diplomacy between the Romans and the Germanic
tribes was varied: the Vandals were used as a tool to assault more troublesome tribes,
a manpower reserve from which auxiliary troops might be raised and even enemies of Rome who
were themselves victims of the empire’s military force. Social and political development were the
fruits of this interaction with the great state which loomed over the barbarian peoples. Its culture and martial expertise would in
future serve to strengthen those who would ultimately be the empire’s deadliest foes. Most prominent examples of this destabilising
trend were the Franks on the Rhine frontier, the Alamanni on Rome’s Rhine-Danube re-entrant
region and the Goths on the Lower Danube. However, in this initial great flowering of
Germanic groups, the soon-to-be infamous Vandals of the Tisza basin were left behind. In their supposed home, no faction managed
to gain complete dominance. The Vandals themselves remained merely a couple
of small fish among sharks. This relative weakness was shown clearly between
the years 330 and 335 when, as Jordanes recounts, the Gothic king Geberich sought to increase
his territories by attacking the Hasdingi Vandals, who were led by king Visimar. The Vandals managed to resist for a short
time but were eventually driven away from the Tisza valley and their king was possibly
killed. They pleaded to the Romans and received territory
across Pannonia under Emperor Constantine, where the Vandals lived divided under Roman
rule for sixty years. Through service in the Roman military and
close proximity to the empire’s Christian population some Vandals converted to Arian
Christianity, though many remained pagan. As with most of the barbarian groups, everything
changed for the Vandals when the nomadic Huns, began sweeping across the Eurasian steppe,
eventually reaching the Roman border in about 370AD and forcing all who would not submit
to flee into the empire. The Alani were just one of these peoples who,
under imperial oversight, began arriving in the Vandal-occupied land Pannonia. As ominous warnings of Hunnic atrocities came
to the Vandalic leadership from terrified refugees fleeing the east, the Hasdingi king
Godigisel realised he had a critical decision to make for his people. His Pannonian lands were a battleground at
the best of times, and with these new tidings from the east there came the prospect of refugee
influx, and its accompanying starvation and famine. Even more unnerving was the threat of the
Huns, so Godigisel, his closest advisors and his family - which included a young teenage
son called Gaiseric - decided that the Vandals would have to find greener pastures if they
were to survive. But where to go and how to get there? The east was out of the question. One merely had to look upon the awe-inspiring
city of Constantinople to realise that the empire’s east was far too strong to assault. Instead they would move into the promising
lands of Northwestern Europe far away from the nomadic menace, for the time being at
least. Along with some friendly Alani, Hasdingi invaded
Raetia in the first year of the fifth century. This was the era of magister militum Flavius
Stilicho, the brilliant Roman general whose rise to power is so famous precisely because
he was half-Vandal. He led a Roman counterstrike into Raetia and
destroyed Godigisel’s attempt at conquest. Their ambitions culled, the Vandalic invaders
split. Some of the defeated tribesmen were forced
to serve in the Roman army, others were settled in depopulated areas of Italy and even more,
perhaps the vast majority, returned to Pannonia. The second attempt of the Vandals would not
be long in coming. In early 406 Gothic king Radagaisus crossed
the northern frontier and led about 20,000 of his warriors into Raetia. Before Stilicho could gather a meaningful
force, the Gothic army crossed the Alps and assaulted Italy. Either not realising the consequences of his
or having no other choice, Stilicho sent orders for the Rhine frontier troops to reinforce
the imperial field army. With these reinforcements Radagaisus was defeated,
but the solution proved to be a lethal double-edged sword almost immediately. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Godigisel
and some other barbarian leaders, along with some of Radagaisus’ defeated horde, came
together in one of the great migrations of history and began travelling towards the Rhine’s
eastern bank. This coalition of common purpose finally walked
across the Rhine in midwinter of 406/407, probably between the cities of Mainz and Worms. Roman defences in the region were totally
incapable of stopping them. The Vandals were aided in their invasion by
yet another Roman civil war, this time instigated by usurper Constantine III who had invaded
Gaul with Britannic legions and tentatively secured it. The coalition army kept as far to the north
as it could hoping to avoid any large Roman army who might take notice of them. It was hardly necessary, since the Empire
was far too busy destroying itself. However at some point in the year 407, desertion
and defection among Alani and other barbarian kings denuded the army and led to Godigisel’s
death in a ferocious battle against the Franks - who were probably Roman foederati. Though the Vandal king died in the encounter,
late-arriving Alani reinforcements led to a victory anyway. Godigisel was succeeded thereafter by his
eldest son - Gunderic, who continued to ravage Gaul. A letter by Saint Jerome informs us of how
these Vandal movements affected the Western Empire, telling of how ‘savage tribes in
countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul.’ He writes of terrible times - massacre, destruction,
and the usual barbarian tropes. The letter also speaks of how southern Gaul,
especially the regions of Lugdunensis and Narbonensis, are ‘with the exception of
a few cities - one universal scene of desolation’. Yet, this was not the work of the Vandals,
who were at that point only in the north. Instead, such devastation in these regions
was almost definitely caused by the bitter civil war being raged there. It was this pandaemonium which would provide
the impetus for the next stage of Vandal migration, this time to the south. When Constantine’s revolt began to collapse
in 409, multiple approaching imperial contenders juked it out for the throne and a new round
of fighting began. In the midst of such unrest, the Vandals walked
into Aquitania and toward the Pyrenees essentially unopposed. The Vandals crossed the Pyrenees into Hispania
during autumn 409 at the invitation of a former commander under Constantine III named Gerontius,
who had rebelled against his usurper-emperor and required allies. The Vandals were perfect candidates, and were
probably offered land for service in the relatively safe silver-rich province. The two years which followed this crossing
were the continuation of a nightmare for the people of Spain in which the Vandals and their
allies played a large role. A population who were already beset by plague,
famine and constant civil war now came under direct attack from outside invaders. A fifth century Hispano-Roman chronicler called
Hydatius, who was also a bishop in Roman Gallaecia1 gives us an account of how this took place:
‘As the barbarians ran wild through Spain and the deadly pestilence continued on its
savage course, the wealth and goods stored in the cities were plundered by the tyrannical
tax collector and consumed by the soldiers.’ The outcome of this deadly period was clear
in the Roman consciousness, as Hydatius continues: and thus with the four plagues of sword, famine,
pestilence and wild beasts raging everywhere throughout the world, the annunciations foretold
by the Lord through his prophets came to fulfilment.’ As the Vandal ‘wild beasts’ rampaged and
plundered throughout Hispania between 409 and 411 it is worth stepping back for a moment
and considering how terrifying this new blow would have been for the population. Hispania had always been a relatively isolated
and safe province, away from the main trouble spots of the empire2. Even throughout the worst periods of imperial
history thus far, the Iberian peninsula had escaped mostly unscathed. But now, Rome was incapable of protecting
even this wealthy interior province, a fact which probably did not go unnoticed among
the people living there. Even so, by 411 the Vandals’ plundering
actually came to an abrupt end, probably because they were keeping an eye on events elsewhere. A new and capable magister militum called
Constantius had risen to replace the murdered Stilicho, and he quickly made his mark by
quelling the rebellion in Gaul and killing Constantine III. Not wanting to draw Rome’s full ire now
that its power was back, the barbarians kept the peace. Instead the barbarian inhabitants of Hispania
partitioned the province. The Alani king took Carthaginensis and Lusitania
while the Suebi occupied far northwestern Gallaecia. The Hasdingi Vandals meanwhile took the remainder
of Gallaecia, and their Silingi cousins took Baetica in the south. After a few subsequent years of relative peace
and prosperity the Visigoths also crossed the Pyrenees, occupying the formerly imperial
province of Tarraconensis as foederati, changing the balance of power completely. With this development, each barbarian faction
on the peninsula opened diplomatic channels with the new magister militum, each hoping
they would be the empire’s preferred agent. In the end however, Constantius stuck with
the Visigothic king Wallia and ordered him to bring imperial control back to the grain-rich
lands of the south, destroying any group who would oppose him. In 418 and with plenty of imperial support,
Wallia marched first into Carthaginensis, smashed the Alani in battle and killed their
king Addax. Many of the defeated Alani then fled north
into Hasdingi territory, swelling their numbers and increasing their power. After that, the Visigoths invaded Baetica
and, if Hydatius is to be believed, completely annihilated the Silingi Vandals. It is possible that some of them fled north
and joined their Hasdingi kinsmen, or were simply subjugated. However, the Silingi group as a whole was
rendered politically irrelevant and they are never seen again in our sources. Wallia’s campaign was significant both for
what it ravaged and for what it did not touch at all, namely Gallaecia. It is possible that the Romans did not see
these lands as strategically significant, and therefore the Visigothic attack never
reached it. This meant that the Hasdingi and the Suebi
escaped totally unscathed. Moreover, the Hasdingi were actually empowered
by it. In 420, after conflict between the Vandals
and Suebi broke out, a Roman army under comes hispaniarum Asterius entered the peninsula
and expelled the Vandals, who had been harbouring a usurper called Maximus, into the now unoccupied
south. This proved to be a mistake, as the Hasdingi
quickly began to threaten imperial interests in their new rich holdings. However, when another imperial army under
the comes domesticorum Castinus marched to clear up the mess, it was defeated due to
the betrayal of allied Gothic foederati. This obscure battle is usually bypassed as
a historical footnote, but in their book Andy Merrills and Richard Miles emphasize it differently. They note that it ‘might be regarded as
one of the most significant battles in the history of the Western Roman Empire’. It was both the first great Vandal victory,
and the moment their power began to truly ramp up. In the aftermath, Castinus’ defeated Roman
soldiers and the treacherous Goths joined the rising Hasdingi. With this new burst of manpower, the Vandals
besieged important but resistant cities and began to look past Baetica’s fertile fields
to the sea, raiding the rich Balearic Islands and Mauretania. Then between 427 and 429 two events took place
which gave the Vandals the impetus to take their final leap to Carthage. In the year 428, Gunderic died and was succeeded
by his prodigious brother Gaiseric, who was elected king by the Vandal elite. In Africa itself, the comes Africae Boniface
[-fays] was a rising star, but this unnerved western magister militums Aetius and Constantius
Felix, who sought to quell this internal threat. Imperial plots and schemes led to Boniface
rebelling against central authority and seeking allies - the Vandals were once against perfect
candidates. So, at some point in the year 429 Gaiseric
transplanted his 50,000 to 80,000 men, women and children over the straits of Gibraltar
piecemeal and invaded North Africa at the bidding of a Roman general. One again, civil strife in the empire signalled
the death knell of yet another province. The Vandal conquest of North Africa was almost
at hand and we will cover it in the future video, so make sure you are subscribed and
have pressed the bell button to see the next video in the series. Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing
- it helps immensely. Our videos would be impossible without our
kind patrons and youtube channel members, whose ranks you can join via the links in
the description to know our schedule, get early access to our videos, access our discord,
and much more. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.
