Genseric the Vandal

A Story by Crimson_Woad

Genseric the Vandal is not a very common topic among great leaders and men of the Middle Ages. His story however is legendary, despite being very violent. Genseric was King of the Alans and the Vandals from 428 to 477, and being the founder of the Vandal Kingdom, he rose a Germanic tribe to a major power in the Mediterranean Sea.

Genseric translate to "spear-king" was the illegitimate son of King Godigisel born in Hungary. After his father's death his half brother Gunderic assumed the throne, where they had settled in Spain. When his brother died, Genseric was elected king. At the time the Vandals had suffered attacks by the Visigoths, a nearby tribe at the time, so Genseric decided to leave Spain.

During the time of conflict between Roman governors, Genseric ferried over 20,000 men across the sea to North Africa where he crushed the divided Roman defenders, overrunning modern Morocco and Algeria, he sieged Hippo Regius taking it after 14 months. On the 11th of Febuary 435, the Roman Emperor Valentinian III made peace with Genseric and reconised him as king of the lands he conquered. The peace had a price however and Genseric was forced to give up Huneric his son as hostage and pay a tribute to the Roman Empire.

On October 19th 439, Genseric noticed the Roman Army was concentrated mainly in Gaul, the Vandals took Carthage; most likely using treachery (a tactic Genseric would use often). The Archbishop at the time was exiled to Naples, due to the fact Genseric wanted it to be mainly Arian Christian, but gave freedom of religion for the Catholics.

Having captured the fleet of navy boats at Carthage, Genseric began to contest the the dominance over the Mediterranean Sea and had made Carthage the new capital. Soon Sicily fell, along with Sardina, Corsica and Balearic Islands, while strengthening the Vandal's defences. In the light of the conquests the Roman Empire then reconised the Vandal Kingdom as a country, rather than under Roman rule. The province in Algeria, once aligned with the Romans had turned into an ally of the Vandals and for the next 30 years had raided along the Mediterranean, gaining the notion as pirates.

In 455, Valentinian III was assassinated under the orders of Petronius Maximus. Believing the act had made the treaty between the Vandals and the Roman's void, Genseric on May 31 landed on Italian soil and began his march to Rome. Pope Leo pleaded to Genseric to not destroy the city or murder the citizens and Genseric agreed, so the gates opened to Genseric and his army. Maximus who fled rather than fight the Vandal King was killed by a mob outside the city.

So they sacked the city and stole much of the gold and silver in Rome, Genseric kidnapped Valentinian's widow, Empress Licinia Eudoxia and his two daughters Eudocia and Placidia along with many other nobels who were used to get monetary gain. Eudocia had married Huneric after arriving in Carthage (due to the peace treaty agreement).

In 468 two half of the Roman monarchy had decided to target the Vandal Kingdom, in order to subdue and stop the pirate raids. Basiliscus had assembled a fleet of 100,000 men and sailed from the east to confront Genseric at Cap Bon. The first engagement Genseric sent 500 ships to the Romans and lost 340, then a peace treaty was made between them. During the negotiations, Genseric attacked a second time, using a very ancient technique; Greek fire. The Vandals had downed 600 of the Roman fleet, forcing the invaders to end their campaign. This ensured that the Vandals remained the dominate force of the West Mediterranean. In the wake of the Byzantine's retreat, the Vandals tried to invade the Peloponnes, but were driven back by the Maniots at Kenipolis with heavy casualties.

In retaliation the Vandals took 500 hostages, which they hacked to pieces and threw overboard on the way back to Carthage. Genseric made peace with the Byzantines in 474 and died three years later on January the 25th 477.