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/van"dl/, n.1. (cap.) a member of a Germanic people who in the 5th century A.D. ravaged Gaul and Spain, settled in Africa, and in A.D. 455 sacked Rome.2. a person who willfully or ignorantly destroys or mars something beautiful or valuable.adj.4. imbued with or characterized by vandalism.[1545-55; < LL Vandalus, Latinized tribal name]
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Any member of a Germanic people who ruled a kingdom in North Africa from 429 to 534 and who sacked Rome in 455.Fleeing westward from the Huns, they invaded Gaul before settling in Spain (409). Under King Gaiseric (r. 428–477) they migrated to North Africa and became federates of Rome (435). Four years later Gaiseric threw off Roman overlordship and captured Carthage. The Vandals later annexed Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily, and their pirate fleets controlled much of the western Mediterranean. When they invaded Italy and captured Rome (455), they plundered the city and its artworks, and their name has remained a synonym for willful desecration and destruction. The Vandals were Arian Christians (see Arianism) who persecuted Roman Catholics in Africa. They were conquered when the Byzantines invaded North Africa (533–534).* * *
▪ Germanic peoplemember of a Germanic people who maintained a kingdom in North Africa from AD 429 to 534 and who sacked Rome in 455. Their name has remained a synonym for willful desecration or destruction.Fleeing westward from the Huns at the beginning of the 5th century, the Vandals invaded and devastated parts of Gaul before settling in Spain in 409. There the Asdingi Vandals under King Gunderic became the ascendant group after attacks by allies of the Romans had dissipated the Silingi and Alani Vandals. In 429 Gunderic's brother and successor, Gaiseric (q.v.; reigned 428–477), settled his people in North Africa, where they became federates of Rome in 435. Four years later Gaiseric threw off Roman overlordship, captured Carthage, and established an independent autocracy. With their rule firmly established in what is now northern Tunisia and northeastern Algeria, the Vandals eventually annexed Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily, and their pirate fleets controlled much of the western Mediterranean. Under Gaiseric, the Vandals even invaded Italy and captured Rome in June 455. For a fortnight they occupied the city and systematically plundered it, carrying off many valuable works of art.The Vandals were ardent Arian Christians, and their persecutions of the Roman Catholic church in Africa were at times fierce, particularly during the last years of the reign of Gaiseric's successor, Huneric (reigned 477–484). In 533 the Byzantines under Belisarius invaded North Africa following the deposition by the usurper Gelimer of Huneric's son, Hilderich, who was a close friend of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. In one campaigning season the Vandal kingdom was destroyed. Rome again ruled the area and restored the churches to the Roman Catholics. The Vandals played no further role in history.* * *
Universalium. 2010.