Genseric the Vandal

Biography

Genseric (Gaiseric) was the architect of the Vandal kingdom and one of the most effective enemies Rome ever faced. He led his people across the Strait of Gibraltar into Roman Africa, conquered its rich provinces, and in 439 seized Carthage — the West's second city and the source of Italy's grain. From there he built a powerful navy and made the western Mediterranean a Vandal lake, raiding the coasts of Italy, Sicily, and Greece for half a century. In 455 he crowned his career by sacking Rome itself, stripping the city of its remaining treasures over two weeks — a plunder so notorious it gave us the word 'vandalism.' He outmaneuvered or destroyed every Roman and Byzantine fleet sent against him, including a massive Eastern expedition in 468. Ruling for nearly fifty years, Genseric died in his bed in 477, having outlasted the Western Empire he had done so much to dismember.

Key Battles