Genseric

Genseric
Ruler of the Vandal Kingdom
Siliqua of Genseric
Reign	428-477
Predecessor	Gunderic
Successor	Huneric
Born	c. 389 Lake Balaton, Hungary
Died	January 25, 477 (aged 88) Carthage, Tunisia
Father	Godigisel
Religion	Arianism

Genseric or more often Gaiseric or sometimes Geiseric (c. 389 – January 25, 477), was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477) who established the Vandal Kingdom and was one of the key players in the troubles of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. During his nearly 50 years of rule, he raised a relatively insignificant Germanic tribe to the status of a major Mediterranean power. After he died, they entered a swift decline and eventual collapse.

Succeeding his brother Gunderic at a time when the Vandals were settled in Baetica, Roman Hispania (modern Andalusia, Spain), Genseric successfully defended himself against a Suebian attack and transported all his people, around 80,000, to Northern Africa in 428. He might have been invited by the Roman governor Bonifacius, who wished to use the military strength of the Vandals in his struggle against the imperial government.

Genseric caused great devastation as he moved eastward from the Strait of Gibraltar across Africa. He turned on Bonifacius, defeated his army in 430, and then crushed the joint forces of the Eastern and Western empires that had been sent against him. In 435 Genseric concluded a treaty with the Romans under which the Vandals retained Mauretania and part of Numidia as foederati (allies under special treaty) of Rome. In a surprise move on October 19, 439, Genseric captured Carthage, striking a devastating blow at imperial power. In a 442 treaty with Rome, the Vandals were recognized as the independent rulers of Byzacena and part of Numidia. Seizing Sicily in 440 AD and later the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta, Genseric’s fleet soon came to control much of the western Mediterranean.