On 31 December AD 406, a group of German tribes crossed the Rhine,
pierced the Roman defensive lines and began a rampage across Roman Gaul,
sacking cities such as Metz, Arras, and Strasbourg. Foremost amongst
them were the Vandals and their search for a new homeland took them on
the most remarkable odyssey. The Romans were unable to stop them and
their closest allies, the Alans, marching the breadth of Gaul, crossing
the Pyrenees and making themselves masters of Spain.
However, this Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans soon came under intense
pressure from Rome's Visigothic allies. In 429, under their new king,
Gaiseric, they crossed the straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. They
quickly overran this rich Roman province and established a stable
kingdom. Taking to the seas they soon dominated the Western
Mediterranean and raided Italy, famously sacking Rome itself in 455.
Eventually, however, they were utterly conquered by Belisarius in 533
and vanished from history. Simon MacDowall narrates and analyses these
events, with particular focus on the evolution of Vandal armies and
warfare.
