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The '''Vandals''' were an eastern [[Germanic tribe]].  They were prominent in the 5th century AD, including sacking [[Rome]] in 455 AD.

The '''Vandals''' were an Eastern [[Germanic tribe]].  They were prominent in the 5th century AD, including sacking [[Rome]] in 455 AD.  They probably originated in Scandinavia, and crossed the Baltic to mainland Europe.  They crossed the frozen River Rhine at the end of AD 407, along with other barbarian peoples.  Allied to a Sarmatian tribe called the Alans, they swept through Gaul (modern [[France]]) and then Spain.  They seized Roman ships and in AD 427 crossed to North Africa under their formidable leader, Gaiseric.  North African grain was the lifeblood of the (Western) [[Roman Empire]], and the Vandal seizure of this best agricultural land, and their piracy/raiding in the Mediterranean, had a devastating effect.  The Eastern Roman Empire fought a terrible war to regain North Africa, which succeeded, but at great cost. 

 

Andalusia in Spain is named after them, as from a Moorish/Arabic perspective it was ‘Al Andalus’: the Land of the Vandals (the invaders having crossed from there to Africa).

[[Category:European History]]

[[Category:European History]]