Vandals were a Germanic tribe that invaded the West Roman Empire during the early A.D. 400’s. The Vandals entered the empire along with other Germanic peoples as the empire was in decline. The Vandals were no more destructive than other groups, but the word vandal has come to mean someone who destroys or damages valuable things.
The Vandals probably originated in what is now southern Scandinavia. By A.D. 100, they had settled in Silesia and Galicia in eastern Europe. The Vandals moved west from this area in the late A.D. 300’s, partly because they were threatened by the Huns and other peoples from the east. In 406, the Vandals crossed the Rhine River and looted Gaul (now mainly France), an area controlled by Rome. In 409, they crossed the Pyrenees Mountains and entered Spain, where they became a major power.
The Vandals reached the peak of their power under the Vandal king Gaiseric (or Genseric), who ruled from 428 to 477. In 429, the Vandals invaded northern Africa, where they quickly conquered a number of Roman provinces and established a strong kingdom. From their base in northern Africa, the Vandals dominated the western Mediterranean Sea. They looted Rome in 455. An army from the Byzantine Empire conquered the Vandal kingdom in northern Africa in 533 and 534.
