- The Vandals created a North African Kingdom based in Carthage, under King Geiseric between 428-477 CE.
- They developed a powerful navy which went on to become the dominant sea power in the western Mediterranean until 534 CE when it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire.
The Rise of the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa
- Geiseric (also known as Genseric), became King of the Vandals between 428-477 CE.
- In 429 CE, Procopius wrote that the Vandal Fleet transferred 80,000 Vandals from Gaul to North Africa.
- In 435 CE, the Vandal Kingdom was established with its Capital and Fleet based at Carthage.
The Vandal Fleet occupies the Mediterranean Islands
- In 439 CE, The Vandal Fleet conquered Sicily, Malta, Sardinia and Corsica.
- In 455 CE, the Vandal Fleet arrived off the Italian coast, and embarked on the Second Sack of Rome.
The Vandal Fleet defeats Roman Fleets
- In 456 CE, a West Roman Fleet under Flavius Ricimer, defeated a Vandal Fleet off Corsica, but in 461 CE, at the Battle of Cartagena, the Vandal fleet destroyed the West Roman Fleet.
- In 468 CE, at the Battle of Cape Bon, a combined East and West Roman Fleet was defeated off Tunisia by the Vandal Fleet.
Vandal Naval Dominance
- In 477 CE, Geiseric died, by which time the Vandal Fleets had become the dominant Sea Power in the Western Mediterranean.
End of the Vandal Kingdom
- The Vandal Kingdom ended when the Roman General Belisarius invaded North Africa in 534 CE, and it became a Province of the Byzantine Empire.
Carthage