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Gaiseric(Geiseric, Genseric) (d. 477)king of the Ger-
manic tribe of the Vandals
The VANDALSwere one of several Arian tribes forced to
enter the Roman Empire by the HUNS. After Gaiseric,
the son of King Godegiselus and a slave woman, suc-
ceeded his half brother, Gunderic, in 428 or 429, the
Vandals moved on and settled in southern SPAIN. The
struggle for power among rivals in the Roman govern-
ment soon provided new opportunities for the tribe.
The rebellious Roman governor of North AFRICA was
under attack by forces of Emperor Valentinian III (r.
425–455). When the governor’s defeat was imminent, he
was accused of inviting the Vandals to Africa in 429 to
counter the Romans.
Gaiseric was one of the most successful of the bar-
barian leaders, skillful in war and diplomacy. As soon as
he entered Africa, he sacked and burned large sections of
Roman territory. His hostility toward the Roman Empire
was heightened by his adherence to the HERESYof ARIAN-
ISM, and he tried to eradicate orthodox Catholic influence
in North Africa through his long reign.

CONQUEST OF NORTH AFRICA

Gaiseric in 431 took Hippo, the city where AUGUSTINE
was bishop and was dying. In 435 the Romans made a
treaty with Gaiseric, granting him and the Vandals con-
trol over much of North Africa. This peace did not last,
however, and in 439 he captured Carthage, the last prin-
cipal city of Roman Africa. In 442, he was recognized as
king by Valentinian III.
Through his military success in North Africa, Gais-
eric had gained control of the major granary of ROME.
Furthermore, a Vandal fleet now took to the sea and
plundered the commerce of the Mediterranean as far east

as GREECE. The Vandals would later arrive by sea to cap-

ture and sack Rome in June 455. As the enmity between

the GOTHSand Vandals increased, Gaiseric urged ATTILA

to attack the Goths. His son, Hunneric (r. 477–84), mar-

ried Eudokia, daughter of the emperor Valentinian III,

who had been captured in Rome in 455.

Meanwhile the rulers of the eastern part of the

empire were determined to recover North Africa. In 460

Emperor Majorian (r. 457–461) failed to defeat Gaiseric

and was forced into a new treaty in 462. In 468 another

massive expedition was launched but suffered a disas-

trous defeat. Gaiseric concluded peace with the East

Romans in 468 and with the West Romans in 471. With

these treaties he secured a more permanent acceptance of

the Vandalic kingdom. After his death on January 25, 477,

the kingdom continued under his descendants until it

was conquered by BELISARIUSin 533–534.

Further reading: Isidore of Seville, History of the

Kings of the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi, trans. Guido

Donini and Gordon B. Ford, Jr., 2d ed. (Leiden: E. J. Brill,

1970); Poultney Bigelow, Genseric, King of the Vandals and

First Prussian Kaiser(New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons,

1918); Frank M. Clover, The Late Roman West and the

Vandals(Aldershot, England: Variorum, 1993); Malcolm

Todd, Everyday Life of the Barbarians: Goths, Franks and

Vandals(London: Batsford, 1972).

Galahad Galahad was the GRAIL KNIGHTpar excellence

of Arthurian literature, the shining example of knight-

hood in the service of GODas in the Quest for the Holy

Grail,written between 1215 and 1235. The Grail was

introduced into the Arthurian cycle by CHRÉTIEN DE

TROYES, who had made his hero PERCEVAL, the first of