King of the Vandals: How Gaiseric humbled the Roman Empire

‘A man of deep thought and few words’ is how the chronicler Jordanes described Gaiseric (born AD c.389), King of the Vandals. ‘He holds luxury in disdain, is furious in his anger, greedy for gain, shrewd in winning over the barbarians and skilled in sowing the seeds of discord among his enemies.’ As a young man of 20, Gaiseric won a following among the aristocrats who hunted and raided alongside his royal father – but Gaiseric was illegitimate, his mother one of the king’s concubines. On the king’s death, it was announced he had wished his eldest legitimate son, Gontharis, to succeed to his power. To pass him over could split the tribe in bitter rivalry. ‘But Gontharis