allia was so successful that he utterly annihilated
the Silingian Vandals, and so weakened the Alans that they united
themselves with the Asdingian Vandals, who escaped destruction only
through the recall of the Visigoths to Gaul. However, the Vandals quickly
recovered from their defeats, waged successful war upon the Suevi, who had
reached an agreement with the Romans, and occupied the whole of southern
Spain.

*The Vandal kingdom in Africa.* In 429 A. D. the Vandals under the
leadership of their king Gaiseric crossed into Africa, attracted by the
richness of its soil and its strategic importance as one of the granaries
of the Roman world. Their invasion was facilitated by the existence of a
state of war between Count Bonifacius, the military governor of Africa,
and the western emperor. The number of the invaders was estimated at
80,000, of whom probably 15,000 or 20,000 were fighting men.

In spite of the reconciliation between Bonifacius and the imperial
government and their united opposition, Gaiseric was able to overrun the
open country although he failed to capture the chief cities. In 435 A. D.
peace was concluded and the Vandals were allowed to settle in Numidia,
once more as _foederati_ of the empire. However, in 439 A. D. Gaiseric
broke the peace and treacherously seized Carthage. This step was followed
by the organization of a fleet which harried the coasts of Sicily. In 442
the western emperor acknowledged the independence of the Vandal kingdom.
Peace continued until 455, when the assassination of the emperor
Valentinian III gave Gaiseric the pretext for a descent upon Italy and the
seizure of Rome which was systematically plundered of its remaining
treasures, although its buildings and monuments were not wantonly
destroyed. Among the captives was Eudoxia, widow of the late emperor, and
her daughters, who were valuable hostages in the hands of Gaiseric.

The lack of cooeperation between the eastern and western empires against
the Vandals enabled them to extend their power still further. Their fleets
controlled the whole of the Mediterranean and ravaged both its western and
its eastern coasts. A powerful expedition fitted out by the eastern
emperor Leo I in 468 for the invasion of Africa ended in utter failure,
and in 476 his successor Zeno was compelled to come to terms and
acknowledge the authority of the Vandals over the territory under their
control. At the death of Gaiseric in 477 A. D. the Vandal kingd