Ancient Civilizations: The Vandals

The year is 455 CE, and Rome has fallen. The streets swarm with barbarians in search of loot and plunder. The monuments and statuaries that give proof to the wealth and might of Rome have been stripped of their gilded facades. All that remains are the coarse, worn stone structures of an aging, dying civilization. Although the Vandals have not destroyed the city, they have destroyed the appearance of civilization that had separated Rome from the barbarians.

To this day, the Vandals have been demonized historically for their role in the desecration of the Eternal City of Rome. So great was the Vandal sack of Rome that the term “vandal” originated to describe wanton acts of destruction and violence. Yet of all the barbarian civilizations encountered by Rome, the Vandals were one of the least populous, constantly forced off their lands by stronger neighbors. For centuries they sought a homeland.

The story of the Vandals is a tale of exodus, a tale of searching for that which is never found. But that tale is not told by historians, for the Vandals accomplished that which few nations did; they attacked the heart of Rome, and caused the Romans to fear their very name. This is the story of the people who brought the light of civilization to its knees, and helped usher in the darkness of the Dark Ages.