Gaiseric was born around 389 to Godegisl, a King of the Vandals. In 406, the Vandals, the Alans & the Suevi crossed the Rhine into the Roman Empire. Rome was busy fighting with the Visigoths, but the Franks met them in Gaul and Godegisl got killed in the ensuing battle. 1/10
Gaiseric's brother, Gunderic, succeeded as King. The Vandals and their allies ravaged Roman Gaul, but moved south to the Iberian peninsula. They also had to fight the Visigoths who also made their way to the Iberian peninsula. 2/10
In 428, Gunderic died and Gaiseric became King. Seeking a stable land to rule, Gaiseric took the host of Vandals and Alans he ruled further south, to Africa. Bonifacius, the governor of the Roman province of Africa, may have invited them as allies against Rome. 3/10
But Bonifacius made peace with Rome soon. Gaiseric, however, went against the Roman governor. Bonifacius was defeated and before along, Rome sued for peace. In 435, Gaiseric founded his new Kingdom with the parts of Roman Mauretania and Numidia that he conquered. 4/10
But he wasn't done yet. Although the Vandals became Roman foederati after 435, Gaiseric led them against Carthage in 439. Soon the ancient rival of Rome fell and became Gaiseric's new capital. By 442, Gaiseric was recognized as the master of Roman Africa. 5/10
From Carthage, they also developed mastery of the the Western Mediterranean, capturing Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and the Balearic Islands. The Romans were powerless on the sea to stop the Vandal fleet. And they were getting powerless on land as well, against others. 6/10
In 455, the Roman Emperor Valentinian was killed and Petronius Maximus seized the throne, married the dead Emperor's wife and got his son to marry Valentinian's daughter, Eudocia. Eudocia, however, had already been betrothed to Gaiseric's son, Huneric. 7/10
It didn't take long for Gaiseric and the Vandal contingent to reach Rome. The city was plundered and the new Emperor killed. Eudocia and Huneric eventually got married, while Gaiseric returned to Africa with the loot. 8/10
Rome recovered briefly under Julius Valerius Majorianus, but when he went into fight against the Vandals, it was Gaiseric who prevailed on the sea near Cartagena in 461. Majorianus would soon be deposed and the Roman Empire in the West would soon collapse. 9/10
The Roman Empire in the East also attempted to check Gaiseric, only to meet with defeat in 468. On his death in 477, Gaiseric was succeeded by his son, Huneric. The Vandal Kingdom of Africa lasted till 534, when Constantinople finally annexed it. 10/10
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Prequel #1 - Like the Sea People or the Dorians or the Celts or the Persians before them, Germanic tribes arrived to raid southern Eurasia around 100 BC. But they were defeated by the Roman Republic led by Marius.
Prequel #2 - The Tetrarchy - When Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into four with four Emperors to manage it better. Though the plan collapsed soon after Diocletian abdicated, the idea of dividing an Empire too big to manage held value. 2/20
After reuniting the Empire, Constantine built a new capital for the Roman Empire, one that would rival Rome. In due time, the Second Roman Empire formed around this new capital - Constantinople. 3/20
Great. A showcase notice from GST three years after I closed the business operations. Don't even recall the username to log in to check what it is all about.
Ah, yes. This will be opening up a lot of litigations nation wide. Receiving notices for time period July 2017-March 2018, when the entire GST was still filled with issues. This will be fun. 🤦♂️
Gundobad is believed to have been born around 452 to Gundioc, King of the Burgundians. He has also been recorded as the nephew of Flavius Ricimer, a Roman general who dominated the affairs of the Western Empire in mid 5th century. 1/10
A Germanic tribe, the Burgundians had migrated into the Roman Empire crossing the Rhine in 406. Around 443, they were settled around Lake Geneva and became Roman foederati. But they were just one of the many Germanic tribes in the region and had to compete for space. 2/10
Grimoald was born around 615 to Pepin and Itta. Not long before Grimoald was born, Pepin and other Frankish nobles had conspired with King Clothaire of Neustria to remove the child King Sigebert of Austrasia and Burgundy and his regent, Queen Brunhild. 1/10
With the help of Pepin and others, King Clothaire reunited the Kingdom of the Franks. Initially, Pepin's associates obtained prominent roles in the Kingdom as Mayor of the Palace, while he retained influence on the King's son, Dagobert. 2/10
Clothaire was born in 584 to Chilperich, King of the Franks, and Fredegund. Not long after his birth, his father was killed, making Clothaire the king of the part of the Frankish realm that he ruled. He had inherited the smallest of the three Frankish Kingdoms - Neustria. 1/10
In 561, Clothaire's grandfather and namesake had died dividing the Frankish Kingdom into four. Chilperich, who was the youngest, received a Kingdom around Soissons, which contained the core area that the senior Clothaire had inherited in 511. 2/10
3) Capets - Though Habsburgs tend to get more press, Capets are the most prolific royal dynasty in Europe, lasting over 1,000 years. But they are divided into many dynasties - Valois, Bourbon, Anjou (3 dynasties), Burgundy-Portugal, Courtenay, Evreux