Vandal

1. vandal One who willfully or maliciously defaces or destroys public or private property.
2. A member of a Germanic people that overran Gaul, Spain, and northern Africa in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. and sacked Rome in 455.

[Latin Vandalus, Vandal, probably of Germanic origin.]

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A program that performs a clandestine or malicious function such as extracting a user's password or other data or erasing the hard disk. A vandal differs from a virus, which attaches itself to an existing executable program. The vandal is the full executing entity itself which can be downloaded from the Internet in the form of an ActiveX control, Java applet, browser plug-in or e-mail attachment. See virus.

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Vandals were a Germanic people who came into contact with the Roman empire during Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Marcomannic wars (166-80). By the 3rd century, in common with many German tribes, they had adopted the military instrument of the western steppe peoples, lance-armed cavalry. Divided into two groups, the Asdings and Silings, they were usually mentioned together with the Alans. In the 290s, they were living on the Hungarian Plain and in alliance with the Gepids against the Gothic Tervingi. Like the Goths, whom they seem to have resembled, they were driven westward by the Hunnic attacks of the 370s, and played a role both as enemies and soldiers of the empire. Stilicho, the Roman magister militum (C-in-C) in the 390s, was half-Vandal. He was the most successful opponent of the Gothic attacks on Italy, neutralizing Alaric and defeating and killing Radagaisus (406). The western Emperor Honorius feared his ambition and had him captured and executed (408).

At the end of 406, the Vandals and Alans, in conjunction with the confederated Suevi, crossed the river Rhine at Mainz, and swarmed into a Gaul largely abandoned by the imperial government. They devastated the country for three years before crossing into Spain. Here they settled, mostly in the south and west, for a generation. The Siling group was dispersed by Visigoths in alliance with the Romans c.416-18, and this may have persuaded the Asdings to transfer to Africa in 429. Their king, Gaiseric, proved himself an able conqueror and great strategist. He soon seized Mauretania and Numidia (by 435), capturing Carthage in 439. He took full advantage of the city's position and resources. First, he put pressure on the Roman government to recognize his title in return for assuring the North African grain supply upon which the Italian cities depended. Secondly, he constructed fleets which enabled him to carve out a sphere of influence in the western Mediterranean. The Balearic Islands, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia fell under Vandal control. Extensive naval raiding against imperial territories included a sack of Rome (455). Byzantine attempts to reconquer Africa in the 460s were beaten off, and in 474, a treaty with the eastern Emperor Zeno reaffirmed Vandal legitimacy. Gaiseric established a dynasty which lasted as long as their rule in Africa.

Although a very mixed group ethnically, being composed of the Asdings and remaining Silings, Alans, Goths, Suevi, and some Hispano-Romans, the Vandals formed a narrow social élite. They were divided from the local population by their adherence to the Arian form of Christianity, and by their military status. Gaiseric provided public lands, known as the sortes Vandalorum to support the warrior caste. They could fight in alliance with the local Mauri tribes, who provided light cavalry and infantry, but these had drifted out of allegiance by the early 5th century because of Vandal military decline. Reliance upon a small group of lance-armed cavalry, however socially élite and well equipped, was to prove inadequate in the face of more flexible forces. In 533, as the first stage of Justinian's plan to reconquer the western empire, the Byzantine general Belisarius invaded Africa with an expeditionary force. A fleet of 92 swift two-decker craft kept the Vandal fleet at bay. He had just 10, 000 infantry and 5, 000 cavalry (although these included his 1, 000-strong bodyguard troops and Hunnic mounted archers). Against them the Vandal King Gelimer could probably only muster comparable numbers, all cavalry. Belisarius landed five days' ride from Carthage and advanced upon the city. He did not expect Gelimer's rapid response and was surprised in line of march at Ad Decimum (the tenth milestone from Carthage). Initial Vandal success was halted by the death of the king's brother Ammatas, and resulted in them being driven off. Gelimer then withdrew, allowing the Romans to occupy Carthage, which he blockaded. The decisive encounter took place when Belisarius emerged from the city, leading only his cavalry to attack the Vandal camp at Tricamerum, 18 miles (29 km) away. Gelimer instructed his men to charge, sword in hand for close combat, but their attack was impeded by a stream. The trained Byzantine troops responded better to the situation, fought back skilfully, and once again killed the Vandal general, Tzanon. Procopius, the Byzantine historian, records the losses as 50 for his own side and 800 of the enemy. This was the end for the Vandal army in Africa. They were organized into five regiments, the Vandali Justiniani, each 400 strong, and shipped off to fight on the Persian frontier.

Bibliography

• Boss, R., Justinian's Wars (Stockport, 1993)

— Matthew Bennett

Vandals, a Germanic people who left their original homes in Scandinavia and settled on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, then gradually moved further south until they became the western neighbours of the Visigoths. They attacked the Roman provinces in the third and fourth centuries AD. On 31 December 406 they crossed the Rhine near Mogontiacum (Mainz), moved on to devastate Gaul, and in 409 invaded Spain. Here too they caused great destruction, but subsequently made apparently permanent settlements. However, in 429 most of them crossed over into Africa under Gaiseric (see CARTHAGE), who built a fleet and controlled the western Mediterranean; in 455 he captured Rome and carried off many works of art. The last Vandal king Gelimer was defeated by a Roman army under Belisarius in 533 and subsequently captured and taken to Constantinople.

A people of northern Europe, known for their cruelty and destructiveness, who invaded the Roman Empire and plundered Rome itself in the fifth century.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - vandal

Français (French)
n. - vandale, (Hist) Vandale

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rowdy, Wandale

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάνδαλος

Italiano (Italian)
vandalo, teppista

Português (Portuguese)
n. - vândalo (m)

Русский (Russian)
варвар, хулиган, вандал

Español (Spanish)
n. - vándalo, gamberro

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vandal

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
汪达尔人, 文化艺术的破坏者

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 汪達爾人, 文化藝術的破壞者

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 반달 족, 반달 사람, 문화 예술의 파괴자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - バンダル族, 心ない破壊者

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הורס רכוש בזדון, פרא, ברברי, משחית יצירות-תרבות, ונדלי‬

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