Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was married to Eudocia, daughter of western Roman Emperor

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

(419–455) and

Licinia Eudoxia Licinia Eudoxia (; Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus. Family Eudoxia was born ...

. The couple had one child, a son named Hilderic. Huneric was the first Vandal king who used the title ''King of the Vandals and

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the ...

''. Despite adopting this style, and that of the Vandals of maintaining their sea-power and their hold on the islands of the western Mediterranean, Huneric did not have the prestige that his father Gaiseric had enjoyed with other states.

Biography

Huneric was a son of King Gaiseric, and was sent to Italy as a hostage in 435, when his father made a treaty with the Western emperor Valentinian III. Huneric became king of the Vandals on his father's death on 25 January 477. Like Gaiseric he was an Arian, and his reign is chiefly memorable for his persecution of Catholic Christians in his dominions. Eudocia, daughter of

, was Huneric's wife.

His reign

Huneric was a fervent adherent to

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by G ...

. Yet his reign opened with making a number of positive overtures towards the local Roman population. Following the visit of a diplomatic mission from the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

led by Alexander, Huneric restored properties seized by his father from the merchants of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the clas ...

. He also lifted the policy of persecuting the local Catholics ( Nicene Christians), allowing them to hold a synod wherein they elected a new Catholic bishop of Carthage,

Eugenius Eugenius (died 6 September 394) was a usurper in the Western Roman Empire (392–394) against Emperor Theodosius I. While Christian himself, Eugenius capitalized on the discontent in the West caused by Theodosius' religious policies targetin ...

, after a vacancy of 24 years. However, not long after the ordination of Eugenius, Huneric reversed himself and began to once again persecute Catholics. Furthermore, he tried to make Catholic property fall to the state, but when this caused too much protest from the Eastern Roman Emperor, he chose to banish a number of Catholics to a faraway province instead. On February 1, 484 he organized a meeting of Catholic bishops with Arian bishops, but on February 24, 484 he forcibly removed the Catholic bishops from their offices and banished some to Corsica. A few were executed, including the former

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Victorian along with Frumentius and other wealthy merchants, who were killed at

Hadrumetum Hadrumetum, also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined. In the ear ...

after refusing to become Arians. Among those exiled was

Vigilius Vigilius may refer to: * Pope Vigilius (died 555), Pope 537-555 * Vigilius of Trent (-405), bishop, martyr and saint ** Church of Saint Vigilius of Trent (Pinzolo) * Vigilius of Thapsus, 5th-century bishop and writer * Vigilius Eriksen (1722-1782), ...

, bishop of Thapsus, who published a theological treatise against Arianism. Additionally, Huneric murdered many members of the Hasdingi dynasty and also persecuted Manichaeans. Towards the end of his reign, the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct o ...

in the

Aurès Mountains The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its na ...

(in modern-day

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

) successfully rebelled from Vandal rule. Upon his death on December 23, 484, Huneric was succeeded by his nephew Gunthamund, who reigned until 496. A lurid account of Huneric's death by putrefaction and "an abundance of worms" is included in the ''Historia persecutionis Africanae Provinciae, temporibus Genserici et Hunirici regum Wandalorum'' (''History of the African Province Persecution, in the Times of Genseric and Huneric, the Kings of the Vandals''), written by his contemporary, Victor Vitensis, although it is probable that this particular section was added at a later date.

References

{{Authority control 5th-century Arian Christians Christian monarchs 5th-century monarchs in Africa 484 deaths Christian anti-Gnosticism Kings of the Vandals Year of birth unknown

Biography

His reign

See also

References