The sack of Rome in 455 was carried out by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

led by their king

Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric (; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was king of the Vandals and Alans from 428 to 477. He ruled over a kingdom and played a key role in the decline of the Western Roman Empire during ...

. A

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

between the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

and

Vandal Kingdom The Vandal Kingdom () or Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans () was a confederation of Vandals and Alans, which was a barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom established under Gaiseric, a Vandals, Vandalic warlord. It ruled parts of North Africa and th ...

included a

marriage of state A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back to ancient times, as far back as ear ...

between the daughter of Roman Emperor

Valentinian III Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...

and the son of Gaiseric. Valentinian's successor

Petronius Maximus Petronius Maximus (31 May 455) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy Roman Senate, senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister ...

violated the treaty by marrying his son to Valentinian's daughter which led to Gaiseric declaring Rome violated their treaty and launched an invasion. Maximus did not organise a defence of Rome and was lynched by a Roman mob while trying to escape the city.

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I () ( 391 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great (; ), was Bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death on 10 November 461. He is the first of the three Popes listed in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' with the title "the ...

convinced Gaiseric to avoid the use of violence against residents of the city. The Vandals looted Rome for two weeks, causing widespread destruction to the city, stripping it of most of its valuables, and taking some residents as

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s. Maximus' successor Avitus had little support which led to the outbreak of the Roman civil war of 456. The Sack of Rome in 455 and the Visigothic sack of 410 shocked the Roman world and symbolized the decline and impending

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, marking a pivotal moment in

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...

Background

Since its founding in 395 AD, the

was in a prolonged state of decline. One of its major issues was a mass migration of Germanic and other non-Roman peoples known as the

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

. This led to the sack of Rome in 410 by the Germanic

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

under Alaric. It was the first time the city had fallen since . A peace treaty was signed between the Romans and

in 442, in which the Vandals acquired Africa Proconsularis, Byzacena, eastern Numidia, and western Tripolitania while the Romans retained Mauretania Caesariensis, Mauretania Sitifensis, and western Numidia. A marriage alliance between Huneric and Eudocia, the daughter of Emperor

, was also made.

is alleged to have influenced Valentinian III to have

Flavius Aetius Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman Empire, Roman general and statesman of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most inf ...

killed on 21 September 454. Maximus then conspired to have Valentinian III murdered on 16 March 455, and Maximus rose to become emperor on 17 March. Maximus, in order to legitimize his rule, married

Licinia Eudoxia Licinia Eudoxia (Late Greek, Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. In early childhood she was placed in a political marriage with the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. ...

, the widow of Valentinian III, and married Eudocia to his son Palladius. Licinia Eudoxia, however, in revenge for her husband's murder and forced marriage, conspired with the Vandals against Maximus. Gaiseric proclaimed that the broken betrothal between Huneric and Eudocia invalidated the peace treaty and exploited the situation as a ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

'' to invade Rome, gathering a large force and sailing from

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

. Rome had ceased to be the capital of the empire by the beginning of the 4th century and a multitude of cities served as the capital of the western empire.

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

is the only emperor that is definitely known to have visited Rome between 363 and 395. Valentinian III moved his court to Rome in 450 and stayed there for the remainder of his life. The population of the city had fallen from 700,000-1,000,000 at the end of the 4th century to 300,000-500,000 by 455.

Sack

The Vandals landed at Ostia, located at the mouth of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

only a few miles southwest of Rome. Maximus tried to flee Rome, but was spotted by an angry mob and stoned to death before being thrown into the Tiber. Before approaching, the Vandals knocked down the aqueducts that supplied water to the city.

was able to convince Gaiseric to spare those who did not resist, protect buildings from fire, and to not torture captives. While Gaiseric kept his promise not to burn and slaughter, he did carry off some inhabitants as

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, and also managed to capture Eudoxia and her daughters Eudocia and Placidia as they tried to escape. The Vandals sacked the city for two weeks before returning to Africa, during which the imperial government of the Western Roman Empire was effectively paralysed. They marched south through

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, devastating the region, and attempted to sack Neapolis but failed as the city had better defences.

Aftermath

Gaiseric and his army looted great amounts of treasure from Rome. They "tore off half the roof" of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus by stripping away the gilt bronze roof tiles, hence the modern term ''

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

''. The two-week Vandal sack of 455 is generally considered more destructive than the three-day Visigoth sack of 410.

Victor of Vita Victor Vitensis (or Victor of Vita; born circa 430) was an African bishop of the Province of Byzacena (called Vitensis from his See of Vita). His importance rests on his ''Historia persecutionis Africanae Provinciae, temporibus Genserici et Hunir ...

records that several shiploads of slave captives arrived in Africa from Rome, who were then divided between the Vandals. Deogratias, the Bishop of Carthage, bought the freedom of some of the Romans by selling all of the valuables from his church. Deogratias hosted and fed them in larger churches in Carthage until they could be repatriated back to Rome. Avitus, who had the military and financial support of King

Theodoric II Theodoric II ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The English historian Edward Gibbon writes that ...

, was acclaimed emperor by his army in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

on 9-10 July, and was later recognized by the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

. He was later overthrown by

Majorian Majorian (; 7 August 461) was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Late Roman army, Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia (456), Battle of Place ...

and Ricimer after a civil war in 456. Avitus allowed the Visigoths to enter

Suebian 300px, The approximate positions of some Irminones">Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians) were a large gr ...

-controlled

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

in return for Theodoric's support. Avitus was popular with the Germanic elites, but he proved to be unpopular with the Roman

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

and struggled to gain control of the government.

Assessment of the sack

Despite the popular image of the Vandals as destroyers, the severity of the sack is debatable, with claims that it inflicted little murder, violence, or

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

. This interpretation seems to stem from Prosper's claim of the promise of leniency which Pope Leo I coaxed from Gaiseric. The

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

reported the burning of a church. Some modern historians like John Henry Haaren maintain that temples, public buildings, private houses and even the emperor's palace were sacked.Genseric the Vandal King from 427–477 AD
The Vandals also took immense quantities of gold, silver, jewels and furniture, destroyed works of art, and killed a number of citizens.

Background

Sack

Aftermath

Assessment of the sack

References

Works cited

Books

Journals

Further reading