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Vandals
Vandals ancient Germanic tribe. They originated in N Jutland and, along with other Germanic peoples, settled in the valley of the Oder about the 5th cent. BC They appeared in Pannonia and Dacia in the 3d cent. AD, apparently under imperial aegis. In the early 5th cent., the Vandals began a migratio...
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Gaiseric
Gaiseric or Genseric , c.390-477, king of the Vandals and Alani (428-77), one of the ablest of the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire. He led (429) his people from Spain into Africa, possibly at the request of Boniface , and quickly subdued a large territory, which was later (435) ceded to ...
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Paulus Orosius
Paulus Orosius , c.385-420, Iberian priest, theologian, and historian, b. Tarragona, Spain or Braga, Portugal. He went to see St. Augustine (c.413) and wrote, on request, a summary of the errors of Priscillian and of Origen. Augustine then sent him to Palestine to warn St. Jerome of the menace of Pe...
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Zeno
Zeno , d. 491, Roman emperor of the East (474-491). An Isaurian, he succeeded his son Leo II and was the son-in-law of Leo I. During his reign he suppressed several revolts. He was driven from his throne for a period of 20 months (475-76) by the usurper Basiliscus . One of his first acts was to con...
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Belisarius
Belisarius , c.505-565, Byzantine general under Justinian I . After helping to suppress (532) the dangerous Nika riot (see Blues and Greens ), he defeated (533-34) the Vandals of Africa, and captured their king. In 535 he was given command of the expedition to recover Italy from the Ostrogoths. He...
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Benghazi
Benghazi or Bengasi , city (1985 est. pop. 490,500), capital of Benghazi municipality, NE Libya, the main city of Cyrenaica and a port on the Mediterranean Sea. It is primarily an administrative and commercial center. Manufactures include processed food, beverages, textiles, and cement. On the s...
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Constantine
Constantine , ancient Cirta, city (1998 pop. 462,187), capital of Constantine dept., NE Algeria, on the gorge of the Rhumel River. A major inland city, it is the railhead of a prosperous and diverse agricultural area. Constantine is also a center of the grain trade and has flour mills, a tractor f...
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Dark Ages
Dark Ages The 5th to the 8th centuries in Europe. Following the collapse of the Roman empire, many Germanic tribes crossed through Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and North Africa, often attacking and destroying towns. Rome was sacked on three successive occasions. Many tribes formed their own kingdo...
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Numidia
Numidia , ancient country of NW Africa, very roughly the modern Algeria . It was part of the Carthaginian empire until Masinissa , ruler of E Numidia, allied himself (c.206 BC) with Rome in the Punic Wars . After the Roman victory over Carthage led to peace in 201 BC, Masinissa was awarded rule o...
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Procopius
Procopius , d. 565?, Byzantine historian, b. Caesarea in Palestine. He accompanied Belisarius on his campaigns as his secretary, and later he commanded the imperial navy and served (562) as prefect of Constantinople. His education, high connections, and public offices give his histories great valu...
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