Gunderich

Gunderich (* 379 ; † 428 ) was king of the Vandals and the Alans . He ruled from 406/407 to 428.

Life

Gunderich succeeded his father Godigisel as King of the (Hasdingian) Vandals after Godigisel had died in a battle with Franconian federations while crossing the Rhine (see Rhine crossing from 406 ). Under Gunderich's leadership, the vandals marched through Gaul, plundering . Under the pressure of the troops of the usurper Constantine and Frankish troops, the Vandals under Gunderich 409 crossed the Pyrenees . In 411 they were briefly settled in northern Spain as Foederaten Westroms and pushed the Suebi to northwestern Spain .

When the Visigoths invaded Spain as Roman allies in 416 , the Vandals evaded to Andalusia . In 418 the remnants of the Silingen and Alans (whose king had fallen in a battle) submitted to Gunderich, who from then on called himself Rex Vandalorum et Alanorum (King of the Vandals and Alans). He supported the usurper Maximus and was able to defeat several Roman armies raised against him.

By 425 Gunderich had consolidated his position of power in southern Spain. Even under Gunderich, the vandals began to build a powerful fleet with which they plundered the Balearic Islands and the coast of North Africa, among other things . He may already be planning an invasion of the rich Roman province of Africa .

Gunderich was killed in the sack of Seville in 428 (some sources claim that he was murdered by Geiserich). His two underage sons were passed over to the throne (and later murdered). His half-brother Geiserich , although only Godigisel's illegitimate son with a slave, succeeded him as King of the Vandals.

literature

• Helmut Castritius : The Vandals. Stages of a search for clues . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 2007, ISBN 3-17-018870-4 , p. 49ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Godigisel	King of the Vandals 406-428	Geiseric