"The Vandals and the Amazighs: 100 years of battles"
(Summary of the history of the Vandals in North Africa)
Their origin:
They are Germanic tribes who came from the regions of the Baltic Sea towards Spain, then entered North Africa in the year 429 AD. According to some sources, their number reached 80,000, including 15,000 knights. They controlled the coastal strip between Tunisia and Algeria, fortified themselves in Carthage, and were distinguished by the strength of their naval fleet. The huge size and strength of their defensive fortifications during the era of the first kings, when they controlled the Mediterranean for a period of time and established their maritime kingdom under the leadership of Melkim Jezik, which continued for the cities of a century.
Amazighs and Vandals:
Although most of the Amazigh kingdoms and tribes in the areas controlled by the Vandals were weak at the beginning of the fourth century AD after a long war of attrition with the Romans, their reaction was strong towards the Vandal invasion, and they imposed a long-term military siege on them, but it was unsuccessful and in vain, so that The Vandals' strength lies in the sea. Most of their resources, essential needs, and commercial transactions came to them from the sea (the Mediterranean). The region of the south, west, and east was not of great importance to the Vandal kings. They only repelled the raids launched by the Amazigh armies from the south and returned to their fortresses. .
But things began to take an opposite turn after the development of the naval military power of the Byzantine Empire, and the Vandal kings began to avoid direct naval confrontations against the Byzantine navy. In order to compensate for the resources and privileges they lost at sea, they decided to break the Amazigh siege of their southern borders and to obtain some land outlets through a campaign. Military forces against the armies of the Amazigh tribes that have been besieging them for at least 60 years...
This was a fatal blow to the Vandal Kingdom, as they had no chance against the ground forces of the Amazigh armies, who were experienced in land combat. The Vandal soldiers had combat experience at sea, unlike land, where they were weak and unable to use spears or fight in mountainous areas, and even their leaders. They were weak in developing military strategies and plans in land wars...
Regarding this, historian Dr. Saeed Imran says in his study of the Vandals under the name “Kingdom of the Vandals,” starting on page 59, when he talks about the Amazighs who reject the doctrine of Arian Christian monotheism:
《..As for the problems of the Vandals, they came from the Amazigh elements in North Africa.. The Amazighs revolted and attacked the Vandal possessions during the reign of Caliph Honrich, and the Amazigh rebellion caused great harm to them and the Vandals.. Honrich tried to force these elements to embrace the Vandal doctrine.. and after The death of Henrik did not differ in the situation of the Vandal state with the Amazighs. The sources mentioned that many wars took place between the Vandals and the Amazighs, but they did not provide us with any details about these wars...》
He adds on pages 62-63, quoting a Byzantine historian named Procopius(An eyewitness) about a decisive battle in the history of North Africa between the Amazighs and the Vandals, which led to the breaking of their power and paving the way for the fall of their state and its uprooting from the coasts of North Africa, where he says:
《..and with regard to the relationship between the Amazighs and the Vandals during the rule of Trasamund, the Vandals experienced many Amazigh attacks, which had become more severe than the previous stages. Procopius gave us good information related to the war between the Vandals and the Amazighs and mentioned that there was a Amazigh leader in the vicinity of Tripoli called Capon. Cabon This leader was an expert in wars and insightful in thought, and when he learned that the Vandals were preparing to fight him, he ordered his men to control themselves and be austere in their lives, then he established two camps, one for men and another for women, and at the same time he sent his spies to Carthage....
When the spies informed him of the approach of the Vandal forces, he set up circles of camels, twelve camels deep for each circle, then placed the women and children who were unable to fight in the middle of these circles and asked the fighting forces to hide behind the legs of the camels and to protect themselves with his shields. They were not skilled in using spears and arrows, and they were accustomed to fighting with their swords and on their horses. Therefore, they were unable to engage the Amazighs, especially since their horses were frightened by seeing the camels for the first time and were unable to move forward towards the Amazighs... and at this stage the Amazighs started from their positions. Between the legs of camels, they threw large numbers of spears at the Vandal forces, wounding many horses and men, and some fell captive, and the rest fled after the Vandals were defeated in a defeat they had never suffered before....》
On page 64, he adds about another defeat of the Vandals at the hands of the Amazigh armies led by Antlass of Libya:
《...The one who was in charge of the affairs of the army was Homer, who was from the ruling family, and regarding the relationship between the Vandals and the Amazighs at this stage, Procopius provided a small piece of information stating that the Amazighs, led by Antilas, had defeated the Vandals at the province of Bysacium..》
The disappearance of the Vandals and their exodus from North Africa:
In the year 530 AD, after the Vandals were crushed in several battles by the Amazigh armies, a rebellion occurred among the ruling family, and they invaded the legitimate king and installed his successor illegally, which violated one of the treaties they had concluded with the Byzantine Empire, which also exploited the weakness of the Vandals and their diaspora. They were defeated and suffered heavy military losses to prepare their military campaign and annihilate the remaining Vandals. They constituted a threat and competition to the Byzantine state in two decisive battles: Battle of Decimum / Battle of Tricamaron, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian...
The Amazigh armies were neutral, despite their support for the Byzantines in the beginning against the Vandals, but they did not participate in the two battles. They only besieged King Jalmir after the end of the war. Regarding this, Professor Muhammad Shafik says in his book “33 Centuries of Amazigh History,” page 27:
《..And when the Byzantines attacked the Vandal sites in North Africa, which were insignificant sites, the Amazighs remained neutral at first until their old enemies were defeated. Then they faced their new enemies. Given the importance of the long and arduous confrontation between them and the Romans, and then between them and the Byzantines, the heirs of the Romans, we will analyze The issue in some detail
Later, because this requires some knowledge of the conditions of the Amazigh people
Political life before Roman colonialism invaded some of their lands. As for the Vandals, their legions did not remain in North Africa for a long time, and the country was not significantly culturally affected by
their arrival...》
After defeating the Vandals and eliminating them, the Amazighs would enter into a new war with the Byzantine occupiers in the year 540 AD, led by Yabdas. This war continued without stopping until the Byzantines left most of North Africa at the beginning of the sixth century and the beginning of the Umayyad-Islamic invasion and a new chapter of confrontations between the Amazighs. And the invaders...
Chronology before/after the Vandal invasion:
347 AD Donatism and its military wing engage in a war of attrition against the Roman Empire
372 AD - 376 AD Amazigh revolution led by Firmus
396 AD Amazigh revolt led by Gildon
429 AD Vandal invasion
439 AD The fall of Carthage and the imposition of the Arian doctrine
483 AD The Vandals are trapped in northern Tunisia and Hippoun
530 AD Byzantine intervention and the end of the Vandals
540 AD Amazigh wars against the Byzantines led by Yabdas
Some sources for further information:
Study or book “The Kingdom of the Vandals” by historian Saeed Imran
“33 centuries of Amazigh history” was written by Muhammad Shafiq
The book “The Amazighs Throughout History” by Dr. Al-Arabi Aqoun