In March 455 the western emperor Valentinian III was assassinated, and Petronius Maximus seized the throne and forced Valentinian's widow to marry him. She called on the Vandal king Gaiseric in Carthage for help. In early June the Vandal fleet reached Ostia, and Pope Leo I persuaded Gaiseric not to burn the city or massacre its people, much as he had turned Attila back in 452. The Vandals nevertheless plundered Rome systematically for two weeks, shipping off the treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem and thousands of captives to Carthage. The word 'vandalism' recalls the episode.
Before and after
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
- 1 November 451 CECouncil of Chalcedon
- 12 May 454 CEBirth of Theodoric the Great
- c. 455 CEOrigins of Tbilisi
- from 2 June 455 CE to 16 June 455 CEThe Vandals sack Rome
- 476 CEBirth of Aryabhata
- from 476 CE to 1492Middle Ages
- from 476 CE to 718 CEVisigothic Kingdom
- from 476 CE to 900 CEEarly Middle Ages
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
- 335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- 217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
- 2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 5th century.