Vandals are Slavs or Germans?

Throughout the history of mankind there were a huge number of tribes. Some of them left no trace, passed with their culture and memorable events imperceptibly and sunk into oblivion. Others were remembered for centuries because they built huge structures, left new generations of scientific discoveries, or, as in the case of vandals, destruction and death.

The Vandals Tribe

Vandals are a tribe that existed in the era of the great migration of peoples. It is from their name went the word "vandalism", in other words, a painful passion for destruction, which makes no sense. The history of the vandals began in the Vistula and the Oder, this was their very first habitat. Different areas divided the people into two parts - the silings and the asdings.

Connection with the Slavs

In the Middle Ages vandals were considered to be Slavs. There is this opinion and still in the circle of many historians. The first time about this was written by a German researcher named Adam Bremen in 1075. In his opinion, Slavia was considered a large part of Germany, which is inhabited by the vinula. Once these vins were called vandals. Writer Helmold believed that the Slavs in ancient times were called vandals, and later vinules and vinites.

In 1253, the monk Flemish Rubrits wrote that vandals are a people speaking the same languages as Rusyns, Poles, Bohemians (modern Czechs). Many other figures repeatedly confirmed that these tribes had Russian customs, language and religion.

Excellent warriors

Looking at the photo of vandals (from historical chronicles to our times, of course, only drawings have reached), you can immediately understand that military actions occupied most of their lives. They were known as excellent soldiers, the generals of Rome with special enthusiasm took them into the ranks of their legionaries. Vandal named Stilichon, who lived in the years 365-408, was famous for being the guardian of the young Emperor Honorius, and also one of the most recent majestic commanders of the Roman Empire. Stilichon, along with other vandals, was able to repel the invasion of the Vezegoths and defeat the Franks.

In 406 the Vandals did go into their personal offensive, no longer in the ranks of the Roman legionaries. King Gunterich led them. They conquered Spain. In 429 they left it to go to North Africa. For ten years, a huge army of vandals, originally consisting of 80,000 soldiers, seized the entire coast from Carthage to Gibraltar.

Having built a mighty fleet, they captured Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica with it. In June 455, they with their powerful army landed in Italy and besieged Rome. The Romans did not even resist. After panicking, they stoned the emperor Maxim Petronius and threw his corpse into the Tiber. Only Pope Leo the First alone came out to meet the formidable conquerors, but he could not convince them either. Exactly fourteen days gave Geyserich his wars for them to plunder the eternal city. Vandals dragged everything they could carry: house utensils from houses, gold from palaces, icons and candlesticks from temples. Even the roof was removed from the temple of Jupiter Capitoline. They took the vandals with them and the Romans, in thousands they took them to Africa to make them slaves. For several centuries, Rome emptied and froze.

In 477, Geyzerih died, and all his heirs died idlers in luxury. After the Mediterranean was plundered, and all the wealth accumulated in Carthage, the vandals were only drunk. Among concubines, slaves, dancers and musicians, they quickly lost their strength and masculinity. In 533 the Byzantine fleet attacked them, as unexpectedly as they did in Rome. The state of the vandals has disappeared, and therefore the Slavs never lived to Africa.

The mistake that has become fatal for the Germans

The theory that vandals have much in common with the Slavic tribes leaves no doubt. This proves a lot of facts. But at one time they were mistakenly ranked among the Germans, and this changed the direction of the history of this tribe. The fact that the vandals are Germans, historians have been judged on what. After the battles of Napoleon Bonaparte, the aristocracy, together with the Bourbon dynasty, returned to the good old France. But at home only the ruined palaces awaited them. That's when they called this action vandalism.

The French believed that the people who raided were Germans. Because of this, the hostility of the Gauls and the Germanic tribe, dangerous, aggressive and cruel, appeared, as they mistakenly decided. The historians of that time were all French, so the theory that the Vandals are Germans quickly entered the masses.

And yet the Slavs

So the whole world of vandals would have considered the Germans, if there were no Byzantine historians. They relied not on their own unsubstantiated theories, but solely on facts. The language of the Vandals was really very similar to the Slavic. In addition, only the Slavs never worried about protection from vandals.

Affinity on the ethnic and linguistic level is proved by medieval Russian historical works and Slavic folklore. Confirmation of this fact can be called the legend of the elder by the name of Slovene and his son, called Vandal.