GEN'SERIC ( ?-477). King of the Vandals. He was an illegitimate son of Godigisdus, who led the Vandals into Spain. After the death of his brother Gonderic, Genseric became sole ruler. In the year 429 he invaded Africa, on the invita tion of Boniface, Count of Africa, the viceroy of Valentinian III., Emperor of the West, who had been goaded on to rebellion through the machinations of his rival Aetius. Gen seric's army at first amounted to 50,000 war riors. As they swept through Mauritania, the Kabyle mountaineers and the Donatist heretics swelled the horde, and more than equaled their associates in acts of cruelty and bloodthirstiness. The friends of Boniface, astonished that the hero who alone had maintained the cause of the Em peror and his mother Placidia during their exile and distress should have been guilty of such a crime, attempted, with ultimate success, to bring about an interview between the Count of Africa and an agent of the Empress. The army he hurriedly collected to oppose the Vandals was twice defeated by Genseric, and he was compelled to retire to Italy, where he was soon afterwards slain by Aetius. All Africa west of Carthage fell into the hands of Genseric, who shortly after seized that city itself, and made it, A.D. 439, the capital of his new dominions. He also took pos
session of part of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. In the year 451 he encouraged Attila to under take his great expedition against Gaul. Tradi tion states that, at the request of Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian, who was eager for re venge upon her husband's murderer, Maximus, Genseric in the year 455 marched against Rome, which he took, and abandoned to his soldiers for fourteen days. On leaving the city he carried with him the Empress and her two daughters, one of whom became the wife of his son Huneric. The Empire twice endeavored to avenge the indignities it had suffered, but without success. First the Western Emperor, Majorian, fitted out a fleet against the Vandals in 457, which was destroyed by Genseric in the bay of Carthagena ; second, the Eastern Emperor, Leo, sent an expedition under the command of Heraelius and others in 468, which was also destroyed off the city of Bona. Genseric died in 477, in the possession of all his conquests, leaving behind him the reputation of being the greatest of the Vandal kings. He seems to have regarded himself as a 'scourge of God.' In creed Genseric was a fierce Arian, and in flitted the severest persecutions upon the ortho dox or Catholic party.