Together with the migrations of the Slavs, these events were the formative elements of the distribution of peoples in modern Europe. The emperor Avitus (reign A.D. 455 to 456) launched a campaign against the Vandals that failed, and in response the Vandals cut off Italy's grain supply, Kershaw noted, which fueled civil unrest in Rome. Soon they were on the move again, into the western empire. The Romans were "soundly beaten" in the assault, and the Vandals "won their first major victory since having crossed the Rhine and were clearly established as the dominant force in southern Spain," Wijnendaele wrote. It wasn't until after the French Revolution, in the late 18th century, that the name "Vandals" became widely associated with destruction, Stephen Kershaw, who holds a doctorate in classics, wrote in his book "The Enemies of Rome: The Barbarian Rebellion Against the Roman Empire (opens in new tab)" (Pegasus Books, 2020). On Dec. 31, 406, a group of Vandals successfully crossed the Rhine river and advanced into the Roman territory of Gaul [what is now France, parts of Belgium and parts of western Germany], and they fought battles against the Franks, another Germanic people. Crossing of the Rhine - Wikipedia A cause leads to an effect. Roman losses during the campaigns between 395 and 410 were horrific; some estimates claim the invaders shattered as many as 80 regimentsnearly 50 percent of the Roman field army in the west. They made forays into Roman territory in Gaul and Spain, without the incentive of the Huns, but later, when the Huns invaded Gaul in 451, they joined forces with the Romans to repel the invaders. Furthermore, some regionsmost of Britain, for exampleemerged from the half-century of crisis in a more prosperous condition than before. , allied to the Romans, who resisted the Rhine crossing. The Germanic peoples originated about 1800 bce from the superimposition of Battle-Ax people from the Corded Ware Culture of middle Germany on a population of megalithic culture on the eastern North Sea coast. Agriculturist Goths from the lower Vistula (the longest river in modern Poland) began attacking areas of the Roman Empire in the third century, attacking along the Black Sea and Aegean regions, including northern Greece. In the years following their victory, the Vandals consolidated their hold on Spain, capturing Seville after launching two campaigns against the city in 425 and 428, Wijnendaele noted.
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