Hasdingi

The Hasdingi, Asdingi or Hastingi were a group categorized as Vandals during the Roman era. The name referred to both a specific ruling dynasty or clan, and also sometimes to the population they led. The first Hasdingi are known from Graeco-Roman sources for leading a series of migrations. They were first mentioned when they led the Vandal settlement of former-Roman Dacia in the late second century, during the Marcomannic Wars. After living on both sides of the border of the Roman Empire for more than 200 years, they left together with many other peoples of the Middle Danube during a period of instability. Hasdingi and Silingi Vandals, along with Alans, crossed the Rhine in 406, fighting their way into Roman Gaul, which was also in a state of upheaval. After plundering what is now France, in 409 the Vandals and Alans entered Roman Hispania, where short-lived kingdoms were created by the Silingi, Alans and Hasdingi. Central Roman authority reasserted itself in 411, and after major defeats in 418 the remaining forces accepted Hasdingi leadership. In 429 the Hasdingi led a large combined force to North Africa, where they began the process of creating the Vandal Kingdom, which ruled Roman North Africa and had its capital at Carthage in what is now Tunisia. While it existed, the royal dynasty of this kingdom continued to be referred to as Hasdingi. The Hasdingi, like the Vandals generally, ceased being mentioned after 534 when their kingdom was destroyed by the Byzantine empire.