455 CE
A year of further humiliation for Rome as the Vandals under Gaiseric sacked the city far more thoroughly than the Visigoths had in 410, stripping it of treasures accumulated over centuries including spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem.
Conflict & Security
- The Vandals under King Gaiseric sailed from Carthage and sacked Rome for fourteen days beginning on June 2, systematically looting the city of its wealth, artwork, and sacred objects.
- The Vandal sack was far more thorough than the Visigothic sack of 410, with Gaiseric's forces stripping the gilded bronze roof tiles from the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and carrying away treasures said to include spoils originally taken from the Temple of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 CE.
- Empress Eudoxia and her two daughters were taken captive to Carthage, where one daughter was later married to Gaiseric's son Huneric.
Geopolitics & Governance
- Emperor Valentinian III was assassinated on March 16 by soldiers loyal to the senator Petronius Maximus, who had conspired to avenge the earlier murder of the general Aetius by Valentinian.
- Petronius Maximus proclaimed himself emperor but his reign lasted only 77 days before he was killed by a Roman mob as the Vandals approached the city.
- Pope Leo I reportedly met Gaiseric at the gates of Rome and negotiated an agreement that the Vandals would not burn the city or massacre its inhabitants, though they were free to plunder.
Culture & Society
- The world population was approximately 207 million.
Climate & Environment
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 278 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.