Hilderic, Gelimer, Justinian time. By
Wikipedia, maybe this is commemorative coin ??
Hilderic was the grandson of
king Genseric, founder of the Vandal kingdom in
Africa.
His father was Genseric's son Huneric, and
his mother was
Eudocia, the daughter of the
Roman Emperor
Valentinian III and
Licinia Eudoxia.[1] Most of the
Vandals were Arians and
had persecuted Chalcedonians, but Hilderic favored Chalcedonianism as the religion of
his mother, making
his accession to the throne controversial.[citation needed] Soon after becoming
king, Hilderic
had his predecessor's widow, Amalafrida, imprisoned; he escaped war with her brother, the
Gothic king Theoderic the Great, only by virtue of the latter's death in 526.[2]
Hilderic's reign was noteworthy for the kingdom's excellent relations with the Eastern
Roman Empire.
Procopius writes that he was "a very particular friend and guest-friend of Justinian, who
had not yet come to the throne",
noting that Hilderic and Justinian exchanged large presents of money to each other.[3] Hilderic allowed a new Chalcedonian
bishop to take office in the Vandal capital of
Carthage, and many
Vandals began to convert to Chalcedonianism, to the alarm of the Vandal
nobility.
By the time he assumed the crown, Hilderic was at least into
his fifties, if not more than 60. For this reason, according to
Procopius, he was uninterested in the
military operations of the
Vandals and left them to other family
members, of whom
Procopius singles out for mention
his nephew Hoamer.[4]
After seven years on the throne, Hilderic fell victim to a revolt led by
his cousin Gelimer, who led the people in a rebellion against the Vandal
King. Gelimer then became
King of the
Vandals and Alans, and
restored Arianism as the official religion of the kingdom. He imprisoned Hilderic, along with Hoamer and
his brother Euagees, but did not kill him. Justinian protested Gelimer's actions, demanding that Gelimer return the kingdom to Hilderic. Gelimer sent away the envoys who brought him this message, blinding Hoamer and putting both Hilderic and Euagees under closer confinement, claiming that they
had planned a coup against him. When Justinian sent a second embassy protesting these developments, Gelimer replied, in effect, that Justinian
had no authority to make these demands. Angered at this response, Justinian quickly concluded
his ongoing war with
Iran and prepared an expedition against the
Vandals in 533.[5] Once Gelimer learned of the arrival of the
Roman army, he
had Hilderic murdered, along with Euagees and other supporters of Hilderic he
had imprisoned.[6]
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