The Vandal invasion of AD 253 wiped out what was left of Roman Christian civilisation. King Genseric of ‘Vandalusia’ in southern Spain set out from Tarifa with 80,000 people, including 15,000 troops, who swept through Morocco and along the North African coast, destroying everything in their path in an orgy of looting and burning that culminated in the sack of Rome in 455. Yet, in spite of their heavy presence during these years, very little remains of their time in Morocco.
The history of the following century in Morocco, and indeed in most of North Africa, is obscure to say the least. That is until, 4,800km (3,000 miles) away in the east, a fire of religious fervour swept along the Mediterranean coast, bringing Islam to Morocco.
