Since Christian Courtois' monumental work in 1955, the Vandals have not attracted the attention of many researchers. Over the last few decades, however, and although there is still no French-language monograph, things have changed. In addition, historical clichés such as "barbarian invasions" and the "end of the ancient world" have revived scientific interest and prompted new approaches.
In this context, the Vandals play an important role. While historians of this period sometimes use the key concepts of decline and abrupt cessation, and sometimes those of continuity and transformation, there are calls to describe the Vandals not as the gravediggers of romanitas, but simply as its "heirs". They are said to have fully embraced the traditional military organization of late Roman times, based on groups of gentes (known as foederati). But do these approaches reach the specificity of the Vandals, and are they consistent with the sources? So it's worth giving a new overview, focusing on the relationship between Vandals and Romans, and on the "barbarian" regnum Vandalorum that the conquerors of 429 AD were able to establish in Africa, in the heart of the Roman Empire, and defend, despite all resistance, for 100 years.