In this new interpretation of post-Roman North Africa, leading Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott explores how the region actually thrived under the Vandals. The Vandals luxuriated in its rolling green hills, plains, and mountains, and as the new incumbent elite, they lived comfortably alongside the late Roman population there, despite their different interpretations of Christianity. Using newly uncovered legal documents and evidence from the built environment, Dr Elliott overturns old stereotypes of barbarians tearing down Roman civilisation and convincingly shows that the two cultures flourished together, to the extent that when Byzantine armies finally hammered their way back across North Africa, they weren't welcomed by a population now accustomed to their new, fruitful way of life.