Their rule in North Africa was disastrous for the church. They were Arians, and repeated persecutions broke out against both catholics and Donatists. Finally, after almost a century of Vandal rule, the area was conquered by General Belisarius, of the Byzantine Empire. That empire, with its capital in Constantinople, was enjoying a brief renaissance under the leadership of Emperor Justinian, whose dream was to restore the ancient glories of the Empire.
