WI Vandals returned to Hispania in 423 AD?

In 423 under the influence of Aëtius, the emperor Valentinian's III mother Galla Placidia convicted Comes Bonifacius of treason against the emperor. Rather than surrender to probable execution, however, Bonifacius called in the support of Vandal mercenaries from their grazing grounds in Hispania. The entire tribe migrated en masse into Africa. However, by the time they arrived, Bonifacius had returned to Placidia's favor, and she had granted him the title of Patrician. He informed the Vandals that their services were no longer needed, but instead of returning to Hispania, they revolted and drove the Roman Empire out of Africa.
WI The Vandals returned to Hispania instead of conquering North Africa? Maybe Bonifacius could use them to get rid of the Visigoths in Hispania and South Gaul... How is that altering History? Any thoughts? Vandals could have replaced Visigoths as Roman allies against Huns 30 years later... And a possible conversion to Catholicism too for the Vandals...
 
Longer term effect:

A strong Visigothic Kingdom rather than a weak and fractured one. A stable dynasty.

No Roderic, but a much more capable state meets the Arab advance.

Strong enough to hold back the tide?


Would such a power have attempted to start holding back the Arab armies earlier, perhaps deploying to Africa to do so? Could Morocco have ended up as a "buffer" region like Hungary was between the Ottoman Empire and Europe?

Without the Arab influence, how would Spanish culture differ? More Celtic-Roman-German influence, like France?

One little ripple, starts all kinds of waterfalls going.
 
I thought that the reason that the Vandals accepted Bonifacius' offer to come to Africa was because the Visigoths were far more numerous than the Vandals and their Alannic allies, and were being under continual assault. Also, Geiseric, who had just recently ascended the throne, had reportedly been building or appropriating ships for the Vandals for years. This could be an indication that he planned to go to North Africa anyway. He must have known of the province's status as grain-provider, plus it was far away from the warfare that was happening in the northern empire and this province would be one of the least protected. Governor Bonifacius' cry for help may have been the pretext he needed to carry out his ambition. I personally can't think of any reason why the Vandals would want to remain in Spain, when there was easy pickings just across the sea.
 
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Bonifacius could have bribed Geiseric in order to convince him to return to Hispania... Visigoths strength was growing there... A combined Roman-Vandal assault could have brought Hispania and southern Gaul under Roman jurisdiction again providing resources (along with the intact N. Africa resources) for a more succesfull dealing with Huns 30 years later...
 
While Bonifacius was in charge of one of the most agriculturally productive provinces in the Western Empire as yet untouched by warfare, I don't know that he would have possessed the funds to bribe Geiseric. Not if the african provincials weren't already being taxed to the hilt to support the legions fighting the Huns in Gaul and Italy. The Vandals were already in a somewhat desperate situation, what with the Visigoths in Spain. When Geiseric led his people into Africa, there was reportedly about eighty thousand of them, with perhaps around twenty or thirty thousand fighting men amongst that number. Unless they were willing to settle in foreign territory, whilst resigning themselves as being subjects and auxilleries to the same Romans, that more than thirty years before, refused them sanctuary within the empire after they were forced to leave their homes because of the rampaging Huns, then I doubt that the Vandals were going to piss away an opportunity like capturing a lightly defended province such as Roman Africa. Why settle for a mere bribe when a major source of Rome's revenue and food was there for the taking? Also, the Western Roman forces were in declining numbers. Rome had already lost Spain as well as most of Gaul. And as they were at war with the Huns, the last people in western Europe that they needed as enemies at that time were the Visigoths themselves, of whom Magister Militum Aetius allied with to fight Atilla. Perhaps you could rescue general Aetius from being killed by Emperor Valentinian. Although I'm not sure how far the ramifications for that outcome would go.
 
Maybe Aetius could get to Valentinian first get rid of him (nothing a blade cant solve... :D) and then raise his son as Emperor (Aetius's son Gaudentius was married to Valentinian's daughter...) While he remains the power behind the throne... WRE has a chance to make a last stand then...
 
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