The Roman war effort from 466 onwards was aimed at the destruction of the Vandal Kingdom in order to restore the empire to its original territory.

The eastern emperor oversaw many ambitious political and military plans, mainly aimed at aiding the faltering Western Roman Empire and recovering its former territories.

The role of Western Roman emperor Libius Severus (461–465) was minimal, while that of his successor Anthemius (467-472), on the other hand, was considerably greater.

In 455, the Vandal king Geiseric saw the usurpation of Maximus as an open violation of his treaty with the Romans, and an opportunity to invade Rome with his fleet.

[a] For Majorian, the failed campaign against the Vandals was a huge setback which put an end to his plans to restore the empire to its former glory, and it also undermined his position as emperor of the west.

Ricimer, now the strongman in the west, was indeed lord and master in Italy, but in addition to the hostile attacks in the Mediterranean region, he had to deal with open military opposition from the generals Aegidius, Nepotianus and Marcellinus.

[12] He had already occupied and annexed the Mauritanian provinces, as well as Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands, and planned to preserve the marriage of his son Huneric to Eudocia.

Threatened on the one hand by the Vandals, on the other by Marcellinus in Dalmatia, Ricimer and the obedient Senate asked for mediation from the Eastern Roman emperor.

Geiseric claimed on behalf of his daughter-in-law that all her father's private property in Italy belonged to him, as well as the inheritance of Aetius, whose son Gaudentius he kept as a prisoner.

In pursuit of these claims, Geiseric led a major expedition against Italy and Sicily, destroying rural districts and undefended towns.

In 463 a confusing spectacle occurred, when Ricimer, in the name of the western emperor Libius Serverus, employed Goths to attack part of the Roman army in Gaul.

At the time, Aegidius was engaged in negotiations with the Vandal king Geiseric, attempting to build an alternative balance of western forces to challenge Ricimer's dominance.

The elevation of Olybrius, which would have been a restitution of the Theodosian dynasty, may have seemed a hopeful solution to some of the difficulties of the situation, but the fact that he was Geiseriks' candidate and relative was a reason not to accept him.

[17] After his accession to the throne on 12 April 467, a large-scale campaign against the Vandals was prepared, to be undertaken by an Eastern Roman fleet with land troops under the overall command of Emperor Leo's brother-in-law, Basiliscus.

Anthemius appointed Marcellinus, also to counterbalance Ricimer, as second imperial general and commander-in-chief of the Western Roman troops involved in the campaign.

[19] Marcellinus recaptured Sardinia with little difficulty, and Heraclius met little resistance from the Vandals in Tripolitania, and both moved to make contact with Basiliscus's forces.

[21][22] According to historians Michael Kulikowski, Friell and Williams, Geiseric appealed for peace and proposed a five-day armistice to give themselves time to prepare in the meantime.

[23][24] Heather notes that the Romans favored avoiding a naval battle,[25] and that this may have been the reason Basiliscus hesitated to take on the Vandals to attack.

Basiliscus fled with the rest of the fleet to Sicily, to consolidate with Marcellin's forces; their morale and supplies might have secured a victory, but Marcellinus was murdered,[27] possibly by order of Ricimer.

[23][21] The poor result that the Romans achieved with the large-scale operation at the end of the Vandal war must have had a major morale effect.

Without access to the resources of the former Roman province of Africa, the west could not sustain an army powerful enough to defeat its numerous enemies.

A revolution in Carthage in 531 finally gave the Roman Empire, which then only existed in the East, the desired opportunity for intervention, leading to the Vandal War (533–534).