Then came the era of persecutions, the establishment of Christianity and the disappearance of Astarte and Baal from the forum and the temple--to be worshipped, perhaps, for a little while longer in the recesses of the mountains, where Islam lingered in after times. Presently came the Vandals, and their fury having spent itself, they made Seville their capital, though they did _not_ give their name, as some have thought, to Andalusia. When they passed over--a whole nation--to Africa, the barbarous Suevi took possession of their old camping-ground. The Suevian king, Recchiarus, became a Catholic, at the persuasion of Sabinus, Bishop of Seville, in the year 448. We next hear of him murdering the Byzantine ambassador Censorius, in this city, and of being defeated and slain by the Visigoths in 456. Now comes an interregnum of seventy-five years. The Suevi were expelled from Seville, but their conquerors did not occupy the town. It must have been governed by its Catholic bishops, who are spoken of as miracles of wisdom and sanctity. Under Theudis the Gothic king, Seville again rose to the rank of a capital--or at any rate shared the dignity with Toledo. Here Theudis was assassinated, and his son and successor Theudisel also, a few months later. The latter sovereign is described as a detestably wicked person. He was of course an Aryan, and gave a shocking example of his hard-hearted incredulity. Among the hills where lies Italica is a village called San Juan de Aznalfarache. Near this in the sixth century was a tank which was miraculously filled once a year, when the Catholics resorted to it to baptize their catechumens. Theudisel had the tank, when it was dry, thoroughly investigated, and, satisfied that it was fed by no spring, had a lid fastened over it and sealed with his own seal. But next Easter it was full of water! Not to be baffled, the king dug a ditch to the depth of twenty-five feet all round the tank, but found no trace of a spring. He would perhaps have gone on digging for years had not his nobles rid the world of so sceptical a monarch. We come now to the days of good King Leovgild, who consolidated the Visigothic monarchy and warred successfully against the Greeks and barbarous Suevi. His son, Ermengild, being sent to govern Seville, was converted by Leander, the bishop of the city, to the Catholic faith. The prince thought he could give no better proof of his zeal for his new creed than by revolting against his father. A bloody war resulted. Ermengild was worsted and was shut up in Seville, while his father occupied Italica and pressed him closely. The rebels capitulated and were treated leniently. The prince afterwards headed a second revolt against his father, was captured and executed. He has been enrolled among the saints of the Catholic Church.