The Vandals, a Germanic people, established a kingdom in North Africa in 435. They were conquered by the East Roman Empire and afterward assimilated into the local Berber population of Kabylia. During the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals and Carthaginians the Kabyle people were the only or one of the few in North Africa who remained independent. The Kabyle people were incredibly resistible so much so that even during the Arab conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains.