Ingvar the Far-Travelled
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Ingvar the Far-Travelled (Norse: Ingvar Vittfarne) was the leader of an unsuccessful Viking attack against Persia, in 1036-1042.
There were several Caspian expeditions of the Rus in the course of the 10th century. The Yngvars saga víðförla describes what was the last Viking campaign in the Caspian in 1041, adding much legend to the historical facts. This expedition was launched from Sweden by Ingvar Vittfarne ("the widefarer"), who went down the Volga into the land of the Saracens (‘Serkland’). While there, they apparently took part in the Georgian-Byzantine Battle of Sasireti.
There are no less than twenty-six runic stones, twenty-three of them being in the Lake Mälaren region of Uppland in Sweden, referring to Swedish warriors who went out with Ingvar on his expedition to the Saracen lands, an expedition whose purpose was probably to reopen old trade routes, now that the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars no longer proved obstacles. A stone to Ingvar’s brother indicates that he went east for gold but that he died in Saracen land. [1]
[edit] Life
Ingvar was probably a relation of the Swedish royal house (the House of Munsö). It is possible that it was king Anund Jakob or his brother and successor Emund the Old who mustered the Swedish leidang.
The participants were evenly distributed along the husbys, and 24 of the 26 Ingvar Runestones were from Sweden (in the contemporary sense, i.e. Svealand) and 2 from the Geatish district of Ostrogothia. The folkland of Attundaland did not take part and this was probably done on purpose in order to keep a defensive army in Sweden, while the main force was away.
Anund Jacob was the brother of Ingegerd Olofsdotter who was married to Yaroslav I of Novgorod and who conquered Kiev in 1019 from his brother Sviatopolk. This was done with the help of Varangians, and according to Ingvar's saga, they were led by Ingvar's father Eymund.
Later Yaroslav had trouble with the Pechenegs, a nomad tribe. The expedition stayed for a few years in Kiev fighting against the Pechenegs, then (in 1042) they continued to the Black Sea and the Christian country, called Särkland (Georgia).
[edit] Aftermath
According to the Icelandic saga about Ingvar, only one ship returned. The 26 remaining rune stones testify to this as no one mentions a surviving participant. The most common phrases are similar to the one on the Gripsholm Runestone:
- They died in the East, in Särkland.
Adam of Bremen considered the disaster to be a punishment for the king's rejection of bishop Adalvard of Bremen and his electing his own bishop, Osmundus.
[edit] References
- ^ Logan, Donald F. (1992). The Vikings in History 2nd ed., p. 202. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-08396-6
