nature of the sources, which describe a complex attempt made by the king of the majus
to humiliate the Arab ambassador, perhaps not unconnected with the effect that his
handsome appearance was said to have had on the queen. Interesting detail nevertheless
emerges, such as the note that on his return journey to al-Andalus, al-Ghazal was asked
by the Scandinavians to act as their intermediary in diplomatic discussions with the
Asturians. This may be spurious, or to be taken at face value, or may alternatively
represent an attempt by the Arabs to divide their enemies.
There is little archaeological evidence to support the idea of Muslim–Viking trade,
and only a few objects of Scandinavian manufacture have been found in Spain, such as
the small, late tenth-century box of deer antler now in the museum of the Colegiata of
St Isidoro in León (Morales Romero 2004 b). However, there are three place names –
Lormanos in Portugal, Lordemanos in León and Lodimanos in Galicia – that all contain
variations on an element meaning ‘men of the north’ (Almazán 2004 ). These names
may indicate sites where Scandinavians came regularly to barter, but their exact inter-
pretation is unclear. The only other indication of Viking contact at this time with the
Muslims of Córdoba comes in 854 , when there is a brief note of two Scandinavian ships
being captured off the coast near Lisbon.
In 859 , however, a second fleet set out for Spain from the Scandinavian base on the
Loire, this time under the command of two of the most famous Vikings from the entire
European theatre, Hásteinn and Bjo ̨rn Ironside, who had both fought with the Great
Army against the Anglo-Saxons and would later do so against the Franks. We read
of their departure first in the Frankish Annals of St-Bertin and in Galician sources
(Morales Romero 2004 a: 65 ), but the subsequent story of the voyage is also taken up in
tenth-century Muslim documents such as the accounts written by al-Maqqari (de
Gayangos 1840 – 3 ) and Ibn al-Athir (Fagnan 1901 ; Almazán 2004 ; see Melvinger 1955
for a comprehensive corpus of Arab sources).
The fleet seems to have been large at 62 ships (one source says 100 ), but not
exceptionally so for a major campaign. Their objective, however, was anything but
usual: they intended to sack the city of Rome. Such an undertaking, in ambition, scale
and content, was unique among Viking operations of this period. Even in later centuries,
the only voyage that comes close is the great journey into southern Russia and Asia
made by Ingvar the Far-Travelled around 1036. Hásteinn and Bjo ̨rn would appear
to have formulated their plan partly in terms of the fabulous wealth that was surely to
be gained, but partly too as a conscious quest for fame and glory, both central qualities
in the Nordic heroic ideal.
The voyage began badly, and the Vikings had as little success in Galicia and Asturias
as their predecessors. After taking the bishopric at Iria Flavia, the Vikings were driven
back from the walls of Santiago, after which they left the Galician coast (Almazán 2004 :
42 – 4 ). They continued south to Seville and burned the mosque there, though an
attempt on the city itself was repulsed after the Scandinavians retired in the face of a
large Muslim force that the new emir Muhammad I had assembled to block their path.
At this point the Viking commanders must have made a crucial decision, and decided
to proceed east despite the disappointments in Spain. Sometime in the late autumn of
859 the fleet passed the Straits of Gibraltar unopposed and, as far as we know, thus
became the first Vikings to enter the Mediterranean from the west.
In the course of their passage Cádiz and Algeciras were attacked again, but once
through the Straits the fleet made for the North African coast and their first real success.
–– chapter 34: Spain, North Africa and the Mediterranean––