Some fift een years aft er their fi rst campaign in Iberia, Vikings returned to the
peninsula in an expedition that lasted three years and took them into the
Mediterranean. Th e narrative of this voyage comes mainly from citations
of earlier Arabic historians in Ibn H. ayyān’s eleventh- century compilation,
supplemented by short references preserved in a variety of contexts. As was the
case for the campaign of 844, the story of Vikings in the Mediterranean
gathered more detail in the re- telling of later centuries.
Th e Chronicle of Albelda was more interested in Ordono’s
advances against the Muslim enemy than in Vikings, but noted that a certain
count Peter killed Lordomani ( Crónicas Asturianas : 176); the continuator of
the chronicle dated the return of Lothomanni to the peninsula to July 858,
noting that they went on to kill a number of the inhabitants of Lisbon ( Crónicas
Asturianas : 188). Th e Chronicle of Alfonso III tracked the raiders into the
Mediterranean:
At this time Vikings ( Nordomani piratide ) again came to our shores. Th ey
then spread out all over Spain, ravaging its coasts with sword and fi re. From
there, crossing the sea, they invaded the city of Naacor (Nakūr) in Mauretania and killed a multitude of Chaldeans (Muslims) with the sword. Th en,
heading towards the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, they depopulated
them with the sword. Th ey then sailed to Greece and fi nally returned to their
own country three years later.
( Crónicas Asturianas : 148–149, trans.: 177)
Not all the later Latin chronicles mentioned the 859–861 campaign. Th ere is,
however, a new source of information with a unique perspective. Th e Chronicon
Iriense (ES vol.20: 598–608) was probably written in Santiago but is named for
the see of Iria, which was joined with Santiago de Compostela aft er c. 860. Th e
chronicle ends with the year 984, but it may have been composed as late as
the twelft h century (Isla 1984).
Ibn H. ayyān collected two accounts of the campaign of 859–861 which are
similar but diffi cult to navigate. Th e problems posed by the text are compounded
by the state of the unique manuscript of the second part of the Muqtabas ,
[Report] on the Majūs : In this year [245AH (859) is an editorial addition]
the Majūs – may God curse them – attacked the west coast of al-Andalus,
and this was their second attack, in sixty- two ships. Th ey found the coasts
guarded; ships of the emir Muh. ammad were patrolling between the confi nes
( h. ā’i t. ) of Ifranja (probably Francia) in the east and the furthest confi nes of
Ghilīsīa (Galicia, i.e. northern Iberia) in the west. Two of their ships were
met by the ships deployed to patrol the confi nes of Jilīqīya (Galicia) and
taken by surprise in a harbor in the region of Beja. [Th e Muslims] seized
money, goods and prisoners from [the Viking ships] as booty. Th en the ships
of the Majūs continued along the coast until they came to the mouth of the
Guadalquivir and the lands bordering on it. And [the inhabitants] were in
the greatest state of alarm. Th e emir Muh. ammad hastened to send the army
to the west; he called the people to go to war against the enemy at the gates.
And they hastened from all directions. Th e leader of the sultan’s army was
‘Īsa ibn al- H. asan ibn ‘Abī Abda al- H. ājib. Th e ships of the infi dels ( al-Kufra )
went up to Seville, occupied Algeciras . . . and burned the congregational
mosque . Th ey abandoned the land of al-Andalus, seeking the [opposite?]
shore and took possession of it and took possession of its coasts. Th en they
returned to the east coast of al-Andalus and appeared on the coast of Tudmir.
Th en they came to the fortress (h. u s.
n) of Orihuela. Th ey went to Ifranja
(Francia) and over- wintered there and obtained captives and wealth. Th ey
took possession of a city that is named aft er them to this day. Th ey went away
to the sea of al-Andalus and more than forty ships were destroyed. Th ey were
met by the ships that had been prepared for them by Qarqāshīsh ibn Shakrūh.
and Khashkhāsh, which were carrying a fl ask of Greek fi re ( naft . ) and many
kinds of naval armaments; tightly packed ranks of archers increased their
chance of success. [Th e Muslims] captured two of their ships off the coast
of Sidonia with much money and goods. Ibn Shakrūh. and Khashkhāsh, the
admiral of the fl eet, destroyed [the ships] and killed [the Vikings]; they
captured two more ships and burned all that was in them. And aft er that, the
Majūs defended themselves from Khashkhāsh and [sought to] avoid him.
He fought them from the prow of his ship until he met a martyr’s death, may
God have mercy on him.
Th en the remaining ships of the Majūs went up [the coast] until they
reached the confi nes ( h. ā’i t. ) of Pamplona and raided the Basques, killing
some and capturing their emir Gharsīa ibn Wanaqu (Garcia Iniquez, ruler of
Pamplona <859-c. 880). And they ransomed him for 70,000 [dinars]. Th ey
kept his sons as part payment of the ransom, and released him . . . During
their fi rst appearance in the region of Beja, they captured ‘Abd al-Malik and
‘Abd Allāh, the sons of Muh. ammad ibn Maslama. Th ey released ‘Abd Allāh
and carried off his brother ‘Abd al-Malik. And this was the place where they
took S’ad. ūn, known as al-Surunbāqī.
Th is attack did not bring them the profi t that they were accustomed to,
nor did the people of the coast suff er the usual depredations. [Vikings] did
not fi nd on the coast what they were expecting from the strength of their
onslaught. Th ey were met by a naval attack from the direction of Algeciras
that destroyed fourteen of their ships. Th ey were blown off course from the
confi nes of al-Andalus and carried away in the direction of the land of the
Franks. Th ey did not meet with any success. Th ey hastened away to their
country defeated and they have not returned to this day.
(Ibn H. ayyān Muqtabas [847–880]: 307–309)
If we read this
passage as a summing up of the failure of this Viking expedition, there is no
need to invoke a second visit to al-Andalus. Th e author’s fi nal comment
increases the probability that Ibn H. ayyān’s source was Ah. mad al-Rāzī, since
there does not seem to have been another Viking attack on the peninsula until
aft er al-Rāzī’s death in 955.
Th e second author in Ibn H. ayyān’s dossier on the expedition of 859–861,
Mu’āwiya ibn Hishām, a historian who is otherwise unknown, seems to have
had information that is not preserved either by al-‘Udhrī or in Ibn Idhārī.
[Vikings] found the landing- places uncertain, and a trap. Th ey went up the
coast of the land of the infi del Basques . . . Th en they departed. Th ey
encountered the fl eets of the emir Muh. ammad, assembled in force. [Th e
Muslims] overcame many of [the Viking] ships and seized the booty that
was in them. Th e scattered remnants of the [Viking] fl eet retreated, exhausted,
by the grace of God.
(Ibn H. ayyān Muqtabas [847–880]: 309
Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada’s Historia Arabum included a short statement on
the raids of 859–861 that echoes some of the information that Ibn H. ayyān
preserved:
In the same year [ anno Arabum CCXLV , i.e. 859–860] sixty ships came from
the North ( Normania ) and Gelzirat Alhadra and mosques were altogether
despoiled and consumed by fi re; then they proceeded to Africa, where they
drove out many people from their homes and they returned to the coasts of
Hispania, where they spent the winter, and in spring they returned to their
country.
(Rodrigo Historia Arabum : 124–125)
Ibn al-Qū t. īya provides an additional piece of information that other Arabic
historians did not preserve. Th e account of the raids of 844–845 in the History
of Ibn al-Qū t. īya, quoted in Chapter 2, continues:
[Vikings ( Majūs )] departed from Seville and directed themselves to Nakūr,
where they took prisoner the ancestor of Ibn S.ālih. , whom the emir ‘Abd
al-Rah.mān . . . ransomed from captivity. This was why the Banū Umayya
have had influence with the Banū S.ālih. . Then they [Vikings] ravaged the
two coasts completely until they reached the land of the Byzantines and
Alexandria.
(Ibn al-Qū t. īya Ta’rīkh : 81, trans.: 101)
S. 68
Aft er Vikings took A s.
īla, ‘the port of the Majūs ’, said al-Bakrī ‘. . . [the
Muslims] decided to construct a ribā t. ’ (Al-Bakrī Roads and Kingdoms , vol.1:
790–791). It has been assumed that this was also a common response to Viking
incursions in al-Andalus: ‘A new chain of forts had also been constructed in
response to the Viking raids of the ninth century, distinguished by their rapita
(Arabic ribā t. ) place names’ (Price 2008: 467). Yet the chronological relationship
between ribā t. s and Vikings is complicated.
Seville
in 845 was followed by the expansion of the Umayyads’ naval capability. ‘Abd
al-Ra
h.
man II:
made preparations to avoid a re- occurrence. He ordered the establishment
of a shipyard in Seville and the construction of ships. He got together sailors
from the coasts of al-Andalus and enlisted them and paid them well. He
made ready engines (catapults, alat ) and Greek fi re. So when the Vikings
came again, in the time of the emir Mu
h.
ammad (852–886), they were
confronted at the mouth of the river of Seville and defeated, with some of
their ships being burnt before they made off .
(Ibn al-Qu t. iya Tar’ikh : 81, trans.: 101–102)
Einleitung
Die Wikingerexpeditionen entlang des Dnepjr, bis Byzanz sind hinreichend (?) bekannt und unbestritten.
Die Sachkenntnis über die die Wikinger in Spanien und Afrika ist doch wesentlich begrenzter. Die Reisen gingen über die Pyrenäen, Spanien, Italien....
"Im äußersten Norden . . . . wo der Einfluss der Sonne eher gemildert wird und die Regionen sind reich an Kälte, Feuchtigkeit und Schnee, die Menschen zeichnen sich aus durch guten Körperbau, unhöfliches Verhalten, langsame Sprache, raue Zunge, weiße Hautfarbe, dickes Fleisch, blaue Augen, dünne Haut, lockiges und rotes Haar. Alle diese Merkmale sind die aufgrund der vorherrschenden Feuchtigkeit in ihren Ländern und ihrer Kälte .Die Natur fördert nicht die Festigkeit des religiösen Glaubens. Die weiter im Norden leben zeichnen sich durch Stumpfsinn, hartes Verhalten und Barbarei aus."
(Al-Mas'ūdī Kitāb al-Tanbih : 23-24, Übers.: 38) (gestorben ca. 956)
Berichte und Anmerkungen
Die Geschichte von Jaha-ibn Al Haquam, der Gazelle, füge ich irgendwann nach. Über den Stolz, sich nicht vor dem Anführer zu verbeugen, sondern lieber auf dem Hintern durch die Tür zu robben.... also der voreingenommenen vor Stolz strotzenden Schilderung das er als Araber schlauer ist wie ein Skandinavier... die Berichte sind voller vorbehalte dieser Art...und wie sich die Königin sich ihm an Hals warf, denn er war ja so Wortgewand.
Ich liebe den Schreibstil der arabischen Reisenden. (nicht)
Es heisst:
Sie erreichten nach drei Tagen eine Insel der Ungläubigen und sendeten eine Nachricht an den König um ihre Ankunft anzukündigen. Dann suchten sie ihn (den König) auf. Eine große Insel, umgeben von vielen kleinen. Eine große Insel, voller Ungläubiger, wie auf den kleinen Inseln und dem Festland ganz nahe. Diese Menschen hatten ihren eigenen Glauben, sie heiligten das Feuer. Die Gesandtschaft wurde untergebracht, bewirtet. Nach zwei Tagen bekamen sie eine Audienz. Die Botschaft des Emir wurde übergeben, gelesen und übersetzt. Der König nahm sie, legte sie ab. Geschenke wurden überreicht.4 Zum Ende hob der König die Botschaft erneut, was wohl eine große Ehre war, und die Gesandtschaft verblieb eine längere Zeit dort.
An dieser Stelle: Die Gazelle hatte eine spezielle Beziehung zur Königin (ja, die Texte habe ich her auch, ich suche sie noch...) Sie war neugierig ihn zu sehen, er „interviewte“ sie. Er hatte Angst, dass dies die politischen Beziehungen gefährden würden. Darüber lachte sie. Denn: eine Frau ist nicht länger an einen Mann gebunden, wie sie es sein will. Die Gazelle schrieb ihr Liebesgedichte (ja, die gibt es wohl auch überliefert, ich recherchiere noch. Der Name der Königin war Ud, Nu oder Aud.)
Den Vermutungen nach Steenstrup und A. Bugge waren die Gesandten in Irland. Die Geschichte ist hiernach ziemlich verworren. Anm.: Der Zorn des Nordens wie aus Lindisfarne schriftlich überliefert ist m.E. wie Witz, da die Iren ihre Klöster untereinander öfter beraubt haben, wie die Wikinger eingefallen sind. (Quelle: The Viking in Ireland, Roskilde Ship Museum https://kresall.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/anne-christine-larsen-the-vikings-in-ireland.pdf legaler DL). Die Iren selbst stürmten Limerick (damals Norwegisch) in 968. Zum Beutegut gehörten Kleidungen aus Seide, scharlachrot und grün und fremde Sättel. Buggle führt an, das die nur aus dem maurischen Spanien stammen können. Die Mauren ihrerseits vermuteten, dass der König der irischen Inseln der König des Nordens sei. Dieser sendete auch eine Nachricht an den Emir, aber hierrüber, die Ergebnisse der Nachrichten, ist nichts bekannt. All diese Friedensverhandlungen verhinderten nicht weitere Raubzüge aus dem Norden nach Spanien und Afrika zwischen 859 und 861. Weitere Raubzüge folgten 910, 926 und 951, aber ohne Details. Den ersten verlässlichen Nachweis gibt es im Jahr 964,. König Richard I der Normandie „mietete“ eine wikingische Flotte für eine Kampagne gegen Graf Thibaut von Chartres. Mit Erfolg. Nur hatte er Schwierigkeiten, die Eroberer nach erfolgreicher Kampagne des Landes zu verweisen. König Richard gab daher einen neuen Auftrag für einen „Ausflug“ nach Spanien. 18 Städte wurden zerstört. Auf dem Schlachtfeld, den Berichten zu Folge, lagen auch viele „schwarze Körper“ – aus Äthiopien... ????? Anm.d. Autors: WIE? UND WOHER... 968 segelte wiederum eine Flotte aus dem Norden, in alle Richtungen über Meer und Flüsse. Anscheinend war der Plan die Herrschaft zu übernehmen. Der König, Ramirez III, war nur fünf Jahre alt5. Für drei Jahre konnten die Eroberer das Land unterjochen, (Asturia, Lissabi, Sevilla, Galizien etc.). 970 erlagen sie aber dem Grafen von Galizien, Gonzales Sanches, bei Ferrol. Danach gab es nur noch kurze Streifzüge, deren einige Städte erlagen... das war es.
Literatur
Stenstrup: Normannerne II. Vikingtongene mot Vest i det 9de Arhundre, Kobenhaven 1878. (» online hier, Stand: 14.11.2020) S. 287 - 302
Es geht dann weiter...
Christys, Ann; Vikings in the South: Voyages to Iberia and the Mediterranean, Londeon; 2015
i.V.m. Arabischen Handlungsreisenden: Seippel Rerum Germanicarum fontes Arabici
und Exkursen zu: Jacob, Arthur: Arabische Berichte von Gesandten an germanische Fürstenhöfe aus dem 9. und 10. Jahrhundert; 1927 (ist erledigt, da die Berichte der Abgesandten erst ab 1250 geschrieben wurden. Der Buchtitel ist damit absolut unpassend) (update: 15.11.2020)
